SOTA reel to reel players

Yes, you want to do 1/4".

There is an enormous difference between the way the pro decks are set up (especially for recording) and the prosumer decks.

I owned many TEAC, TASCAM and Otari decks for years. They were all pretty much bullet proof requiring routine cleaning and not much else. Clearly Otari decks are a cut above the TEAC and Technics product, though to my taste nothing is prettier then that big Technics.

The pro decks are generally set up as a self contained cart or table with the transport down for ease of use, and with the electonics above for ease of maintenance and visibility. Generally there was also a very chunky remote that lived on the console.

There is nothing petite or dainty about these units. The Ampexes and Studers were the standard and are pretty much bullet proof.

The big wear item on tape decks - which has not been mentioned here are the heads. Especially if you are looking at a machine that has seen regular studio use, that is the piece that needs inspecting. Heads can be rebuilt to a point (by a highly skilled tech) after which they have to be replaced. Guess what, they are not inexpensive...

Oh yeah - and you will need a splicing block, splicing tape, a razor blade and a grease pencil plus some leader...

If you want the absolute best analog deck, for my money it's a Studer... if you can't play there, get a well loved Otari with an Atmasphere pre - it will rock

But it's all a question of what your source is

Tape is/was the mastering medium. Nothing like it if you are feeding it straight from the mixing board. Better yet if you are going direct to two track. But take it down a few generations and you slowly begin to build noise of various kinds

That's why if you really want SOTA, the answer the recording industry in many cases will be an entirely digital aignal path until perhaps the final 2 track mixdown. Or a multitraxk record master then all digital until the mixdown.

If you have source material this good, it's killer - A 2 track mix master is three, four maybe five generations up the food chain from a commercial LP.

One other thought - old tape is a much more problematic medium then old vinyl.

Read this thread to put your expectations in line with what you are likely to experience:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/63578-studer-a812-2-track-should-i-buy.html