Can we finally put Reel to Reel out of its misery? Put it to rest people.

@uberwaltz. I’m actually on the Central Coast Of CA but have deep ties to the Gulf Coast. And yeah, we’re kind of behind the times here (my dentist doesn’t have a computer 😳), which might explain my luck finding media. Lots of retired folks around. Pioneer made zillions of RT-701/7s, so parts haven’t been a problem either. Hell, my tech has three of them laying around just in case!

Let's see.  Can we finally put vinyl out of its misery?  Put to rest, people!  The format is dying and too expensive to repair properly. Styli wear out so easy and many out there are all worn.
High quality turntable  technicians are either retired or long gone. Its such an inconvenient format that can be equalled by nakamichi easily in tape decks. (Q: when was the last year that Nakamichi manufactured a pro cassette deck?  Note: I owned a Nak 1000 for many years...)
Retire it please put them in museums.

I guess vinny's not a fan; I had a RtoR for years, and would again if I could afford it!

Yes, R2R is inconvenient, expensive to maintain and repair, expensive to get high quality pre-recorded tape, expensive to buy blank tapes, etc., but, there is a reason for it sticking around--it offers superb sound.  The OP seems to favor cassette and elcaset as better options.  Really?  The only benefit to either is convenience and portability, and on those fronts, digital machines are vastly superior and sound better too.  If any medium should be "put out of its misery" it would be the cassette (elcaset was stillborn so it needs no euthanasia).

I've had pro console machines from Ampex to Crown to Otari, and home machines from Teac, Tascom, and Revox.  Tape is a wonderful sounding medium.  Even  on my auto-reverse home Teac 4070, the  commercial release of the Verdi Requiem on Columbia (Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra, Westminiter Choir, Maureen Forrester, Richard Tucker) sounds better than the same recording on SACD, and that in turn sounds better than the CD version.

8 track for me is a non-starter just because program material is often interrupted. And when I did have an 8 track player I didn't think it sounded that good...

...and then there is the fact that tape press-back mechanism inside the tapes can be a problem. Either a piece of metal with felt on it or the worst is the foam-based resistance provider. The foam just turns to tar eventually...

Cassettes are fine. I grew up with them. They sound alrightish. I remember realizing as a kid that tapes made from vinyl always sounded better than tapes made from CD.