Reel to reel

At 15 IPS, my tape deck defies logic; yes, the copy is better than the source.

At 7.5 IPS, the tape equals the source. Most people agree on this; if that's so, what's the improvement at 15 IPS?

I don't make the news, I just report it; 15 IPS on reel was better than the record being played through the rest of the rig; the speakers were bigger, the room was filled with more music, there was more depth; there was more dynamic range. I'm not the first person to observe and state this "fact".

I just report the news, some scientist will have to figure it out.

Benjie , you hit the nail dead on the head.  

Next, I'm going to download 15 IPS to computer hard drive, and evaluate the playback.

I run a RT-707 in my office system and am enjoying it. I can vouch for ATR as a tape source in terms of customer service and quality. Haven’t had any issues.

YMMV, IMHO, etc.

I purchased an R2R on eBay for $1100, a nice Revox B77.  Plugged it in operated for about 30 seconds before a 7-Up can inside the unit opened (pitsssstt) and smoke came out of the top of the unit. UGG!  The seller gave me $300 to keep it. I invested another $200 and had the unit lovingly restored in Denver at Electric City Repair. Wonderful! I had never owned a reel to reel before, although I bought my first hi-fi in 1983.  I am rank amateur musician, I play synthesizer.  I have had a nice Tascam CD recorder for many years. I had purchased it to record LPs. They sound terrible even when recorded from a really nice turntable directly to CD, harsh, and so do my synth recordings.
I purchased the real to reel because of its abilities to dampen that harshness. With all the other stuff that goes with it I paid about $2000. 
It works very well, sounds great, and I’ll soon have an entry on SoundCloud.
@luvrockin do it!  It’s fussy. But the result is fantastic sounding. Everyone else already answered your questions about tape availability.

Bent