A New Reel to Reel Tape Deck?

dhl93449, I think you got lost in Audiogon wilderness and chose a wrong thread to paticipate in.
As for archiving, vinyl could and theoretically should be better, though tape will last for decades. And in 200 years all of that will probably be gone, at least outside of climate controlled vaults.

Dhl93449,
In a word... No.  One must remember that no tape can sound 'better' than the machine it was created on (assuming all is functioning as it should).  Any idea how many IC opamps were in the recording chain at the studio?  Me neither, but we can safely assume that in most instances there were plenty and yet  many treasured recordings were made using them. 
For example, I smile a little at those that spend $$$$$ on cables.  Yes they can make a difference, but to me it seems that most use them as tone controls.. And yet they never consider the miles and miles  of 'run of the mill'  patch cords and cables that are in 90% of todays recording studios. (yesterdays too) 

I have an extensive tape collection, and several reel to reel masters that were made in the late 50's (purchased from a local studio)  They sound wonderful.  I don't have any special storage system other than the box they came in.
The condition of the tape seems to depend a lot on the quality of its manufacturing, and we all know there was a ton of crummy tapes made over the years but studios usually stayed away from lesser brands.  Sould I find that one of them is drying out, I can always dub it onto a new tape and still have an excellent sounding master copy good for another 50 years.

Most all of our treasured LP's are derived from tape, and like photographic film you can still make an excellent print today from a decades old negative.. Just saying.  Tape is an excellent archival medium. 

With regard to prosummer machines, I would happily pit my Pioneer, ReVox, Crown and Sony playing a 15ips master copy against any digital source.  To me it just sounds better and for me that's what's most important.
N.

I have a load of vintage (late 50's) Capitol 1/2 track reel to reels at 7.5 ips that blow away everyone who listens to them, including tape collectors. They were made in real time, on good tape, and they still work perfectly.

In the end, nothing sounds like RTR, it is better than vinyl and much better than digital , it deserves a comeback.

HW

hwsworkshop,

A collection like that is worth getting a second machine and making safety copies.  (I need to do the same)

I love your final thought.  RTR does deserve a comeback, and I believe that is what is happening.  I remember not too long ago when I couldn't walk into any shop and browse new LP's.  Now when I go, there are always others doing the same thing.

The more who realize what a wonderful medium RTR and then take a plunge by purchasing a second hand deck will of course increase demand for product, parts, and tapes.  The recent audio shows in the last years have really been displaying RTR as a source for speakers, amps, preamps etc, as well as for new tapes.  

This link is from a blog I enjoy and a fellow Agon member.  https://audio16.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/impressions-from-munich-high-end-iii/
That's encouraging.

N.

N

I suspect all your "pro-sumer" decks are old enough to still be using discrete analog circuitry in the amplification stages. I doubt if a newly designed 2015 R/R deck would use them however. That is simply because the availability of the discrete transistor is going the way of the dinosaur (or the costs are so high the economics don't add up). It is the reason Parasound management told John Curl he could not have his favorite discrete jFETs in the JC-3 pre-amp design. Their cost was out of bounds and the availability uncertain. The JC-3 now uses IC op-amps.

I think the closer you are to the source of music, the more you can get away with some degradation that goes less noticed. The further down the chain to the final product, the more noticeable any degradation will be. That is why I think recording studios can get away with IC opamps in mixing panels but an audiophile at home will hear their effects immediately. And of course, we don't know how much better any commercial recording could have been if the recording engineers did use all class A discrete components in mixing panels and mic pre-amps.

I am surprised about what you say for tape longevity, particularly in light of (admittedly) anecdotal evidence that recent re-masters are suffering in AQ due to the age of the mastering tapes. But I defer to your judgement here...