Why no interest in reel to reel if you're looking for the ultimate sound?

When I was considering tape, I had listened extensively to a restored Studer A820...a machine that i think is just superb. These days a restored A820 is going for a fair price, and yet the equivalent ( if there really is one) turntable is going to cost you a lot more. But, like I stated before, already being heavily into vinyl, the whole episode of tape and the Studer didn’t really make sense.Now, OTOH, if I wasn’t already heavily into vinyl, well then the tables (pun) would probably be turned!

forgot to add, you do not need to spend multi-kilo bucks to get a deck running.

you can take most outboard phono pre amp stages, convert RIAA to NAB EQ curve and you are good. have done that with the EAR 834P phono stage, as well as a few others. can also use the EAR clone phono stages from China so your total outlay for tape deck and tape head preamp can be under 1500.....
so can be less than most phono playback and turntable combos....

I have a consumer RTR from many years ago. Recorded several live performances with a pair of electret condenser mikes at 7.5 ips. In playback, the dynamic range was so high, it exceeded the 50 dB range of this machine. With a pro deck, I suspect this range could be capable of another 10+ dB, or more. However, the frequency response cannot capture all the high frequency sounds above 15 kHz, on this deck. 

As for sound quality, decades ago I recorded a LP to tape. Playback the tape and compare LP playback sound to RTR with sound level of the two matched as best as possible by ear. These two sounded different, but not by much. Many factors could have caused this. Also, this test made the signal pass through two preamps in the deck, one on the record side and one on the playback side, in addition to the magnetization process on the tape. The LP signal did not pass through the path of the RTR.

So I would not characterize that *this* RTR sounds better than LP when the recording/playback process altered the sound of the LP signal. Had both sounded indistinguishable from each other, then I'd say this RTR can be considered equal to LP. But I can say nothing about this RTR being better.

@chakster
your link to the Studer image doesn’t work
@clio09
Thanks for sharing the link to International Phonograph Inc., I was referring to Jonathan’s company when I wrote $150.
@johnss
How difficult is it to convert a phono preamp RIAA curve to IEC? I heard this could be done but I really haven’t dig deeper into it.

@chakster
your link to the Studer image doesn’t work

oops, there you go .... Studer master recorder ... A friend of mine in Helsinki own it and use it in the studio.