Review on TEAC CD-P1260: LCD Display & MP3 Playback CD Player by Josh Lockhart

For people in a hurry: I've had this TEAC CD-P1260 CD player for about 7 months, listening to it almost every day (or several hours a week), it sounds great and has worked flawlessly. The built-in headphone jack/amplifier works well. I am very pleased with the quality.This TEAC P1260 is a basic CD player, meant to be installed as part of a stereo system for listening to music over speakers, though it's possible to use it all by itself by plugging headphones into the jack on the front. This player plays only commercial audio CDs, CD-R/RW copies of commercial CDs, and CD-R/RW discs with mp3 files. It will NOT play .wav files or anything else, and the manual says it may not play variable bit-rate mp3 files. I don't listen to mp3s because they sound crappy, so I can't confirm that. But a friend gave me a disc with .wav music files, and this TEAC CD player would not play it. Every other CD player in the house would, including an inexpensive boom box, so be aware that this P1260 is limited mainly to commercial audio CDs and copies of such CDs. I think that's what most people would use a CD player for anyway.This is a quality item. It feels heavier to me than the 20-year-old CD players I own. The opening and closing of the drawer is quiet and dignified. The finish of the metal case is a matte black that doesn't look cheap. The display consists of white alphanumeric characters on a very soothing medium blue background. The buttons used for basic operation are arranged logically from left to right: open (close), play (pause), stop, skip back, skip forward. The labeling of the buttons is somewhat hard to see in dim light, a common problem with modern stereo equipment. There is another horizontal row of smaller buttons below the above for shuffle, repeat, program, and intro check (plays the first 10 seconds of each track) functions. I never used any of these functions. I also never used the remote, but I did note that the buttons are well spaced and also logically arranged. On the back are the tin-plated left and right RCA jacks for connecting the P1260 to an amplifier or stereo receiver; the necessary cable is included (about 1 meter long).An outstanding feature of this low-priced CD player is the built-in headphone jack and amplifier with volume control. The jack is the large, 1/4 inch type, which means most headphones will require an adapter (decent headphones come with an adapter). Many audiophiles claim that a separate headphone amp is necessary for good listening, but I thought this built-in amp sounded just fine. It has enough power for even the most inefficient headphones in my collection. If the P1260 is connected to an amplifier, plugging headphones into the front jack will disconnect the RCA output jacks on the back.The specifications given in the manual claim 8X oversampling, if you're interested, and the frequency response is 20-20kHz, within 2 dB. The frequency response could be a little tighter, but then it would cost a lot more.Some credible reviews of this TEAC CD player have indicated reliability problems. As I said at the beginning, I have had mine for 7 months now, using it as much as most people would, maybe more, and I haven't had any problems (knock on wood!). In my experience, TEAC has always made quality audio equipment, so I really didn't expect to have problems. Maybe I have just been lucky so far. All I can report is my personal experience, which has been totally satisfactory. It sounds great, works great, looks great, and has the feel of a quality piece of audio equipment. I think it is a great buy for anyone looking for a no-frills, basic CD player.