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What is the best Reel To Reel machine ever built?

Everyone who has listened to master tapes or dubs knows about the well balanced sound they provide. But it is also important to have a fine tape recorder or playing machine to enjoy the tapes' qualities in a good system.
Maybe my question was raised once before but the relevance of the topic is now greater as the tapes are back to more and more audiophile friends, especially those who are owning excellent phono chains.

I have seen many big & professional machines being recently offered and sold on e-bay, Audiogon and other platforms and I am discussing within a small group which machine is really the "holy grail" among the R2Rs. So why not here. I am interested in findings.
thuchan
dertonarm
1,042 posts
 
Dear Mikelavigne, yes - most great european generated music - classical as well as jazz and rock, beat etc. - was recorded on Studer - most american on Ampe(re)x.
The voltage conversation isn't all that great deal at all - this does frequently scare many audiophiles on both sides of the pond to give vintage gear from the "other side" a try.
Unless one wants to actually record / master new recordings on his own behalf, I still think it is about playback quality when talking about RTR for home use.
Cheers,
D.
mikelavigne
2,149 posts
 
having never heard a Studer C37, or an Ampex 350/351 for that matter, i can't say whether they might sound the best for playback. in fact; those i know that have the most experience say to me that those 50's and 60's machines actually make the best live recordings, but more contemporary machines sound better for playback.

i do think that quality of transport matters to the sound. it's not the only thing, but it's part of the picture.

i think we will see more custom electronics coming to market as the RTR audiophile movement matures. also; perceptions of specific output electronics is extremely context driven. i've had many tell me that the King/Cello sounds wonderful in my system, but maybe not as good in other contexts.....and i've heard the opposite too.

so there is more than one viewpoint as well as method.
brianw
373 posts
 
John Stephens built the very best sounding professional deck ever built.

Just try to find an owner willing to sell one.
c1ferrari
464 posts
 

Hello Eckart,

Sam, oh yes you are a lucky owner of a A820. May I ask you and Mike if are using the A820 at 30 ips?
I have some 30 ips, half-track, half-inch master dubs around. Also, I have some 24-track master tapes that I imagine were recorded at 30 ips...Hmmm -- maybe, a Studer A827 in the future?? Hehe :-)

Vbr,

Sam
thuchan OP
1,009 posts
 
Hello Sam,
We did not talk about the Nagras and the MCIs so far.
I have also not seen any comments about the big Sony machines.

when the big DASH machines were introduced they did quite some good recordings, e.g. for the ECM label. The problem seems to be that the digital sources are getting rare.

best @ fun only
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