Crosley CR247-OA Composer CD
Recorder (Oak)
Great Product!
Crosleys Composer makes it easy to save old music from LPs or cassette
tapes onto CD with the press of a button--and it plays all your music, too.
Do you have stacks and stacks of vinyls or tapes collecting dust in your
basement, attic or garage? Have you always wished you could transfer
them to CD without having to be a techie? Meet the Crosley Composer--a
blend of vintage style and modern technology that does the job with no
need for special equipment, computers or cables. Now you can easily
record your albums onto CD with the push of a button. If you still prefer
listening to your records and tapes old style, just use the 3-speed record
player, AM/FM radio, programmable CD player or cassette deck. This one
system can handle your whole collection of music--old and new alike.
Includes remote control. 18 1/2 w x 14 1/4 d x 10 h. 25 lbs. CD Recorder
Records LPs and cassette tapes to CD Supports CD-R/RW discs CD
Player Programmable 20-track memory Plays MP3 and WAV files Repeat
and Random Play Record Turntable 3 speeds--plays 33 1/3, 45 and 78

RPM and 7, 10 and 12 records Belt-drive turntable mechanism Diamond
stylus needle Digital tuner Great audio quality Built-in EQ presets Dynamic,
full-range stereo speakers .
Personal Review: Crosley CR247-OA Composer CD Recorder
(Oak)
The Crosley Composer is bit pricey, but it is possible to find a decent deal
online. I bought this rather than the Songwriter because it has a few more
bells and whistles for the same price.
Who will like the Composer: If you are MP3-literate, or you have a decent
stereo and your computer is up to date, chances are you will not need the
Composer as you can just get the software to run on your PC. If you are
an audiophile interested in cleaning up and restoring/recording your LP's to
perfection, this probably isn't for you either, as the "cleanup" is limited to a
pre-set equalizer with five options (flat, classical, pop, jazz, rock). BUT - if
you are, like me, someone who doesn't want to shell out for a whole new
computer and/or needed a new turntable anyway, I can't recommend the
Composer highly enough. It is easy to use, and in my opinion the results
are extremely satisfying.
Aside from the PC/turntable issues, my LP collection is extensive and
eclectic enough that it would have cost a fortune to replace it on CD's and
75% of the stuff is not, and probably never will be, available on CD; hence
the Composer came out as the most practical & affordable option. A friend
has this unit so I was able to hear a sample before buying. I'm not a high-
end audiophile but I wanted proper stereo recording, good clean sound
quality & easy operation. The turntable accommodates 33, 45 ad 78
speeds.
The sound quality of the CDR's is as good as, if not slightly better, than
that of the albums. Let me be clear: if you treated your LP's badly or your
cassettes are starting to sound muddy, their faults will not be erased, but
they won't sound any worse, and the results may pleasantly surprise you.
The pre-set equalizer settings do a nice job of adjusting the sound for the
requirements of each style. There is a "track skip" button to make the
machine recognize the breaks between songs so you can have a separate
track for each one, or you can just let the whole album side record as one
track. If you use the skip feature, you will definitely need to practice with it
to get the hang of the timing and when to push the button so you don't cut
off the end or beginning of a song. When recording LPs I found that the
"track skip" delay matched the gap on the album 8 times out of 10, so I
usually stay nearby and lift the tone arm just a little and just for a second,
to give the CDR recorder time to adjust. If you have two songs that blend
together with no break, it's best to let them record as one track. You can
also stop the unit to turn over an album or cassette and resume recording
in a new track. Lastly, there is a simple "Finalize" button which completes
the writing of the file to the CDR (don't forget this step!).

The Composer model also records from cassettes via a built-in unit. Some
reviews warn that this component "breaks after a few uses"; I have done
about 40 cassettes so far with no problem. My experience is that the
open/close mechanism is a mediocre plastic door and it does stick a little
sometimes (no worse than other cassette players I've had), but with a
minimal amount of patience and finesse rather than force, you can resolve
this problem when it happens. Even so, since the unit has an AUX input,
you can probably plug in an external tape deck so it really isn't an issue.
As with LP's, if you are transferring a commercially pre-recorded cassette,
there may be ample time between tracks for the "track skip" to register. If
not you can either stop the tape for a second or just let Side 1 be Track 1
and Side 2 be Track 2. If you made a few favorite old "road mix" tapes and
crammed every available mm of tape with sound, chances are you did not
leave enough time for "track skip" to work, so let the side run.
I strongly urge you to get a few cheap CDR's with which to practice using
the unit and its features - at least practice two or three times with the timing
on the "track skip" with both an LP and a cassette before you attempt a
recording on an archive-quality CDR. It will take about four minutes to
read the user's manual. Replacement parts are also available from
Crosley. Once you get the hang of using this unit, you will have an
absolute blast getting reacquainted with your LP's. Enjoy.
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