Home > Consumer Reviews > Crosley CR248 Songwriter CD Recorder - Paprika

Disappointing piece for frustration.
Bought one of these last July, 2009 from Target online. First of all, if you're dubbing an LP or Cassette to CD, once you start the dub you can no longer adjust or change the volume till the dub is complete. If you're dubbing a cassette to CD, the dubbing will not stop when the cassette has completed so you get a 15 minutes or so of white noise until the CD is full. Any other dubbing device I've ever seen will automatically stop recording / dubbing when the source device stops. Why this one doesn't is a mystery to anyone who's used another dubbing device. Also, the "track splitting" device which you're supposed to use to separate tracks when dubbing from an LP or Cassette to CD is joke! It stops the recording for too long and chops off the begining of the next track whenever you use it! Finally, I used it for a week last Aug and haven't touched it again till today - Oct 24 and now the Cassette deck does not work! It will not fast-forward or rewind a cassette and eats them when you play them! This after maybe 10 hours of use and 2 and half months of sitting idle. Never again!

Arrived in a short time. No damage. The FM Antena wire was missing but a call to the supplier and was received in 3 days, no questions and no charges. The spindle bolt for records was loose and cause nose when running. I would imagine this was caused by the amount of handeling. A self locking nut would cure this problem. I have used it for recording records and tapes and the size makes it easy to use anywhere if you are limited in space. The line in and earphone jack are pluses. The difference between Paprica and Oak has nothing to do with the operation but the difference in price. The price from $280.00 to $524.00 on the internent made a difference with where I purchase it. There is no software for removing problems with your original records (scratches, background noise, skiping and etc.)but I do have them in my CP. I used www.amazon.com for comparing and ordered from Abe's of Maine ([...]) If you have an inverter that you could use in your transportation, use a cassette tape recorder for live recording and then record the tape to CD on the spot, it works for me. I'm sure there are many ways that it can be used because of its size.

I can't believe some of the negative reviews I've read for the Crosley Songwriter. As I write this (October 4, 2009) I am listening to Ray Lynch "No Blue Thing" CD (and just listened to Handel's Water Music) and the sound quality is superb! I previously owned a bunch of components ca. 1975 (Pioneer receiver, Dual turntable, Sony CD player) so I know good sound when I hear it, and I like my Crosley better. I've only owned it a few weeks and have not used the recorder yet, so I can't speak for the quality there. But everything else works perfectly. The remote is a cinch to use. It's easy to program and scan CD's. You can hear the subtle differences in the EQ settings. And my old records sound better than ever - the speeds on the 33 1/3 and 45 settings are fine (I haven't played my old 78's yet). My tapes also sound fabulous. Maybe it's because I bought my unit directly from Crosley. I also got the matching Richmond Entertainment Center cabinet, which is beautiful. My set is in paprika and the color is rich and goes with my decor. Love this product and am recommending it to friends.

Great piece of equipment. Now I can record the 33's I couldn't find CD's for.

I bought this for my husband, who is the ultimate non-techie. He has been busy copying our cassette collection to CD with very little difficulty. He did have to experiment on the first 1 or 2 CDs, but then got the hang of it. Not much to do except put in the cassette and the CD and push the appropriate buttons. I haven't tried it myself yet, but trust me, if he can do it anyone can. Have not tried the LP transfer yet.