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Reel to reel , is it real the hype!

I am thinking of venturing into the realm of reel to reel.
I have access to purchase an otari mtr10, with enhanced 1/2 “ head block, refurbished and recapped for 9k.
my system is in brief is ayre kxr and mxr twenties playing through magico M3 with Jl audio Gotham subs. Front end digital is souped up wolf streamer pure digital capable of playing 512 and 1024 dsd files , t+a sd 3100hv dac( capable of playing 1024 dsd native . Front end analogue is sme 30/2 with Lyra Etna lamda sl catridge playing through vandenhul grail Se+ phono stage.( please see my system page for details )
my question is will the otari give me better performance than my digital and vinyl front end . Thank you in advance .
newtoncr
newtoncr OP
151 posts
 
Great advice and information. Thank you everyone.
So reel is for real …
thanks for all the contact information regarding sources where I can buy tapes and the deck.
I contacted a couple of places and am waiting for more information from them .
I have decided to slowly step into the ocean of reel to reel and have it hooked up with my main system .
I am currently thinking of a 1/2 “ tape , 2 track deck . Probably the otari mtr 10 or 12 with flux magnetic extended performance heads .
nothing decided yet still need to gather a lot of information before the plunge .

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
Why 1/2" tape for home use? It will sound awesome when recording your own material, but not practical if you want to buy prerecorded. Tapes are 1/4", some are 4-track, meaning recordings are on both sides, and some are recorded at 3.75 ips.


newtoncr OP
151 posts
 
@lowrider57 i do not plan to buy from commercial sources .
I talked to a couple of reel to reel industry pioneers who have a very good library and can make copies for me on 1/2 “ reel from their copies .
they vouch for the authenticity of the source from the master tape .
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
That's fantastic. What a great resource to have.

richopp
760 posts
 
Professional recording studios used 2"  24-track tape at 15-30 ips in the day on Ampex, Studer, Tascam, or Otari as I understand it, but that may be slightly incorrect.

A fellow local shop owner recorded many live concerts using a Stellavox and played around a lot with mic placement  (https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/peter-mcgrath-recording-engineer).

As for your home, any machine that is good working order and has the heads clean and aligned will probably do.  Back then, r-t-r decks were expensive, so there were not many "lousy" ones out there.  As I remember, and it was a while ago, REVOX had an outstanding home deck in the day, but there were many others as well--Tandberg, Sony, TEAC, and I think even Ampex had a home deck at one time.

Cheers!
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