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Should I get Dolby B decoder for my open reel deck

I'm confused! Recently, I purchased an RT707 reel deck and upon enquiring about where to buy pre-recorded reels some one on Audiogon tells me about getting a Dolby B decoder. Problem is, NONE of the pre-recorded reels I own (about 14)were recorded with Dolby, at least the boxes don't say so. I think this is a little odd, considering they are all from major labels. Could it be thagt they WERE recorded with Dolby amd merely not listed?
sal
hiwaves
43 posts
 
Dolby B was used as a method to reduce or eliminate tape hiss. There are Dolby B recordings, but the boxes are clearly marked as such. You don't need a Dolby B decoder to play tapes on your deck. Maybe 90% -95% of the reel to reel tapes sold are not Dolby B.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Dolby was most often used to reduce hiss on cassette tapes, due to restrictions imposed by the slow tape speed (1 7/8 ips, I believe). RTR decks, running at speeds 2-8x faster, aren't subject to this problem, and dolby processing is typically not needed.
mgottlieb
334 posts
 
The very best source of pre-recorded open reels was a small company named Barclay-Crocker, which licensed performances from a number of the majors, and did them in very high quality Dolby B. They had several thousand titles, as I recall. At least on the East Coast, any used tapes for sale will usually be at least 50% Barclay-Crocker, and need a decoder (if you can find one).
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