I got into R2R about 6 or 7 years ago and as others have pointed out it is a very good sounding source. I have a Teac X300 (bought refurbished for $400) which does 3.75 and 7.5 IPS only, but since I am only interested in purchasing factory made tapes from the 60s and 70s I’m perfectly fine with that. To my ear the sound is quite immersive and it’s a little mesmerizing watching the reels spin!
It is an interactive medium! You can’t just sit back and push buttons on an app and serve up music. You have to be sure the rollers and the heads are clean, and have to get up and string the tape after each side (unless you get an auto-reverse model). There is also the occasional snapped tape which requires some splicing skill. Not often but it does happen. especially if you do buy old factory tapes after all they are now 50 years old.
I also have fun scouring local auction sites for old tapes. If you purchase factory tapes there has to be some patience involved as well. Many sellers in my mind way over price these. It takes a while to look for someone who has them at what I consider a reasonable price. I’m OK in the $25-$30 range depending on which album/artist I’m trying to get. I did score an estate sale group of 80 tapes last year at 16 bucks apiece that kept me busy for awhile.