Hello Sam,
There are many to choose from. I originally used a NAGRA with fine results however 10.5 " reels are a must for me and the extension arms needed to accomodate the large reels for me were a problem. That and the machine must be laid onto a table top. I was always having trouble with people getting to close to the spinning reels and the extension arms are fragile. The Pioneer RT 1050 is made for location work. It has excellent specs and is very robust. It is also an excellent sounding machine. It comes in a "road case", with a front cover. The one I use at home looks new, the one I use for live recording look very well used but it functions perfectly. Also I have several NOS head blocks which are plug and play. You might search one out. They are multi voltage and parts are still obtainable. Also it has NAB and IEC bias profiles. Now. I wish I had an 820! Maybe someday.
Norman
There are many to choose from. I originally used a NAGRA with fine results however 10.5 " reels are a must for me and the extension arms needed to accomodate the large reels for me were a problem. That and the machine must be laid onto a table top. I was always having trouble with people getting to close to the spinning reels and the extension arms are fragile. The Pioneer RT 1050 is made for location work. It has excellent specs and is very robust. It is also an excellent sounding machine. It comes in a "road case", with a front cover. The one I use at home looks new, the one I use for live recording look very well used but it functions perfectly. Also I have several NOS head blocks which are plug and play. You might search one out. They are multi voltage and parts are still obtainable. Also it has NAB and IEC bias profiles. Now. I wish I had an 820! Maybe someday.
Norman