Reel to Reel decks

The next is anger, then comes the deal-making, and finally, acceptance :)

Hi Ralph,

Did you see "All That Jazz"? Great movie -- wasn't it?

Best,
Sam

I have to say though that tape can sound pretty remarkable even with a modest set up. Can't keep it modest though, that's just not going to happen!

Ralph,
I don't want to AGAIN pick nits, but I will anyway...

First, tape **Can** sound better than the source. Why? Physical vibration. If you have the speakers playing while making the recording, the tape will *not* sound better than the source, but if you use headphones to monitor and turn the speakers off then it has every chance of doing so. In addition, tape can filter out digital noise quite effectively. Try it!

Assuming one's source is vinyl, or CD, or cassette, or 8-track, or me playing the piano... will the tape (recorded with the speakers off) playback sound better than the original source did when it was played back by itself (or played)?

If so, why?

FWIW, I can perfectly understand why tape playback, with recorded from source with speakers off, might sound better than tape playback which was recorded from the same source with speakers on, but saying so is not quite the same thing as saying that tape sounds better than the source, and I expect should not be used as a reason to explain it.

The problem with seeking the best RTR based sound available is that there is not a lot of source material available relative to other formats and it can become quite expensive just to listen to the same stuff over and over again just for the sensation while everything else (99% of the music available) sounds inferior. Potentially an expensive addition with some very real limitations. Be careful!

Andy_p, you are a lucky guy however to get to where you are the way you got there!