Teac GF-330 CD Shelf System

My wife and I love music from the 1950-1970 era, and we have collected a lot of old records, audio cassettes and compact disks. After a recent acquisition of hundreds of 33,45 and 78 speed albums, we really needed some way to play them, as we did not have a turntable stereo system. We bid on and bought a vintage record player through an on-line auction site, but it arrived in unworkable condition, so we had to start over. Using a search engine and appropriate search phrases on the world-wide web, we found there were several nostalgia music systems on the market. We were then left with the problem of which one to buy. Our considerations were features, technical quality, styling and price, pretty much in that order. We needed a system which would play 33, 45 and 78 speed records, audio cassettes and compact disks. AM/FM radio would be nice, but was not necessary. We wanted a system with good technical specs plus a reputation for quality. We preferred a table-top model in an oak finish to match our existing furniture. We did not want to spend a bundle on it. Using these criteria, we narrowed the choices down to to this manufacturer's products, primarily because of its reputation for quality. The 330 unit also met all our feature and price needs, with the exception of styling. It was not available in an oak finish, but we decided we could sacrifice that in favor of its other desirable attributes.

The 330 Compact High-Fidelity Stereo System is a table-top system weighing 10.2 kilograms. It has an amplifier with a frequency response of 60-30,000 Hz, which exceeds the human hearing range. It has an AM/FM radio that is adequate, with a wire antenna that hangs from the rear. The CD player has a frequency response of 60-20,000 Hz, which is the approximate range of the human ear. The audio cassette deck has a frequency response of 125-6,300 Hz, which is not high-fidelity, but is within the range expected for an all-purpose system. A nice plus is that you can record from the turntable, CD or radio onto an audio tape cassette, simply by pushing the appropriate source selection and then pressing the RECORD button. This is a good way to combine records onto a single tape, or combine favorite songs onto a single tape cassette. The record player will handle 33, 45 and 78 speed records, all with the same general-purpose ceramic cartridge. A switch allows an easy change from one speed to another, and a 45 rpm adapter is included. The frequency response for the speakers is not given in the specifications, but the sound quality is equal to our expectations.

We have used this system extensively over the Christmas 2003 holidays, as this was a gift to ourselves. We are well pleased with it in every respect except for the minor exception of styling. It is attractive, but has a dark wood rather than the oak we would have preferred. The manufacturer has done a good job of packing a lot of features and quality into a compact unit, but has room to improve in offering a greater variety of styles and wood to match various decors. However, its more important attributes over-shadowed the styling problem in our opinion. Competitive systems we examined, while just as costly, did not measure up to the 330 in quality. We are well pleased with it, and feel that we got full value for our money.