Reel-to-reel tape is the new vinyl

I think the A820 is beautiful. I think I'd get one just to brag that I'm in a slightly more exclusive exclusive niche than the rest of the exclusive niche inhabitants. At that point, does it even need to sound better?

 

You need to spend some money on a few 10 1/2" reels as well. There must be some NOS Maxell reels out there ...

 

There were the real deals back in the day - EE tape, the equivalent of metal oxide tape in the open-reel format. I have a few TDK EE tapes still in shrinkwrap but they are 7 1/2" reels as my EE capable deck can only handle 7 1/2" reels ...

 

I could go 1/2":



Or even 1" if I really want to be a douche about it:

A820 1" 2 channel - The ULTIMATE audio format by Studer

 

That's cool. I wondered if reel to reel tried to keep up with the cassette formula race. I see they did.

 

The EE tapes were the open-reel folks' answer to the metal oxide cassette tapes. I use my Akai GX-77 to play those EE tapes ...



A toggle switch controls if the tape being played is EE or regular (normal) ...

 

I have a Teac X-7R that has a bias and eq position 1 and 2. What are the differences there?

 

Akai GX-747, the big brother of GX-77 also handles EE tape ...



Not sure if Teac ever bothered to make an EE capable deck.

 

Don't know. The EE switch provides a special equalization for the tape. I think the X-7R predated the introduction of EE tapes ...

 

I've purchased two from them, Ben Webster "Gentle Ben" and Rickie Lee Jones "It's Like This". Superb sound and first class packaging.

 

I have always fantasized about the EAR Studer C37 myself.

 

I was just crying to myself over throwing away a 7.5 i.p.s. reel of Lola when I was in college 25 years ago because it had a bit of drop out on one track. I just looked for one on eBay, and it was $160.

 

Nice tape transport!

 

I wasn't aware the c37 could be converted to 1/2" - is this a common thing? Did studer sell a lot of units like this in the 60's?

 

I am hearing from folks who unloaded all their LP's 25 years ago and now they deeply regret their moves since they are in love with LP's again. I just never sold one LP ...

 

Isn't the 1/2" tape for studio use only? The typical consumer tape is 1/4" ...

 

I think it's just a custom hot rod job by Tim de Paravicini of Esoteric Audio Research (EAR). I assume he'd fit a more modern tape path to the older machine. He also mods the electronics and can get near digital specs out of analog tape with no noise reduction.

I don't think 1/2" stereo masters really became a thing until the mid to late 80s. I think the later Studers could be switched between 1/4" and 1/2" in a matter of minutes with swappable parts.

 

P.S. In order to get the peak snootiness out of my exclusive Studer dream tape machine, I would, of course, have to have the Paravicini mods.

 

Right, yeah I figured it was a later modification or something to that effect. Never seen anything like that before. I have more 1/2" masters than I know what to do with, unless I end up with one of those later studers in the listening room too I doubt I'll ever have anything of my own that can play them back!

 

I have heard of Tim de Paravicini but thought he only designs amplifiers ... @royzak2000

 

I have his Acute 111 CDP it has a tube output stage, he does a range of DACs and media players and a turntable.
Just looked at his site he seems to have dropped the TT.

 

He actually does a little bit of everything audio.

Tim de Paravicini: King of Tubes

 

He is quite a Renaissance designer of electronics in the spirit of da Vinci, who allegedly had the first airplane design in sketches ...

 

His gears must be on the pricey side for someone like myself who is retired and hesitate to spend big on new audio equipment ...

 

I had a client bring in a 1/2" master that she had recorded and it was her only available copy. We only have 1/4" quarter track decks, but I couldn't find anyone nearby that had a half inch machine either. I told her she'd probably have to seek a bigger market, Nashville or one of the coasts.