Can we finally put Reel to Reel out of its misery? Put it to rest people.

@lewm why does reality bug you so much

You can get same performance out of a 3 head Nak and Sony Elcaset and also Beta so R2R's are obsolete.

@uberwaltz what Naks have you owned? I have two sony Elcasets and they sound awesome

@dill just because its still selling on ebay doesnt mean its not dying. Who's gonna make those high quality heads these days? Stocks are being depleted. Only the rich will be able to afford repairs soon. 

@topoxforddoc not many vintage decks have 15ips settings. There are few high end cassette decks with variable speeds that sound phenomenal. Telefunken tc300 and Nakamichi 680

@viridian tubes are way way way more plentiful than reel2reels decks parts heads. Tube amps and tubes have never stopped being made. Reel2Reels have been stopped for 40 years. 

@viridian tubes are way way way more plentiful than reel2reels decks parts heads. Tube amps and tubes have never stopped being made. Reel2Reels have been stopped for 40 years. 

@elizabeth  caning? Audio kink? 

How do some of you still call yourselves audiophiles that had 8 track players? eeek

Not denigrating it but i just feel its a dead end format because the good techs and original critical parts are impossible to find like special heads, motors, mechanisms, high grade audio tape and so on.  True R2R Techs are the hardest to find and when you do they are handcuffed by no available original parts. 

Theres supposedly a Thorens r2r coming out in 2020 but playback only.
 Like whos gonna pay big bucks for an incomplete product? 

@brettmcee at what tracks and speeds sound the best? What make and model are the most reliable and best sounding? 

Im with everyone else who considers hip hop rap reggaeton and protest songs dylan included a waste of recording space or listening time. 
No need for high quality equipment if that is what you like. You can say what you like its reality.  the stuff is butt awful on any system. Why would anyone like to hear some terrible background music and a foul mouthed idiot complaining and cursing in high fidelity on a 5k 10k 15k 20k. Its trash talk basically