Since no one really wanted to do cassette recordings any longer, the CD-A550MkII and CD-A580 where used basically for archiving applications, and saving countless original demos that where left on the shelfs in cassettes and CD-R/RW.
The limitations of the original unit, lied in the fact that when used to copy cassette content to the USB drive as MP3 files - the idea being to at least preserve that content into a digital format - not only was the CD-A580 limited to the dreaded (and discontinued) MP3 format, it was limited to recording at only 128kbps - which is an extremely limited bit rate. This shouldn't be a problem if the unit was used for music playback in a restaurant, but recording MP3 files at 128kbps is only enough for voice.
Audio from CDs, and the Line inputs of the CD-A580 can also be recorded in the MP3 format to USB flash drives. And when recording from a CD, each track is automatically made into a separate MP3 file. When recording audio from a tape or the Line inputs, users can manually divide the MP3 files during recording. This would be great if this machine would work with WAV files as well, or at least would support 320kbps files, which is the minimum acceptable quality for MP3. It doesn't. It supports only 320kbps playback at 48kHz. When recording is - and remains - limited to 128kbps at 44.1kHz, because this machines uses a really old USB implementation.
This made the Tascam CD-A580 to keep selling mainly as one of the very last cassette decks available in the market, and most users just take the (unbalanced) line out and record a WAV file on any external computer. It's not even useful for copying CD/CD-R recorded originals, which are much better quality when simply transferred directly on a computer with a CD drive (a reason why it's important to keep those old iMacs working).
Now, Tascam decided to relaunch the CD-A580, due to the recognized popularity of the integrated cassette recorder that utilizes a single-direction logic-based transport control with exceptional stability and longevity. Unlike the CD player, which was never very good on this machine and caused numerous reliability issues - the IC Logic-based transport control used for the cassette mechanism was chosen to support years of professional use and as proven really well.
Amazingly, Tascam still proposes that users might want copy content from CD to a cassette or to the USB flash drive - but who would do that in 2022??? Incredibly, the refresh version of this CD-A580 Tascam didn't update the USB section and still doesn't support WAV recording or MP3 at 320 kbps!
So, Tascam decided to relaunch the CD-A580 because its also a way to keep a cassette player available to the market (one of the last ones). The cassette transport includes +/-10% Pitch Control and supports playback of Normal (TYPE I), Chrome (TYPE II), and Metal (TYPE IV) cassettes. For recording, Normal (TYPE I) and Chrome (TYPE II) cassettes are supported.
As a CD player, the CD-A580 supports playback of CDs, CD-R/CD-RW discs, and data CDs containing MP3 files. In addition to conventional CD playback, the system also supports repeat, shuffle, and programmed playback - but even Tascam has much better solid-state units for those uses. The USB section remains a USB A-type connector with a USB2.0 interface supporting the astonishing Full Speed of 12Mbps! And rejoice, each unit comes with the original infrared remote, in case you don't have one in your drawer full of old remotes.
And Tascam confirms that the CD-A580 is expected to only become available Q3, 2022 and will be designated as the CD-A580 v2 on specific technical documentation since it was out of production for a period of time.
www.tascam.com
