Hi TONEPUB -
Despite many of my prior posts here being censored, and moved to inappropriate places by rabid moderators... I try again.
Two paragraphs removed due to censoring moderator.
See
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=38022.0 if you want to read my original post.
I own about twelve RTR's (plus another dozen "parts donor" machines and almost working ones). I prefer the Akai reel to reels for their extra long lasting GX Glass and Ferrite heads, as they last nearly forever, and stay in permanent alignment for decades and decades, and the tape transports are reasonably well made on the more expensive (upper middle to high end of the line for sets made after 1972). Still, for reasons unknown to me, some other Reel sets not using ferrite heads, just seem to sound more musically dynamic, there excists the possibly that non-ferrite heads which are more common, have sonic attributes that outweigh the need to replace said heads every 1,500 hours or so. For me, high quality source materials are a necessity, more than for most audiophiles or casual listeners, since I also design advanced ULT Transistor Amplifiers, and SET Vacuum Tube Amplifiers. Still it appears that most Audio Circle people delve into building and designing such things,m but I have yet to see or hear of anyone designing a Reel to Reel, so I guess what is left is whatever working sets, or semi-working sets exist from the 1960's, 1970's, and early 1980's.
My Fav RTR's include: the Akai PRO-1000 (2 Track format), GX-400D; GX-400D-ss, GX-650D, GX-600DB, GX-266II, GX-267D, GX-255; The Sansui SD-7000; Pioneer RT-909; the Tandberg 9200x; and now the Kenwood KW-8077. I just got the Kenwood last week, and delving into its innerds, I am still in the process of cleaning and repairing it. I was somewhat impressed, considering that Kenwood is not at all known for making Reel to Reel machines, and apparently only made three or four models. I find this Kenwood has a very quiet and superior transport - circa 1972; one with rather very few weaknesses in its design. So it was a nice surprise, to discover, some thirty-five years after the fact.
In the past, I've owned four or five Teac's in the past and have to say I was never really impressed with their sound, it always seemed a bit "transistory" or distorted sounding, and as well, there were significant weaknesses in some of their their mechanical designs and transports (but some were better than others - better were the older power guzzling sets with hot running motors and lots of relays). Personally, I just couldn't live with the Teac's particular set of compromises, and I sold them all.
I have a few higher level Tandberg 9000 Series, these are nice, but again, seem always to develop mechanical troubles with the traveling crossfield head, the speed change idlers, or the belts in single motor designs; and the VU meters tend to fall apart, the pointers falling off, which is never good... Earlier 9000 Series sets tend to blowout their power supplies after two decades or so, and the logic IC's in all 9000, 10X and 20A sets are totally proprietary, NLA, and can not be replaced with known off the shelf logic IC's, making replacement parts extremely difficult to get.
The Pioneer RT-909 is a rather nice set, but tape tension as nominally set as per the Factory, and the Service Manual, is set so high, the permalloy heads wear out and develop bad groove lines in the head surface in under 1000 hours of use. That may have been acceptable back in the 1980's when replacement heads and parts were both readily available and cheap. But now that the heads and the parts that are
prone to failure on that model can no longer be purchased, it is a true crapshoot when buying or using one. Also the Pioneer pinch rollers tend to totally turn to goo, when repeatedly cleaned with normal alcohol solutions ??? Studer, Ampex, Revox, Akai, Teac, Sony, and Tandberg machines never had such problems, so one wonders what Pioneer's people were thinking ???
While the RT-909 is a heavily built, smart looking machine, with the modern looking blue flourescent digital counter and peak reading VU meters, it is also quite a complex machine, with almost incomprehensible schematics and way too many parts. Does it really need two separate sets of stereo preamplifier's one for Forward Play and one for Reverse Play - twice as many parts to go bad... ? So it's a great machine, and highly regarded, and yet it can become a big doorstop when the heads are worn, or when it needs repair. Complex and finicky as a woman
Indeed, in looking back upon hundreds of RTR's, including those that I've owned, those that people have told me about, and those people have sent to me, to repair, which they bought on eBay or elsewhere, it is kinda sad, that I only know of two or three units which were still working at or close to original factory specifications 27 to 46 years later. So to generalize, nearly 99% of current Reel machines out there can no longer surpass, or even come close to its original factory specifications for: Frequency Response, Signal to Noise Ratio, Wow and Flutter, or Distortion - without a complete overhaul, or rebuild, that is just a simple fact of life. Truth is, these consumer sets were designed for 3 to 5 years of light use, which translates to about 1,500 to 3,000 hours of tape recording and playing use, that lower number being just about what one can expect from a diamond needle moving magnet cartridge before wear and distortion becomes drastic...
So now 27 to 46 years after our Akai, Sansui, Pioneer, Tandberg and Kenwoods were made, just about all of them are having or developing hum, hissy fits, total channel failures, Servo control failures, belt and wheel drive idler failures and problems, poor speed regulation, excessive tape tension, relay contact failures, worn out Record and Playback heads (except most GX Akai's), Ferrite Head surface problems due to surface chipping failures (in Ferrite Heads having no glass surface), excessive wow and flutter, motor failures, and/or motor-run caps failures, and other catastrophic power supply and logic failures, as well as simple mechanical failures and breakages.
And now to sadly admit - to add insult to injury, about 95% of repair shops will no longer accept these wonderful Reel to Reel sets for repair for the following reasons: 1) We can't get repair parts. 2) We can't find Service Manuals and Technical Info. 3) Its older than our technicians. 4) It would cost more to service than it is worth. 5) Once you fix one thing, four or five more things break in short succession and it gets to be a Pain In The Ass (411 translation: because our techs have no idea what they are doing to repair a set like this, it breaks again and again).
Steven L. Bender
Just curious what you guys might think of Reel to Reel tape.
I have heard rumors that it is making a comeback and I have
a few of them myself. Nothing exotic, just a few TEAC's.
Our good friend and columnist, Steve Hoffman just got me
a mint 4300SX for Christmas and I have been enjoying the
heck out of it. We also have a great tape head preamp in
for review that is also quite good..
Let us know what you think!
