One of the last remaining manufactured R2R was the Tascam BR-20. Built like a tank and plenty of parts are still available. They pop up on ebay quite frequently, worth looking out for. A pro deck, but unlike a lot of the otaris/studers etc out there it has unbalanced I/O (as well as balanced). I'm no R2R expert, but the way that deck handles tape with such grace is a joy to behold.
My other deck is a consumer deck (akai gx747 dbx) used to play the few commercial tapes I have.
If you are looking to record vinyl / radio etc the quality of the pro decks out there, along with their increased parts availability is IMHO definately the way to go. Even the best consumer decks lag quite a way behind in many areas, will be hard to find parts for BUT are useful to play commercial titles. thats why I own one of both
My other deck is a consumer deck (akai gx747 dbx) used to play the few commercial tapes I have.
If you are looking to record vinyl / radio etc the quality of the pro decks out there, along with their increased parts availability is IMHO definately the way to go. Even the best consumer decks lag quite a way behind in many areas, will be hard to find parts for BUT are useful to play commercial titles. thats why I own one of both