Best looking reel to reel

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Gnarly

Otari and Revox were my faves, now I wouldn't mind having one of the United Audio rebuilt Teacs as they supposedly sound great with outboard power supplies and all that, but still…reel to reel seems too fussy these days, and expensive.

Evidently, most of you guys never saw a big Crown recorder in the flesh.  I never would have either, were it not for the fact that my first boss owned four of them, and he mounted them side by side by side by side on a single long shelf along one wall of his listening area.  Very very impressive, especially since he also had one room of his house dedicated to the shelving of his first-gen master tapes, which filled that whole room, floor to ceiling.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that the Crowns really didn't sound that good.  Very rugged and easily repaired, but sonics were sub par compared to Ampex, Studer, etc.

That was my impression also, onhwy61. The Crown’s had great transports, but their electronics had a bit of a hard, transistor glare. Poor parts, or mediocre design? I don't know, but Revox's just sound better.