Why do people like reel to reel players?

A good R2R recording is the best analog sound you'll ever hear. But there are more reasons to have a reel recorder. One, they're fun to watch. Two, they're fun to play with. Three, the produce the best analog sound you'll ever hear (Yes, I'm repeating myself.)

I once, for a brief time, worked in a recording studio and was able to work with a number of 1970's decks: Ampex 440's; Scully 280's; Studers; JCI's etc. My favorite for tape handling was the Scully.

Reel to Reel Rules if you have a quality deck and the funds for killer tapes. How the hell do you post pics on here?!

A while back I had the opportunity to purchase a reel-to-reel deck from the late 70’s.  I had reel-to-reel during the 70’s and enjoyed it, especially making custom assortment of music, but the thing died long ago.  Even sentimentality wasn’t enough to prompt me to buy this deck, once I realized how expensive the tape is now, both pre-recorded and blank.  CD’s and hard drives suit me just fine. 

I had an R2R machine in my studio but one thing that would have really bothered me for playback in a hi fi system is the noise tape makes banging off the reels as it  spools from one to the other. And you do need 15ips for proper quality. Lastly, the playback electronics in a lot of pro audio R2Rs were of fairly average quality, so no surprise that there is an audiophile industry in replacing them. All that is aside from the cost of tapes and the question of how many of those available are generaltionally close to the original mastertape.

I can see the attraction of it all, but in opportunity cost terms for SQ v spend, I personally couldn't justify it.

I have a box of RtR tapes (Couple hundred on various high-quality Maxell, BASF and other reels) my brother made from vinyl in the early-mid 1970’s. From LP’s I couldn’t afford now in mint condition. But that’s what the tapes sound like now, 50 years on. Mint. The machine I use is a Revox B77 4-track I rebuilt, added upgrades to (digital counter, new input and reproduction boards from Belgium), calibrated it, it’s historic, and brings good memories for me. Fun. What a hobby should be.