UHA Reel to Reel/Tape Project opinions

Powerdoctor, you are really asking two questions.....one of which can be answered pretty objectively, the other becomes a question of priorities.

does a high quality RTR deck (of which the UHA Phase 4 deck is one (possible) example) playing Tape Project tapes outperform a VPI Reference Scoutmaster?

no question, a big yes.....and it's not likely very close.

is high quality RTR and Tape Project tapes worth the investment over a tt such as the VPI plus Lps?

debatable.

i could make a case either way.

if someone was a big digital fan and had mostly digital but wanted the very, very, very best analog source for those special moments......then RTR with Tape Project tapes would be better than a tt. a tt is really quite a bit more involved in terms of the hassel factor for occasional use. i have a few friends that have tapes for just this situation.

OTOH if i was looking for a frequent source of good analog, no question would i first get a high quality tt and lots of Lps before i would get into tape.

you have a system capable of the very best performance, congrats. Tape Project tapes would sound amazing on your gear.

i have only heard the UHA deck a couple of times at shows and not in a familiar system. i liked what i heard but am no expert on them specifically.

i have 3 expensive to very expensive tt's and 10k Lps. i have 3 RTR decks, 2 of which are very expensive....and 30 or so 15ips 1/4" master dubs.....someday i'd like maybe 100 nice tapes.

i play the Lps every day, the tapes a couple of times a week. i love them both.

Buconero,

honestly, i have 20 or so reels of broadcast 15ips 1/4" tapes. they are ok but nothing special....not even as good as a typical 2-track 7.5 ips commercial tape. my Lps sound much better. i would guess they are mostly dubbed at 3X or 5X speed and are nothing like a Tape Project tape. they were made in bulk to fill time on radio stations.

maybe yours are different.

as far as Blue Ray; you have a right to your opinion. my opinion is that PCM, even at high resolution, does not compete with Lps, let alone tape. it is easy however.

this is the second 'tape' thread you have pushed Blue Ray. maybe describe your personal Blue Ray--Tape--Lp experience so we can understand where this perspective came from.

Mikelavigne, you are right, tape even the broadcast tapes are an uneven experience. I have some that are good, and some not so. Condition is everything. I have some AFRTS broadcast tapes that run at 3.75, quarter track and they out perform many of the 15 and 7.5 reels I have. The government always knows how to spend money. Don't get me wrong, I do feel vinyl is superior to CD, SACD and tape. I have VPI Aries stuff, with close to 10,000 records.

Yes, I am pushing Blu-Ray as I believe it is a way of getting the best performance from the tape masters, especially masters that were done three channel. Hopefully you have heard the L2 product, which comes together with the SACD and Blu-Ray. I'm impressed. I have Miles/Blue in every media it was produced in, and yes I found the LP still the best. When Blue comes out next year in Blu-Ray another step forward is possible, maybe. I remind you that cutting vinyl always involved many compromises. I am sure you know of the Nat Cole stuff being remastered by Steve Hoffman and being cut to new vinyl and sacd. The Cole project gives a light into the what is possible. Right now I can't decide which title of the Cole release to get, one in LP the other in SACD. I think this is a good way to compare, especially with the Steve Hoffman talent in play.

Enjoy the music.

Yes, I am pushing Blu-Ray as I believe it is a way of getting the best performance from the tape masters, especially masters that were done three channel.

do you truely think that Blue Ray or any PCM can match Tape or Lp when analog master tapes are the source?

my experience is that hirez PCM is not even remotely close to a properly dubbed 15ips 1/4" tape copy of a tape. and really not close to a good Lp either (at least in my system to my ears).

i had multi-channel SACD in my 2-channel room for a year and experimented with 3-channel and 5.1 at hirez (higher rez to my ears than 96/24 pcm or 192/24 pcm) and while i did enjoy it my Lps smoked it. i had the SACD multi-channel version of KOB, and again, the 45rpm Classic Records reissue of KOB was dramatically better. my 15ips master dub of KOB was better than the 45.

don't get me wrong; hirez PCM is a very good format and the performance is worth the effort over redbook. Blue Ray has a chance to bring better sounding music to lots of people.

but......don't make statements that it 'blows away tape' or 'blows away top level vinyl' unless you actually do the comparisons on top level gear. or guys like me will need to call you on it (when it's posted on a tape oriented thread).

Blue Ray can be a very good thing for music lovers without being better than analog.

i'll be getting the AP 45rpm pressings of Nat King Cole when they come out and compare them to my much loved DCC's. i already have definitive versions of KOB. as far as Blue Ray for myself (besides my Blue Ray player in my separate Home Theatre room), i have a hirez server in my 2-channel room with 176/24 and 192/24 files now, i'm not sure i need to add another source to my 2-channel room. as always, i'll follow the music. if Blue Ray becomes the best format for the music i want to listen to, i'll add it. unfortunately; music already recorded in analog is mostly what i listen to.

i'm definitely not adding multi-channel to my 2-channel room again.

Mikelavigne has got it spot-on- digital still has a long way to go before it will beat out the best of analog tape!

If you spend some time in a recording studio using high quality microphone feeds (in my case, refurbished Neumann U-67s driving refurbished Western Electric tube mic preamps going straight into the recorders, both analog and digital), you hear very quickly how 'OK' digital is yet how dreadfully far behind analog it is. Sorry- not even close and blu-ray, though a lot better than regular CD, is not a cure.

Bravo analogue tape!