Sweet sound until its premature death.

Nonexistent transport, insane jitter, doesn't behave as the manual states, then it dies--in my case right after the labor warranty expired. Complete rubbish.

Follow-up to my positive review of November 3, 2003. Almost to the day that the 90-day labor warranty expired, this player died too. It started skipping, mistracking, RIP. The transport turns out to be garbage; I wish I had known. It sounds sweet at first, very rolled-off so no edginess, but there is some loss of detail. The controls don't operate as the booklet indicates--Teac confirmed this and didn't care. Then it self-destructed. A waste of money. For something truly cheap that sounds reasonable and doesn't seem like it will die before you blink, try a Toshiba SD-1800 DVD/CD player. Sweet, decent sound for a cheapie, a little hard to operate since it's optimized for DVDs, but it's pretty musical, and reads everything. Avoid this Teac.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon HD-710--the best. Harman Kardon HD-720--beautiful sound after a lot of playing in; very flexible in use; too much plastic. NAD--great build, cold sound. Cambridge Audio 300SE--odd sound, useless transport, wouldn't even read CDRs. Toshiba SD-1800 DVD/CD--sweet sound, reliable, but not really functionally optimized for easy use as CD player, but cheap.

Warm, natural sound with good detail and deep soundstage. Extremely low price.

Weaknesses: Sonic warmth compromises "air" and highs. Transport quirks, very flimsy CD drawer.

Years ago, a friend bought the single-play TEAC CD-P1120, an above-average entry-level CD player; in this age of DVD/CD/mp3/etc. players, it's a nice surprise that TEAC still offers the dedicated single-play CD-P1250. Especially for $80 it's a find, with a warm, musical sound. Far from being harsh as expected in cheaper players, the top is rolled off; the midrange is rich and focused; the bass is full and nicely defined; soundstage depth and height are impressive though image width is restricted. Everything has a forward, sweet, natural quality. Warmth and listening-ease compromise some "air," detail, highs. Playing-in helps. The CD-P1250 is distinguished from the earlier, similar CD-P1120 cosmetically and mechanically: blue rather than orange LCD readouts; "remaining time" displays up to 32 tracks (previously 24); CDRWs are playable; 32-track programming (formerly 16). Musical components are virtually the same, with a decent 1-bit D/A converter, while the sampling rate is upgraded from 4x to 8x. It's not badly built but there's too much plastic and the CD drawer is thin and wobbly. Direct-track play is accessed only from the remote, power switching and CD drawer opening/closing only from the player. Most sources confuse the CD-P1250 with the CD-P1120, including this site and the TEAC web site. Accurate specs show the CD-P1250's technical improvements and added flexibility. There are a few operating quirks that don't agree with the user's manual: like the earlier CD-P1120, hitting the "play" button *won't* activate a CD-loaded open drawer to close and play; unlike the CD-P1120 and more like a DVD player, the default readout for a completed or newly inserted disc is "track 1/0:00," not the usual "total tracks/total time." Minor mechanical design oddities--common even in expensive players--don't detract from an unexpectedly musical player for a nominal price.

Similar Products Used:

[1] Harman Kardon HD-710, ca. 1998, my principal player: brilliant, detailed, musical--after I finally got one that worked, HK's quality control being what it was. [2] NAD 521i: detailed, spacious but detached, antiseptic sound with nasal midrange, noncommittal bass, and harsh top. Solid but unappealing. [3] Cambridge Audio 300SE: transparent, fascinating sound, exaggerated dynamics, and poor transport: trouble with CDRs--forget CDRWs, unusable "shuttle" scan/skip knob. [4] Philips/Magnavox CDB-482: my back-up player from 1989 until 7/2003; the TEAC finally replaced it. Virtually no error correction but a sweet, attractive sound. [5] Marantz CD-5000: harsh and unpleasant. [6] Toshiba SD-1800: a cheap DVD/CD/mp3 player; clear but thin, though not harsh. Not optimized for CDs in any way. Sadly, this is now the usual type of CD-playing gear.