Reel to Reel Tape

I’ve used a dbx 224 noise reduction unit and dbx 3bx range expander with a Teac X10R reel-to-reel for about 35 years.  Recording vinyl through the 224 makes the playback tape hiss free and to my ears the reel sounds better than the original.  

When I purchased a keeper album back in the day, the first thing I’d do is record it.  Trust me, there’s nothing like it.  If you’ve never heard a good reel recording, you are missing a real treat.

More than anything, I miss EE blank tape.

This "debate" is kinda silly. Tape decks do NOT sound better than the source material. That is not the issue for me. The whole reason for RTR
is that they are enjoyable to use and versatile if you have some microphones available.  Of course then you need mic preamps on semi to professional machines since they only have line level inputs, and typically only balanced ones. Additionally they need to be cleaned and lubricated, and for the fussy amongst us CALIBRATED to each tape formulation. But if you have a Studer A820 then you can just forget I reminded you of all these concerns...because they are so damn cool then who cares? Just where to put a 200lb tape deck??

A local vendor Just Audio sells refurbed vintage gear on reverb site. Look them up. I’ve noticed a handful of R2R decks on their site recently at affordable prices especially as high end audio these days goes. They had a lot of their stuff on display at Capital Audiofest in the atrium last two years.