Reel to reel

Opened up the Sony today and the output pots were set at approx 2/3 of available span. Did not bother to hook up a meter to check if it was actually 0.78v as still low even if spot on.
Cranked them both to max then backed off both a hair and then retried playback.

A fair increase in volume relative to volume setting on my amp without any distortion or artifacts I could hear so a win I would say.

Thank you Ralph and Al.

a B77 with Bottlehead is a wonder, ask me how I know ? 
Uber glad to see ya going off the deeper end.

Tomic.

When the b77 arrives will have to see what I think of the sq as is.
Still doubt I am going to spring $800 for a Bottlehead though at this stage.

Getting the most out of your reel requires dedication to maintenance. Fortunately it's not at all difficult, but it should be done frequently; what you can't see will hurt you; "magnetism" is something you have to be aware of.

I'm a fanatic when it comes to demagnetizing the heads; after every two reels of recording, that's what I do. If you're not doing any recording, and just enjoying playback, this isn't necessary.

If you just purchased a reel, buy new rubber rollers; these are essential for high quality recording and playback; also buy rubber roller cleaner, and head cleaner.

If my rubber rollers get a little bit shiny, I clean them. These are the things that will guarantee the best results from your reel.

Today, I'm going to make two posts, the next will be about how I used the new blank tape that I recently purchased.

Happiness is a good working reel to reel recorder.

Recently, I purchased 4 blank 10 inch reels of tape. Initially I planned to record at 7.5 for the sake of economy, but an audiophile demon caused me to set the speed at 15; "The devil made do it".

Recording at 15 IPS causes "hyper awareness, this had better be good"; clean and demagnetize heads, go through record collection, select only the best. As everyone knows, sometime your favorite record has cuts you don't like, be ready to hit the "pause" button.

In regard to the results, no matter how magnificent, the playing time was too short; after I got comfortable, and into the music, it stopped. If only I had a butler to put on another reel; or ten machines in a row, plus remote controls to start another machine as soon as the music stopped on the one before.