What is the best Reel To Reel machine ever built?

Atmasphere,
you are describing deep experiences with R2Rs. I share your assessments you made so far and it shows that looking on master tape machines needs a more detailed approach and comes to different results than the repair facility which Mike mentioned believes.

And of course it us all about recording quality and the transistor/tube output of the mastering deck. One may ask if we do need the technical options of a big studio machine but when you operate one of the giants, let's say the A820, it is a lot of fun and a very nice haptic feeling you have.

This is also part of the story. You have this with the C37 as well whenever the transport mechanism is not as soft as with the A820 and maybe the Ampex.

Bifwynne,
I have no experience with the Crowns. Tandbergs you find on ebay or here on Audiogon. I would recommend going for a 1/2" if you looking for quality recording & playback.

best @ fun only

Bifwynne, As you may or may not know, the better Crown tape recorders have interchangeable heads, can be modified therefore to use half-inch tapes. At one time, Crown was considered to be right up there with anything else made for home use and I think they were used in studios as well. And they are built "like a tank". My old and sadly departed boss used to have four, yes FOUR, Crown tape decks in his audio system, set side by side by side by side in his listening room. Then he had a spare bedroom entirely devoted to storage of first-generation master tapes he collected, floor to ceiling shelves with free-standing shelves in the middle of the room as well, all first generation. The sound was awesome. But when digital came along, some salesman sold him a bill of goods, and he replaced all that stuff with a Sony CD player, which sounded awful. Years later I asked him what had become of his tape collection; he had given it away!!!!

Dear Lewm,

this is a true story I am sure. Many people got rid of their vinyl collection too. And today? Some really lucky ones still have a collection, others are building it up cause there is so much vinyl out there, and in Jazz and Classics records are usually in a good condition.

In tapes we have a few sources getting second or third master dubs, even of modern Rock and Jazz productions. Nevertheless I am still waiting for a guy like your former boss reading these lines considering to make himself a little lighter...

best @ fun only

Lew, I agree 100% with you. Anything built by Crown back in the 70s would last forever. I still have two Crown amps that refuse to die: I gave the DC300A to my son; I keep the D150A Series II as a back up. Both amps went to the factory for a check up -- just a couple of caps and resisters were replaced and both amps perform at original factory spec, which is pretty impressive in its own right.

For nastalgia's sake, I would love to pick up an old Crowm R2R that's still in great shape, but to what end?? I am not interested in making tape back-ups of music and I'm not even sure where I could pick up pre-recorded tapes. But it was a different time back then -- much slower than what's going on today. And Crown was the standard bearer.