Is There Any Reason To Buy A Reel-To-Reel Machine Nowadays??


I bought my first reel-to-reel machine in 1977 as a convenience in order to record and play back multiple albums in high fidelity.without having to fool around with my manual turntable.  I was surprised to find out that I preferred the sound of the reel to the turntable.  Along came cd and I could play both sides of an album with the fuss of having to flip it over every 15 minutes.  Now with high a high quality DAC and a computer, you can have uninterrupted high fidelity music for days on end.

No one is making new recordings on reel-to-reel.  The cost of blank tape is exorbitant.  The cost of a good open-reel deck is stratospheric.  So pretty much you're left with recording an LP or a cd to your reel for playback.....what's that??

Please chime in for reasons to buy an open-reel deck today.
128x128mitch4t

Showing 2 responses by elliottbnewcombjr

I love my R2R, an am surprised that audiophiles who spend a LOT of money for minor improvements don’t add R2R to their systems. It’s not easy that’s for sure, but very rewarding. I progressed bit by bit, settled on Teac’s last Prosumer x2000r and prior x1000r. If you get into it, go for 6 head auto reverse. These decks are built like tanks.

The content is limited, BUT, the R2R tapes are my BEST sounding source (even though S/N is the lowest ratio).

I did many listening shootouts here, same music CD/LP/R2R. Everyone chooses LP over CD; Everyone chooses R2R over LP. And Everyone chooses Tubes over SS.

Why? The S/N progressively worsens while appreciation increases, it ain’t a love of noise. I’m 73, after listening, reading ... I came to believe/sum it up: Analog ’gets’ the overtones ’right’.
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I play mostly 4 track stereo pre-recorded tapes, 7-1/2 ips. 50-60 years old, amazingly they still sound terrific. Actually my 2 Track Stereo Tapes from 1956 sound the absolute best, 65 years old. Wider tracks, like faster speed means more magnetic material for the content. 15 ips; pro 30 ips even better, but no pre-recorded content at those speeds.

I bought over 500 R2R years ago, let’s guess avg around $10. plus $3.50 shipping. Later, I sold about 150 of them. The 7-1/2 ips versions have gotten rarer, and the costs have gone way way up.
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You hear things you do not hear on LP or CD versions, i.e.

Moody Blues, original band, strong piano based blues, the intro to the 1st song is a mess on LP, it sounds great on the tape. Curiously, the CD also sounds a mess on the intro, it must have been made from an LP master, I guess the tapes were made from the tape masters at the time.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/113891127741?hash=item1a8470b1bd:g:5EEAAOSwFDddgZ-1

Iron Butterfly

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333887968944?hash=item4dbd4616b0:g:elgAAOSwDrdgJteW

this one is the less desirable slower 3-3/4 ips version. On my 7-1/2 ips you can hear him drunkenly say ’Garden of Eden’

Beatles

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184891757815?hash=item2b0c6854f7:g:OvgAAOSwpDRgvS6-

Sgt. Peppers (again, the less desirable 3-3/4 ips version). On my 7-1/2 ips version, you hear subtleties of their voices, you gain a lot of respect for Paul’s bass playing talents ... I played it for my nephew, a musician, I glanced sideways, tears were starting to flow.
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Jazz, Rock, Crooners, the era when the greats became great all exist on pre-recorded tape, then it stops. I don’t know when they stopped making them, but the content is limited by that cessation.
Home made tapes are darn good, but not as astounding as pre-recorded tapes made from 1" 30 ips masters.

We need to be realistic about the difference between pre-recorded from masters and home recorded (which has validity, but not the same SQ).

On 1/4" tape? Record What? Copy an already compromised version, i.e. LP, CD? What speed: 30 ips;15 ips; 7-1/2 ips; 3-/4 ips?

We used to record live radio broadcasts, otherwise unavailable; live musician friends; borrowed LP’s. Many people made long playing compilations on 10-1/2" reels, even using the slower 3-3/4 ips speed for a huge amount of music on 1 tape. Fun, party: press play, walk away.

I bought a collection of 17 tapes pre-recorded by a dude named ’Stoneman’. He hand painted the box edges with pastel paints, a great collection of 60’s rock. They are a treat, sound good, he knew what he was doing, but not the same SQ as studio produced.

Today, everything is accessible, and a 1/4" copy will not sound superior like a pre-recorded one will.

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check out these guys methods

https://tapeproject.com/why-tape/