Google Tape Project and check out Bottlehead.
They reccomend the Tecnichs RS 1500 series and Otari MR50 I think:
I have listened to a highly tweaked Tehcnichs and it sounds very good, but Ampex ATR 102 is better, if you can get one, look for ATR services.
I am rebuilding an Ampex 350 with the wonderful help of Dave Dintenfass, he is the guy to go for Ampex 350.
They reccomend the Tecnichs RS 1500 series and Otari MR50 I think:
I have listened to a highly tweaked Tehcnichs and it sounds very good, but Ampex ATR 102 is better, if you can get one, look for ATR services.
I am rebuilding an Ampex 350 with the wonderful help of Dave Dintenfass, he is the guy to go for Ampex 350.
The Technics RS-1500 is a very good deck that will play both half track and consumer format 1/4 track tapes! the threading takes some getting used too with the iso-loop system but these decks are loved all over!
The Otari MX-50 decks offer the same type of playback head system but all of the otari decks were designed for broadcast or studio use. solid workhorse decks but leave a lot to be desired as far as playback electronics go.
Ampex ATR-102 decks are probably one of the best decks ever built. stock electronics are ok as again this was a "pro" deck. several people make upgraded electronics for these but these are mega buck decks!
Sony APR-5002 decks, great decks for tape handling. pro deck once again.
Old Teac decks are ok and cheap. head wear is a major concern.
Old Akai decks with the glas x-tal ferrite heads. not great sounding. any deck this old will need work. and the glass heads chip.
Pioneer RT-707/909 decks, a great buy, nice deck. decent sound quality.
Revox decks, finicky but sound great, skip the A-77 and go for the B-77
Studer decks. the all time best tape handlers ever! studio decks but sound great. the A-812 in the studio laydown trolley is awesome!
Old sony decks. troublesome transports. hard to get idler wheels these days.
I guess it is all a matter of deep you want to get into this??
"Speed is just a matter of money....How fast do you want to go?"
The Otari MX-50 decks offer the same type of playback head system but all of the otari decks were designed for broadcast or studio use. solid workhorse decks but leave a lot to be desired as far as playback electronics go.
Ampex ATR-102 decks are probably one of the best decks ever built. stock electronics are ok as again this was a "pro" deck. several people make upgraded electronics for these but these are mega buck decks!
Sony APR-5002 decks, great decks for tape handling. pro deck once again.
Old Teac decks are ok and cheap. head wear is a major concern.
Old Akai decks with the glas x-tal ferrite heads. not great sounding. any deck this old will need work. and the glass heads chip.
Pioneer RT-707/909 decks, a great buy, nice deck. decent sound quality.
Revox decks, finicky but sound great, skip the A-77 and go for the B-77
Studer decks. the all time best tape handlers ever! studio decks but sound great. the A-812 in the studio laydown trolley is awesome!
Old sony decks. troublesome transports. hard to get idler wheels these days.
I guess it is all a matter of deep you want to get into this??
"Speed is just a matter of money....How fast do you want to go?"
I suggest to buy one which looks best for you. Let's admit, we are having R2R decks only for sentimental reasons now-days. Without considerable rework you can't make sound quality of 30 yo deck match that of modern DAC+computer combination. There is also an issue of good calibration tapes (which are necessary if you want to make any adjustments). these tapes are VERY expensive.
We listened to a member's SOTA system a couple of weeks ago using unreleased Hi-Rez HDtracks files, Vinyl and a pair of R2R decks playing Tape Project tapes in 1/4 and 1/2 inch format. Everyone seemed to prefer the sound of Vinyl and Tape over the Hi-Rez files (although they are excellent).
For ultimate sound quality, it seems that tape is still King. For those who need to compromise, digital is most certainly the way to go.
Best Regards,
TerryO
Terry HDtracks has the poorest download quality IMO, Agree when right the R2R is SERIOUS and not matched by current digital....
I have a TEAC 6100, 2/4track dual speed, good deck, been reliable over the years and it does not match my standard digital 16/44 or TT. It's in need of a refurbish (electronics) and i plan to do so shortly.
Agree also on the revox/studer revox/ Ampex , suprised on the Technics, never thought they were that great when new, but i guess they are considering the money being spent on them these days, found the Teac's to be the best of the rest way back when ...
Regards,
I have a TEAC 6100, 2/4track dual speed, good deck, been reliable over the years and it does not match my standard digital 16/44 or TT. It's in need of a refurbish (electronics) and i plan to do so shortly.
Agree also on the revox/studer revox/ Ampex , suprised on the Technics, never thought they were that great when new, but i guess they are considering the money being spent on them these days, found the Teac's to be the best of the rest way back when ...
Regards,
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I can never remember as it's sitting like a student with a dunce cap in the corner. I'll have to look. It's either an Ampex or an Otari.
Having spent a lot of time with both, and owned a few, I would agree. The B-77 was a marvel.
did you do any digital bypass tests? - with a SOTA ADC-DAC inline with the "better" analog sources you avoid questions of mastering, "euphonic distortion", unconscious bias using noise floor to "unblind" the tests...
(still need to level match to better than 0.1dB)
while CD may be marginal there is nothing audible captured by studio microphones, converted to electrical signal that 24/192 doesn't capture, reproduce more accurately than vinyl or tape
JCX,
The digital bypass test was the theme of one of our meetings put on by PNWAS member Gary Koh (Genesis Audio Technologies) a few months back with vinyl recordings. We were able to A/B the music with either (bypassed) analog or ADC/DAC processed. The blind test ended up statistically a wash, with only a few doing better than 50/50. Interestingly, "those people" listened to cymbals and other higher frequency sounds to make their determinations, as I did myself. My results ended up average because on 3 samples I changed my answer at the last minute (to the wrong answer, of course). I can confidently state that while there were audible differences, they were "very" subtle even in a direct A/B test.
What this test proved to me, was that digital encoding/decoding has reached the point that it is no longer the weak link in the digital chain. We used excellent (and unfortunately, fairly expensive) gear in this test, but it certainly showed the improvements made in digital gear in the last few years.
What this test didn't show, and shouldn't be taken to mean, is that CDs (redbook, or other) sound the same, or better, than vinyl. That's an entirely different question.
Best Regards,
TerryO
a.wayne,
The HDtracks we played at our meeting weren't downloaded. They were actually the original Studio HD files that one of our members brought. His Recording/Mastering Studio does all the work for HDTracks, as well as a number of Hi-End labels.
Best Regards,
TerryO
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