Is there an 'Audiophile' Reel-to-Reel Machine for Under $1,000?

Old tape decks in working condition are good fun, and whether or not they qualify as "audiophile" they can sound GREAT. Very warm, liquid sound quality. The antithesis of dry, analytical hifi sound. It’s a lot of fun. You may notice the rolloff in treble, depending on what tape & deck you’re running. For my older decks, I found that adding Tannoy superwteeters helped with this, even as they were "too much" for my vinyl and CDs.

I had a Pioneer 1020L that sounded GREAT until a channel went out. They should still be findable, in good order, under 1000.

I now have a Pioneer RT909 that also sounds great, but probably not better than the cheaper 1020. These cost more than 1000, but should be findable at or under 2000. The RT707 mentioned above should be a great option; its limitation being the smaller reel size. There are other, less desirable 1970's R2R decks I've heard hooked up, and they sounded great too! One blew a cap WHILE we were enjoying it so...that's a risk. 

The decks I’ve had were quarter track (2-sided stereo), quarter-inch tape with top speed 7.5 IPS. I don’t have any 15 IPS tapes. The 7.5 IPS sounds really good - even being needledrop tapes from another audiophile. Below 7.5 IPS is where it loses the magic for me. High end / audiophile stuff is typically 15 IPS.

The stock output levels of these tapes decks is quite low. So it helps to have a good preamp with some extra gain to spare.

The audiophile / studio decks and tapes move up to half-track (one-side stereo), 15 IPS, etc. That’s a lot more tape, and audiophile tape issues are obnoxiously expensive ($400+ a tape), and extremely limited in content. They sound amazing, though! The new tape decks are very expensive, understandably so.

I think, we made it sound very complicated to the OP. But, yes, he must decide if he needs two or four track deck and if he needs 15ips speed.  Master tape dubs can be less than $400 but still very expensive. For his old recorded tapes he may need 3.75ips speed, we don't know. For less expensive deck than Otari I would probably go after either Pioneer or Revox.

@vinylfun 

If your really want to spend $1000 on a R2R then that's what you should do to listen to your dad's tapes. I say great idea, worth a grand to me.

It is a completely different game if you're looking for a "satisfactory hi-end" machine.

Just the fact that you posted looking for a $1k machine...you answered your own question.

Many good advisory posts above if you decide to proceed.

Regards,

barts

Used to own an A77 back in the 80's....fun to play with, but when learned that Betamax could record audio at near CD quality, it got lost.....

Still annoyed VHS became the 'standard'......
Take a grip on the above....tape types, condition, tracks, et all.....
You're buying 'vintage', circuitry and mechanical....it may need surgery of sorts.
Cost will be a factor unless you feel lucky....

Good luck with the plunge.  Share what you find if it's really novel.

Always good to hear a 'happy ever after all THAT'... *L*

In the vintage audio world, there's a good portion of hobbyists who would consider ANY RtR machine "Audiophile Quality" and anyone who has one an audiophile...

I myself have a 2-track Akai GX-265d (with glass ferrite heads) and a Dokorder 1140 4 - track deck. IMO the issue isn't the decks - it's the tapes.

If you are a fan of any music from the 60s / 70s  that isn't Englebert Humperdink or Mitch Miller... you are going to pay through the nose for most commercial pre-recorded tapes. Hard (for me anyway) to justify $350 for a Led Zeppelin II reel that is in so-so shape, when I can pick up an original RL vinyl pressing in at least decent shape for around the same cost..?

For tape media, I have reel, cassette, and 8-track (audiophiles are now gasping at the mere mention of 8Tr). Of the 3, I have the least pre-recorded media for the RtR, just due to a combination of a lack of selection and cost.