Reel to Reel Options

I'm another vote for the Technics RS15xx/17xx Reel to Reels.  I had a 1500 2-channel half track for many years, bought on the recommendation of a studio tech.  Three speeds, 2&4 channel playback and an isolated loop tape path. Wonderful machine... gave it to a friend of mine when I moved from NY to LA; ended up buying a Revox PR99 Mk3 on the other side (of the country).  The Technics had a reputation of being difficult to repair.  The Revox innards were modular, so easier to service, but from a user's standpoint Technics is the way to go, particularly if you can find a 1520.  I wouldn't thumb my nose at a Nagra IV-S (not SJ), if I found the right deal, either.

I’ve heard several of the Tape Project releases and they are very good.  But they cost $500 each and most of their very limited catalogue has been sold out.  Some other reissues by other vendors are even more expensive.  I doubt that a very substantial renaissance will ever occur, so we can only hope for better digital reissues.  To me, much of the problem is that what is offered by streaming services is lousy mastering.  I suspect that music companies are simply giving the public what it wants, which is highly compressed “loud” masterings so those interested in good sound quality have to search for better versions.  Same goes with vinyl offerings, many don’t sound very good.

I had a good friend (since deceased) who was very into r-r, and he settled on Otari.  But really, this is such an esoteric catagory and decent tapes are so expensive and limited in scope that it’s hard to justify the price of entry.  Yes, they sound amazing, but seriously, you’ll spend THOUSANDS to listen to a handful of good recordings.

OTOH, find an old Webcor in decent condition, scour your local thrift shops for commecrial r-r tapes, and you could have some fun.  Otherwise, I wouldn't go down this rabbit hole.

A friend who repairs and reconditions and calibrates reel to reel machines really likes the Otari machines because of their extremely rugged and durable build (and decent sound).  But, the problem with used Otari machines is that this is the brand most often used for commercial purposes so that many on the market have much more mileage on them than consumer oriented machines (the same probably goes for Teac/Tascam machines).  I know a young man who, as a teenager, bought about a dozen Otari 5050 machines from a former books on tape outfit.  He reconditioned and sold a few, uses a few for parts and still probably has a couple lying around.  I would also bet that Akai machines could be quite good; they had a reputation for having very good and durable heads.

Welcome back to open RTR! My preferred machine in the Studer A810. The transport is precise. It betters Otari and others in the <$10,000 range. I haven’t seen the new Revox. Open RTR with tubes is costly and a pain in the ass. But oh what fun and great sound for classical and jazz.