Why do people like reel to reel players?

Reel to Reel Rules if you have a quality deck and the funds for killer tapes. How the hell do you post pics on here?!

A while back I had the opportunity to purchase a reel-to-reel deck from the late 70’s.  I had reel-to-reel during the 70’s and enjoyed it, especially making custom assortment of music, but the thing died long ago.  Even sentimentality wasn’t enough to prompt me to buy this deck, once I realized how expensive the tape is now, both pre-recorded and blank.  CD’s and hard drives suit me just fine. 

I had an R2R machine in my studio but one thing that would have really bothered me for playback in a hi fi system is the noise tape makes banging off the reels as it  spools from one to the other. And you do need 15ips for proper quality. Lastly, the playback electronics in a lot of pro audio R2Rs were of fairly average quality, so no surprise that there is an audiophile industry in replacing them. All that is aside from the cost of tapes and the question of how many of those available are generaltionally close to the original mastertape.

I can see the attraction of it all, but in opportunity cost terms for SQ v spend, I personally couldn't justify it.

I have a box of RtR tapes (Couple hundred on various high-quality Maxell, BASF and other reels) my brother made from vinyl in the early-mid 1970’s. From LP’s I couldn’t afford now in mint condition. But that’s what the tapes sound like now, 50 years on. Mint. The machine I use is a Revox B77 4-track I rebuilt, added upgrades to (digital counter, new input and reproduction boards from Belgium), calibrated it, it’s historic, and brings good memories for me. Fun. What a hobby should be.

I have a box of RtR tapes (Couple hundred on various high-quality Maxell, BASF and other reels) my brother made from vinyl in the early-mid 1970’s. From LP’s I couldn’t afford now in mint condition. But that’s what the tapes sound like now, 50 years on. Mint. The machine I use is a Revox B77 4-track I rebuilt, added upgrades to (digital counter, new input and reproduction boards from Belgium), calibrated it, it’s historic, and brings good memories for me. Fun. What a hobby should be.

That’s what seems to be completely lost on this thread! You don’t have to go for state-of-the-art gear with $500 tapes 15 IPS half track. A good maintained vintage deck, with quality needledrop recordings (yes that’s vinyl recorded to tape) on good tape (Maxell is very good), at least 7.5 IPS 1/4" quarter track - it’s FUN and it sounds like analog should. It’s a different sound from a high quality vinyl setup, but not inferior from an enjoyment perspective.

I had an R2R machine in my studio but one thing that would have really bothered me for playback in a hi fi system is the noise tape makes banging off the reels as it  spools from one to the other.

If tape is banging against the reels, that's really bad for the tape, and the machine's reel holders need to be adjusted (easy adjustment on the RT707 at least).