Reel to Reel Woes

Perhaps considered a step down from those brands, but I have had very good results with Teac's.

Last Prosumer Deck, x2000r (cobalt heads). X1000r is prior model, also very good results. Insides are the same, heads and meters different.

I do the mechanical adjustments myself, clean, lube, belts, resistor adjustments for tension, ff/rev speeds, brakes, align the reel decks, that keeps the expense way down, no need to get to/from a technician.

Electrical problem, I cannot handle it, remarkably, none of the Teac's have had electrical problems. I had a 4 forward track Tascam, gave it to a musician friend of mine. Same with a 4 forward track Teac I had. I play, I don't record anymore. Innards essentially the same.

2 X2000r's active here, 2 X1000r's for my sons, 3rd X2000r in a box waiting for the day ..., some heads, some meters, rollers ... I'm not living without R2R.

2 1/2 track B-77 both bought at the low end of status but functioning and brought up to date and hot Rod as needed. Check out Bottlehead forum for tips and help
proximity to good tech is valuable if you are not so inclined

If you want really high end, the Decware ZP3 phono stage is designed to also be used with tape decks. The signal is then taken directly off the heads, bypassing the deck, and that may well be a lot higher quality, depending on the deck of course.

Something industrially built (pro-use) and something with a warranty.


The peace of mind will be more than  worth it.

Too bad you can't first transfer those tapes to HR 24/192hz digital recording using a Tascam recorder such as the Tascam DA 3000, just in case...

ozzy