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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.

emergingsoul
mgattmch
555 posts
 

Look at this Audiogon posting if you want an answer to this question:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/the-dangerous-world-of-reel-to-reel-tape/post?postid=2636571#2636571

dill
2,448 posts
 

Reel to reel decks sound way better than cassette decks. Once you get the hand of it, mounting them is fast. I have a Pioneer RT-707 in my garage system and use it all time. With auto reverse I get an hour and a half of music. 

Garage System

 

mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,774 posts
 

They sound great. I also have a Pioneer RT-707, and even with just good quality needledrop tapes (7.5 IPS quarter track Maxell UD 35-90, good for two 1970’s era albums per reel), there’s a warmth and organic flow that vinyl alone can’t quite match. The top end is rolled off, and of course the noise floor is much higher - but that stuff in the middle...is magic. Playing these tapes is the only time I’ve consistently liked the Tannoy supertweeters, but it still sounds amazing without ’em too. I find the supertweeters way too "hot" for vinyl playback with MC cartridges (even loaded down).

I’ve heard the $500 a pop modern audiophile reel tapes, backed by lots of expensive kit (high end J-Corder Technics deck, Doshi Audio tube head amp), and yes they’re truly State of the Art (no HF roll-off, lower noise floor). However, that route is a no-go for me due to high cost coupled to poor availability of material. I just play my old needle drop tapes as an occasional treat :)

The "warmth of vinyl" reputation really belongs to tape. I have had (and still have) lots of high end analog gear, which I still love too - just saying, I’m not comparing this tape to a Fluance. The best Koetsus get very close to this midrange magic, but good tape still has more of it. 

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