New Reel to Reel machines!

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.

To my little ears, nothing sounds better than 15 ips tape.  There is a nice amount of contents available, albeit not cheap.   If you have not heard a really good tape on a properly set up machine, you should. 

Carrot, I only WISH there was a "nice amount" of content available, truly.
But when i can get SACD'S for $20 or less (pristine recent recordings i really want at that), the cheapskate in me takes over.  I have a Studer A810 along with an Otari, some Tascams, and even a Stellavox deck.  I recently obtained 3 tape project issues on sale, and the (cheap) metal reels were out of round, the boxes were peeling, and the content on each tape was so brief i almost spent more time setting them up than listening to them.  My conclusion- they're very good, maybe even extremely good recordings, but IMHO
as an alternative, $50 for a reel of tape and $100 for the service to make a copy would bring the price down to a far more reasonable level (7X more than a disc but the "audiophile" in me can justify the difference).
I just wish someone in this community with access to some very clean
material would step forward and offer to make some copies. they do NOT have to be master-tape copies, just something that gets close.
Also a warning--- I have had to throw out several pre-recorded tapes i bought on Ebay since they either crumbled or had edge-warpage, etc. They were "real
bargains" at $15-$20 each (!) so i would strongly urge others NOT TO BUY THOSE OLD TAPES.  

french_fries
What you are asking for in your last post is available. I have contacts if you want source material. If you have the cash they have the stash.
Feel free to pm me for their info. Cheers