[pnw05ss]

My four have been brought back to life.  I'm the original owner of a pair of Sony TC-650's from the early 70's.  My Sony TC-850 (both 1/4 & 1/2 track head stacks) and Otari MTR-10-II-C, 1/2 track, have been recently aligned & eq'ed to some new tape.  Should be enjoying them again soon once I make some equipment moves in my racks.  Some of my old tapes are starting to exhibit print through in places if you listen carefully.  All the oxide are still staying on, both on the pre-recorded and the BASF Pro I used for many years.  Now that the Otari is aligned & eq'ed, I hope to subscribe to the Tape Project and put some of my friend's rare vinyl to 1/2 track.

[rpf]

I haven't heard a reel to reel in many years, but I used to love the sound (owned a nice Tandberg at one time). More dynamic than vinyl without the pops and clicks that bother me more than tape hiss. Unfortunately, the lack of track access eliminates their consideration for me.

[Imperial]

I came across this photo here today.
It's from the mastering position of "lydmuren Studio" they are linked to "Sonopress" ,This is all in Norway. Sonopress is the worlds largest cd,dvd and SACD pressing plant, (It's in America that large plant I think?)
Look at what they have to the left there!!! It's a reelplayer, a mastering tape recorder!

There are reel lovers out there!!! 
And this studio contains a lot of stuff that will be considered audiophile "pro" stuff as well!
PS Audio, APS, Crane Song, Manley, Vintage design(They also remake Neve stuff), Lavrey, transparent cable, Electrocompaniet, the list goes on!!!
Wow!!! And Pyramix (sacd mutichannel mastering)
But and with all this actually high-end audiophile equipment, they also make use of Reel to Reel!!!

Imperial

[Wayner]

I thought the reel to reel was a Studer, but can't say for sure.

W

[Imperial]

I thought the reel to reel was a Studer, but can't say for sure.

W

Indeed it is a Studer, it's a Studer A80, running 1/4 inch tapes.
They also have a Crane Song HEDD 192 unit. That's a tape'ifier effects machine. It will emulate as if the signal was played off a
reel to reel tape machine.

Imperial

[rjones5296]

My decks are ReVox G36,PR99,A77,Tascam 22-2, Pioneer RT707, Akai 4000, Technics RS1700
Playing a ReVox G36 right now.
bob

[danielpsantos]

One of the main concerns of any audio engineer is to adopt the better circuit typology to use the better and the less electronic devices that must be crossed by the audio input signal to achieve his intents. Sound "doesn't like electronics".
The same way, any studio technician should only use the necessary electronic equipment so the sound do not get unnecessary distortion.
As any CD, DVD has a typical dynamic range of 100dB, I don't see the need to use sound compression devices as R2R.
Oh... how could I forgot: the R2R warms up the sound, so it gets nicer to be heard!
This takes me to the original title of this forum: "Any reel to reel lovers out there". I believe there are more R2R lovers out there even don't knowing they are, because they enjoy listening "warm sound" CDs mastered on R2R devices.

Daniel.

[Whitese]

I love R2R's, I only have a vintage tubed Sony Superscope 2/4trk, and I am always tempted to get a 10" unit..but then I see what tape is costing nowadays...and I never pull the trigger.

[niklasthedolphin]

One of the main concerns of any audio engineer is to adopt the better circuit typology to use the better and the less electronic devices that must be crossed by the audio input signal to achieve his intents. Sound "doesn't like electronics".
The same way, any studio technician should only use the necessary electronic equipment so the sound do not get unnecessary distortion.
As any CD, DVD has a typical dynamic range of 100dB, I don't see the need to use sound compression devices as R2R.
Oh... how could I forgot: the R2R warms up the sound, so it gets nicer to be heard!
This takes me to the original title of this forum: "Any reel to reel lovers out there". I believe there are more R2R lovers out there even don't knowing they are, because they enjoy listening "warm sound" CDs mastered on R2R devices.

Daniel.

I have been doing quite a few master recordings since the 70's.

CD is based on the Redbook format with only 16 bit 44,1 kHz sampling frequency.

I have been using 24 bit 96 kHz sampling freq. and 32/192 pro HD sudio recorders as back up to my analog R2R tape recorder when doing master tapes as a tape operator/sound engineer.

CD is by far inferior to 24/96 digital encoding, not to say 32/192.

The reason I don't switch so that the R2R is back up and the Pro HD studio Recorder is the primary unit is because the R2R do a better job.

You might need to be able to compare to the analog reference comming out over the edge of the stage or comming out from the boxes in the studio to understand this.

Furthermore people need to understand that they can't compare a worn down consumers low-speed quarter track Philips R2R from the early 70's with baked tapes to anything and then decide that analog R2R is not competitive.

To audition differences in sound quality, a well matched chain of source, amps, speakers and listening-room are needed.

You might find that your judgement was based on far from optimal terms.

"dolph"

[danielpsantos]

Hello Niklas!

I was not being ironic about R2R recorders. I love analogue sound and I do prefer listening CDs mastered on R2R devices.

I have a Tandberg 3400x and I'll perform some changes on it. First I'll try a new set of heads I found, then I will try to replace it's old electronics with new devices just to improve even more audio quality.
I would like to know more people like you to share ideas about sound. I believe I could learn something with people with your experience.

Best regards,

Daniel.