Tascam CDRW2000

If you're on a very tight budget then you might be willing to live with a CD recorder with unbalanced analogue phono connectors, consumer S/PDIF digital interfacing and no-frills operation. However, if you want more professional features for not much more money, then Tascam's new CDRW2000 is well worth checking out. The additional connectivity alone might justify much of the extra UK price: analogue I/O on XLRs (balanced, +4dBu) and phonos (unbalanced, -10dBV), with 24-bit A‑D/D‑A conversion; AES‑EBU digital I/O on XLRs and S/PDIF digital I/O on both unbalanced phonos and optical Toslink connectors; and a word‑clock input with terminator switch. There is also a cabled remote control, which responds quickly and reliably from (up to) five metres away, unlike most battery-powered remotes I've used.

You can record to professional or consumer CD‑R or CD‑RW media, and the built-in sample-rate converter can be bypassed, if required, for more faithful recordings from 44.1kHz digital sources. Track IDs can be taken from incoming S/PDIF sub-code or can be triggered automatically according to a selectable level threshold — onboard buffering means you can offset the placement of threshold-triggered IDs so that they don't lag behind the start of the audio. There is also a function to digitally fade in or out, over a duration of between three and 30 seconds. Add to these facilities the comprehensive playback functions, and the CDRW2000 presents good value at this price.

I am glad to report that the CDRW2000 performed flawlessly throughout the review period, and it was great being able to select from any of five different connected sources. I'd recommend this machine for anyone who wants to buy a reliable and professionally-specified machine without breaking the bank.