For vintage I use Otari 5050, for new production Mataxas & Sins Tourbillon, for portability and fun a Stellavox SP-7.
Killer vintage 70's, 80's reel to reel to add to my setup.
Hey everyone. Looking to add a Killer vintage R2R from the 70’s, 80’s to my current analogue setup that includes the Luxman PD444 and Victor TT-101 tables. I like the looks of the 70’s, 80’s but want to hear what you suggest. I’ll tell you right now, I know nothing about R2R and look forward to everyone bringing me up to speed with the basics and deck suggestions. Budget is around $4500. Thanks! Brent
Showing 4 responses by clio09
Going to be hard to find a new deck for $7.500. J-Corder refurbished decks could be had in your price range and United Home Audio decks have gone up quite a bit in price over the years. Metaxas is well above your budget. Otherwise, I'm not sure who else out there is doing top quality refurbished or new decks. You also need to think about the playback electronics. I was never really satisfied with my Otari internal electronics so I had mine modified to take the signal direct from the tape head and run through external tube tape head preamps. This made a significant difference. I buy my tapes from a number of sources. Prices range from $150 to $400. The higher cost tapes usually net me two reels of music at 15 ips. It's fun to compare the same title in LP and tape format. Tape almost always wins out. |
The Metaxas & Sins decks are based on the Stellavox SM8, arguably one of the best decks ever produced based on comments I have heard from a few recording engineers. I have the capability with that deck to use the internal electronics for playback, or take the signal direct from the tape head. In my comparison this is the only deck I have heard where the internal electronics stack up well with my tube tape head preamps. If you're going vintage another consideration is to ensure it's serviceable and to have a good resource available to service it. With all due respect to @larryi the Revox A77 is one to stay away from. Revox makes fine decks but the B77 and PR99 are the ones to seek out. With any vintage deck, just make sure it has 15 ips tape speed, not all do. |
If you want to throw $20,000 at it: https://sonorusaudio.com/atr10 This deck is based on the Revox PR99 chassis. It uses a combination of original parts and new parts. As an alternative, you could just get the cleanest PR99 you can find and send it to Sonorus or to Soren Wittrup for refurbishing. You'd very likely come in under $10,000 in that case. |