Lets talk reel to reel machines...tube or solid state??

I'm interested in getting into playing reel to reel tapes and I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion regarding what would be better with my all tube system; tube vs ss. For example, I know that Steve has advised me against using a tube output cd player with a tube amp and recommended leaving the tubes for your amps and preamps only, which makes perfect sense to me. Does this apply to reel to reel machines as well?

 

How so? Not sure what you mean. Steve, please educate me on this. I'm a dunce when it comes to tape. What got me interested was my friend Kara Chaffee at DeHavilland is wild about tapes right now. She's been messing with old Ampex tube machines and what not. She said that they had one set up at CES....did you see it? Anyway, she gave me the tape bug. I think it's really cool and the dynamics are really impressive to me. I like the sound. I'll be wanting to listen to classic rock from the '60s and '70s. If you could give me some basic reel to reel 101, I'd really appreciate it.

 

I assume this is an open question.

I spent quite some time in the DeHavilland room. (Aside: I always seem to spell this word deHavilland, after the famous British aircraft company - Mosquito, Comet, Tiger Moth, Dragon, Vampire, Venom).

The wires were the great Pranas by Joe Rosen, the speakers the little Alon over-achievers, naturally, the DeHavilland 845 amps - and of course, the beautiful Ampex that Kara rebuilt. They oriented the speakers on the room diagonal, and this minimized boundary effects. Very good sound, tuned to perfection, a little backward tilt on the Alons - someone was listening.

I listened to all of "4 Way Street", some S&G, some jazz and classical. Kara wasn't there at the time, but George was, and his enthusiasm for the reel-to-reels (all 7.5 ips) Kara had been picking up on eBay at $10 a pop prior to CES was catching. The sound was everything I wanted - smooth, open, dynamic, not pinpoint sharp imaging in some ways, but more "in the room". I detected a regular, slight squeaking sound and pointed it out to George - who adjusted the take up guide a touch (the tape was rubbing on the take up spool).

That particular Ampex was for sale at CES, although I did not know it at the time. Quite a machine, and not silly money either - around $3k.

 

Of course it's an open question, Geoff. Thanks for your reply and the correction on the spelling. I really like deHavilland stuff myself as well. Kara has good ears, is a fantastic tech, and she is one of the coolest people I know. That's awesome that you heard that machine. Yes, it's not perfect audio reproduction, but as you heard it does some things that lps and cds don't. George played me the extended version of "Suzie Q" on that thing a couple months ago and I still can't forget it. Kara is certainly going hog-wild over those tapes and now I've got the bug to the point where I am more than curious. You should see what her library looks like now and I just gave her a whole box of stuff I didn't want today! Her reel collection is almost as big as my vinyl library! I need to get my hands on a machine. To tube or not to tube? That's the question.

 

Sorry, you misinterpreted me. The amplifier company is spelt DeHavilland.

It's my mistake in often writing deHavilland as I was around aircraft so much when I was a kid. I loved those planes.

O, yeah - I forgot about the Creedence song. I heard that one too, and it was fantastic, just as you say.

 

In my former profession as a sound engineer I worked with reel to reel tape recorders all day long for 25 years. The experience I made was that since a tape recorder is a highly mechanical device, the sound is not only dependent on electronics, but also on mechanics, maybe more.
So, your first choice should be a well built recorder, like Studer or their amateur marquee; ReVox.
AFAIK there are no tape recorders with tube amplification made after ca 1970, so it will be easier to find a fresh solid state recorder.
Having said that I must mention that one of the best sounding 1/4" tape recorders I have been working with was the Studer C37, 100% tube, and good mechanics. If you can get hold on one of those, don't hesitate, it will fit perfect with your other equipment.
At home I have a ReVox G36, also tube, not so good mechanics as the the C37, but still a decent recorder.
A G36:

 

hehe, it all depends on if Tim de P. is in the room...

 

Shoot - I just sold my only tube rtr Sunday and only have 4 ss left.
Is the Phillips N4504 rtr very good? I need to decide if to keep the Phillips or
a Pioneer RT1050.
Thx

 

OK, one more time. I blew it on the spelling.

deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company
108 Wallace Lane
Cloverdale, CA 95425
TEL: 707. 894. 0176
email address: [email protected]
web address: www.dehavillandhifi.com

The aeroplane company should be written with a space, as in "de Havilland".

 

As a broadcast engineer, I've been working with reel to reel machines since the mid 70's. As an audiophile and music junkie, I've been using reel to reel machines since the late 60's!

The G36 is a great sounding machine. They're not cheap. Be prepared to do some work on any that are found, however. This will be true of any machine, especially tube machines, unless bought as working and restored. If you can't work on the electronics and mechanics yourself, you're going to find it an expensive exercise to have a tech do it, as fewer shops are set up to work on them any more. Having priced a new pair of heads lately, all are extememly expensive, if available.

Also, do you need a machine that can play back at 15ips? Handle 10 1/2 inch reels? Record? This will greatly influence what type of machine you will need to buy.

If you are just going to play back commercial tapes only, your choices broaden. You'll have to do a fair amount of looking around to find a machine that works well, but it won't be an impossible task. One of my favorites right now is a Pioneer RT-701 I picked up at a Goodwill for $45. The only thing wrong with it was the turns counter was broken (no big deal). The heads looked almost unused, and the faceplate was very clean and scratch free. Playback with 7 1/2 and 3 3/4 commercial tapes is excellent, and tape handling very smooth (important if you value your tapes!). Recording at the slower speed was nearly as good as 7 1/2 ips. There are a few on ebay right now from $30-110.

Teac machines are also good, but most of those I see are pretty well worn.

Tandberg machines, both tube and SS are fine consumer machines, although they usually need some mechanical tuning. I have a tube unit that uses the old "tuning eye" tubes as level indicators. Plus it has built in amps and speakers. Very cool. Plays nice.

Sony's are ok, but like teac, are usually beaten to death.

Hope this helps.

John Diamantis

 

Thanks for the info, John!

 

Thank you for your post on the G36.
I am searching for one again in Germany. I am sure there was a few posts on this machine in a earlier thread.Anymore info (anybody)on the G36 would be greatly appreciated!!!

regards,

Alex

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