Denon DN-C550R Professional CDR/CDRW Recorder

[Herman P Willis]

Here's a new Denon CDR/CDRW recorder:

http://www.del.denon.com/catalog/products.asp?l=3&c=54

Namely the DN-C550R.

It's selling at GC right now for $700. Seems like a great price on a unit with these specs, particularly with the dual-deck feature. It's the first professional dual-deck unit I've seen besides the Marantz, which I don't like -- the buttons feel cheap and plastic, seems like it's not a good sturdy unit.

Anybody know anything more about the DN-C550R than what's there on the Denon website? Anyone have feedback about Denon products in general?

I'm sort of lusting after this thing and am contemplating getting rid of my Philips CDR-765, and replacing it with this Denon. The Philips has been a pesky, annoying machine for me, and I hate the accursed SCMS. Most of what I've used the damn thing for is mixing stuff down from my 4-track -- so I'm being prevented from pirating my own music! And paying an extra price on the CD-R Audio CDs, too. Also, I don't think too highly of the analog-digital converter in the Philips.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Willis:

[I served in the Navy and had a CDR Willis as my commanding officer...no relation is there?]

The Tascam 700 gets good comments all over the place, as well as the Masterlink by Alesis [or whoever owns Alesis now.]

I was thinking of getting either one until Yamaha came out with the DAW2816 which costs far less than its big brotha the DAW4416. [I don't think it is any easier to run as per advertising.]

So, I bought the 2816; it does the whole package from 16 track recording, to mixing to a stereo track and then, burning the CDR or CDRW for backup or practice.

It didn't make sense to me to buy a CD burner that was higher tech than my Yam MD8; so, I took the digital leap.

The learning curve is there but after much study in the manual, and the "free" video from Yamaha, I think I'm getting the idea of this box and should be in the groove soon.

Just something for you to ponder since you are willing to spend several hundred pezzutos for a new CD burner, you can get this high tech box for just "a little more money."

Don't know if Denon is considered Hi-Fi gear for consumers or gear for recording folks.


Merry Christmas
Green Hornet

 

[Herman P Willis]

Thanks for the reply Mr. Hornet. Alas, I'm of no relation to your former commanding officer.

I looked over the different units you mentioned. Neither the Masterlink nor the Tascam 700 is a dual-deck unit like the Denon is. I'm not looking for anything with the amount of features found in the Masterlink, nor the Yamaha. All I'm really looking for is a decent CD Recorder that can be used for mixdowns, and also for burning copies. I don't have a computer at home (I do all my surfing at work) so a stand-alone unit is a must, and the dual-deck feature makes dubbing really convenient.

My Philips 765 would work okay if it weren't for the SCMS, the unbalanced analong connections, and the suspect quality of the DA/AD converters. Plus, as I mentioned, the particular unit I have has been kind of buggy (I'm taking it to be serviced soon, since it's under warranty).

I guess that means that my only question is whether anybody has any opinions about Denon products.

Thanks again for your feedback, though. It's always fun to read about equipment, and it's good to know what else is out there. Anybody have any opinions about Denon?

<on edit>

Oh, and I found a cheaper price on the Denon unit than the GC price, if anybody cares:

http://www.lgdsuperstore.com/dnc550r.html

Listed there for $598.92. Found it through http://www.streetprices.com