Open Reel Curious

RTR is fun but if you think vinyl is fiddly, it's a cakewalk comparatively.

After retiring from my job as a symphony musician and embarking on a new one as a recording engineer I bought two high end Reel2Reel tape decks manufactured by AEG Telefunken, an M20 and an M21.  These were the decks used by German radio for broadcast purposes.  My understanding was that they were totally reconditioned units but to me showed zero signs of use. Shortly after my purchase, digital recording was becoming more popular and clients were off put when I said their recording project would be done in the analogue format and so I quite reluctantly acquired the digital equipment required to satisfy their demands. The few live recordings I did with those machines are the best sounding of my entire 30 year output.  The decks were so unwieldy that I fit them onto folding handcarts that doubled as a base so that I could cart them from job to job. They operated at 7 1/2 IPS and 15 IPS.  A 10 1/2" reel of professional quality tape at the time was about $35 and a typical job required two reels for an expenditure of $70.  When I went to using a DAT machine the software cost was about $10 and even later when recording directly to CDs the cost dropped to about $2.50 for an "archival" disc.  I eventually recorded directly to a computer hard drive and used CDs as a backup precaution.  After all those iterations I still think the best sound I ever achieved was with those AEG Telefunken decks.  On one occasion I was visited by the concertmaster of a major symphony orchestra [with great ears] who couldn't believe that a master tape I played for him was analogue and recorded at 7.5 IPS to boot !  I also own a Revox A77 deck, an Otari MX5050, a Tandberg 10XD and several other Tandberg decks of early vintage.  All are excellent decks but not one of them compares to either of the AEG decks.  When everything is "right" the experience of hearing a master tape on a top notch Reel2Reel machine played over a top notch system is beyond unbelievable.  However, it is not for the faint-hearted in regards to what is required of the operator. "Be prepared" ---- [ an old Boy Scout motto !]

20 years ago my brother in law mother passed.  She was a real hoarder and emptying her home was quite an ordeal.  They came upon an old R2R that apparently had belonged to her brother and was in the attic for at least 20 years and a few tapes.  I was prevailed upon to take it.  I tried cleaning and repairing it.  I put one of the tapes in and about one minute in, after sounding terribly distorted, the tape broke and little shredded bits were in various parts of the R2R. 
 

I guess I am just recounting this as a precautionary tale.

Have both analog+digital audio chains. Not yet done - endgame.  

R2R - slim chance in my lifetime - new r2r vs used, if used then deep research on getting a quality unit plus a maintenance plan, high initial cost, high media cost, maintenance learning curve.  Maybe someday when financial picture settles down with a decent budget and motivation 

I inherited a lot of vintage audio gear from my dad, including over a dozen RTR tape decks...and fortunately, some tape to go with them.  I've gone through most of the decks to some degree - a few pretty nice ones in the bunch, although no Revox or Otari.  Some even have tubes, including an Akai M8.

Most of the refurbishing I've done is cleaning the linkages, replacing belts, and even a couple of kits with new caps, etc.  My current project is an Akai X-1810D, which also has an 8-track player incorporated.  Apparently a mouse enjoyed this one, so there was a fair amount of cleaning needed inside, along with mending a few chewed wires.

Anyway, one aspect that bothers me, and I'm surprised no one has mentioned it here, is the motor/fan noise.  I think every single unit I've touched has some degree of noise from the capstan motor, most of which also have a small fan attached, that adds a whooshing sound.  It's a real deterrent for me, even though I enjoy the process of using the decks, including making recordings of records.  Some of the service manuals show lubrication points for the motors, but they are often not easy to get to, and even if I can access those points, it doesn't seem to help all that much.

I guess some of the nicer models mentioned in this thread must be very quiet, because I can't imagine any 'audiophile' tolerating such noise.