Harman Kardon CDR 2 CD Player/Recorder

• Dual-deck, CD-R and CD-RW compatible player/recorder
• 4x dub speed
• 96 kHz, 24-bit AKM digital-to-audio converters
• Front-panel digital input for use with portable devices
• Internal sample-rate conversion for input signals from 32 to 96 kHz

There are two record modes here: digital and analog. Digital recording, which lets you make near-perfect copies of discs or parts of discs, is a snap, and the CDR 2 gives you several ways to do it. The simplest method is internal dubbing, which can happen at normal speed, double speed, or quadruple speed. (Multispeed recording won't work if you're copying from a copy or if you're using an external source.) Alternately, you can feed your CDR 2 from an external device through either an optical digital input or a coaxial digital input.

The CDR 2 offers two coaxial inputs: one on the back panel and one on the front to facilitate hookups with portable devices such as minidisc or portable CD players. Using an external source and a feature called CD Sync, you can tell the CDR 2 to record the entire disc or merely a single track, simplifying the process of making compilation discs.

Analog recording on the CDR 2 are also a cinch, and we're pleased to report that the quality of the analog recordings--even from converted digital sources--is very high. In fact, some poorly recorded music sounded warmer and less harsh when recorded through the analog rather than the digital inputs.

The trickiest aspect of analog recording comes when you attempt to make a digital copy of a copy. The serial-copy management (antipiracy) system prevents you from making another digital copy from a copied disc. But the CDR 2 lets you make a copy anyway, through a process of digital-to-analog and subsequent analog-to-digital conversion. Even through this method, however, the new disc is nearly indistinguishable from its source, and the CDR 2 does a good (though not perfect) job of automatically assigning IDs to each track and a wonderful job of estimating the proper record level.

We think that Harman Kardon takes a conservative and healthy approach to digital level setting from analog sources. With cassette recording, you can hit the tape pretty hard without having the distortion get in the way of the music. Not so with digital recording. With digital, if you go over 0 dBfs, you get crackle--not merely a slight reduction of the dynamic range.

Nevertheless, the inclination to maximize the resolution--that is, to record as loudly as possible--is strong. But, Harman doesn't show you the 0 dBfs peak-level point and challenge you to bring your analog sources as close to this point as you can without going over. Instead, the company has made the top four lights of the CDR 2's meter red and suggests that the audio signal flicker into the red without lingering there. If you adhere to this suggestion, you'll get clear, clean, distortion-free digital recording from analog sources.

Unfortunately, the level meters flash outward, 180 degrees from each other, rather than parallel to each other, making it tricky to discern how close in value the left- and right-channel signals are. One last drawback is that the recorder's fader lacks sufficient turning radius to allow a smooth fade-out.

Stellar onboard features include internal sample-rate conversion for use with sources such as DAT (digital audio tape) and DSS (digital satellite system), which have sampling rates ranging from 32 to 96 kHz, as well as consecutive playback from the two decks.

Harman has endowed the CDR 2 with separate outputs, labeled "CDP" for the playback deck and "CDR" for the record deck. By routing these outputs to separate amplifiers, you can listen to each independently to hear different source material in different rooms. When the decks are not in Dual mode, however, you can hear either output through either output. That is, the record deck plays through the playback outputs and vice-versa. For consecutive playback, load a disc into each deck, hit play on one of them, and when one disc concludes the other will automatically engage.

Obviously, this is no slouch of a recorder. The build quality on the chassis and transport trays is not as sturdy as one might expect from Harman Kardon, but the unit is by no means flimsy. In fact, that the CDR 2 offers everything it does at such a reasonable price is nothing short of amazing.--Michael Mikesell

Pros:

• Tons of features
• Great sound from playback and recording
• High-speed recording convenience
• Internal level-setting of analog disc-to-disc dubs
• Great sounding headphone jack

Cons:

• Left- and right-channel level meters extend in different directions
• No "over" light for analog recordings
• Recording fader fades too quickly at low levels