New Reel to Reel machines!

I have seen those pictures before and one thing bothers me. If you look at an enlargement of those photos, the controls for the machine suggest that it is a playback-only machine (no record button, no controls for input or output volume, etc).

The deck will be available in three versions at three price points. Lowest price and the one in the picture is playback only. Next up adds recoding and the top level is "pro" with balanced inputs.

Base price is a surprisingly "reasonable" 4000 Euros but the linked article suggests the manufacturer is hoping to make its margin on tape sales -- although if they were strictly following the printer/ink model they would not allow the machine to play anyone else's tapes (which I am pretty certain is not the case)

Revox A77's are easy to find for cheap, and can be reconditioned.

Dear @cerrot: 4k Euros to listen what?. They have only 30 different title tapes and maybe you can find out other 200 out there and not for a " penauts " price.

In my case I can't justify that kind of " investment ". I prefer use that kind of money on other things to improve the quality sound of what I already have.

But that's me and only my opinion. The important one is up to each one of us.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

To add to what Raul says, why settle for tapes made from an LP, if the rationale for going to the expense of purchasing an R2R machine is based on sonics?  If I were to go that route, I would want only first or second generation master tapes. Or I would be open-minded about other sources (e.g., direct to hi-rez digital) but not an LP source. I already have that.  Since first and second generation master tapes are now virtually unobtainium, I'm staying away.  However, I love gadgets, and what neater audio gadget is there than a tape recorder?

Lewm, according to the link above, you can buy either 1.a master tape copy or 2.a vinyl record made from a 
2nd generation master tape (or even a downloadable copy if you prefer).  The tapes however are VERY expensive.
I myself would actually prefer a 7.5IPS copy on a good reel of tape, But half track of course.  I don't care one bit if the reel is smaller and plastic and less expensive.  From my own experience, even with a plain old Teac in good shape, you can make excellent recordings of vinyl at the slower speed
even in quarter-track format.  So by upgrading that to half-track and 2nd generation copies, you could sell them for a LOT less money, and thereby popularizing the format for real.