Decades ago, I was lucky to have the opportunity to get a few first generation open reel copies of some recording studio tapes. They blow away the LP versions , especially so in the bass quality. That said, copying LPs to open reel doesn't improve anything though it was one way to get a copy of a friend's LP without buying a copy. But, then you had to buy 7" reels of tape. The commercial mass-produced open reels one used to be able to buy were typically transferred at high speed which compromised the quality. So, for me, I liked having an open reel for those situations where it allowed me to record live music, or, the few times I had access to studio masters. For routine playback of commercial music, one is far better off in terms of both convenience and sound quality using LPs, CDs, or CD/Hi-Rez quality streaming. (And these days, almost all new recordings are done digitally even when you buy the LP.)
Why do people like reel to reel players?
do They sound all that much better than the other stuff?
they look very cool and remind me of language class when I was younger which was the only place I saw them used. It’s like a record player mounted on the wall where you can watch something spin.
It seems a bit impractical to get the tapes and then to mount them all the time. Cassette players seem a lot better. Cassettes used to be a bit easier to get. Not sure they’re even available anymore. I remember they were double sided just flip them over.