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

I made an account on here just so I could reply to this.

In 2014 I decided to buy my first reel to reel deck for the home. I went through Akai, two Panasonics, and finally landed on Teac 7030GSL to my liking. In 2017 I bought an MCI JH110 I use for 10.5" reels.

First I would just like to say this. The magic of reel to reel as a legitimate format that outpaces the CD is not really for playback but for making recordings. Obviously reel to reel is not a dead format as there are studios that still use tape to this day. I’m talking 2" multi-track master tape. Think Otari, MCI, Studer, Tascam, Ampex. Those are in a different league but I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about here. The wider tracks on large tape have way more room to saturate than cassette. The workflow of reel to reel for me is still my preference.

As far as the second category of reel to reel format, is the consumer decks that were sold for playing back prerecorded reel. Made by Japanese companies such as Sony, Akai, Teac, Panasonic. They usually are limited to 3 3/4 and 7 1/2 playback. These are inferior to CD’s. The prerecorded tapes they sold on the market are many generations separated from the source and probably played many times and worn. Unless you’re seeking out 15 IPS audiophile music releases that are brand new then in that case it’s probably going to sound incredible to your ears. However 7 1/2 can still sound very good and some decks have a frequency response that outpaces CD’s.

We should also note that is a myth that reel to reel heads wear. Yes the metal heads used on professional decks wear but then they are still manufacturing new heads for pro decks. The heads used in consumer decks are the same heads used in cassette decks like Nak. Ferrite heads last forever and don’t need to be relapped, but they crumble or crack if abused which is actually a little more common than people realize. I brought my Teac heads to John @ JRF Magnetics and he found they were cracked when he observed them. What does wear are the tapes themselves every time you play them, so more times than not any used tape you buy on the market has lost it’s higher frequencies and doesn’t sound too good. This is because as a tape sheds overtime it changes the azimuth. Cassettes last much longer since they are running at slower speeds. Funny enough one of the advantages of VHS tape for example is that it does not come in direct contact with the heads, so VHS heads and VHS tape does not wear and could have been an incredible music format if it was realized.

RTR as a format is not going anywhere, but it depends on the circumstance and it depends on what you are using it for. There are perceived qualities of analog that can’t be replicated with plugins. Analog tape including cassettes are actually the only format and I exclude vinyl that is capable of reproducing the full waveform of the higher frequencies. Something that 44.1 CD’s are incapable of doing. This is the whole reason why SACD’s were introduced. I would not recommend investing in a setup today for musical enjoyment. Do it as a serious hobby because the parts and support are non existent. For analog musical enjoyment investing in an audiophile cassette deck will get you superior results. Only reason I have them and restore them is I run an archival business for unreleased tape, as well as use them in the studio to make recordings.

benklesc

... We should also note that is a myth that reel to reel heads wear. Yes the metal heads used on professional decks wear but then they are still manufacturing new heads for pro decks.

What's your point? First you say one thing, then another. Either way, there's no question that tape heads are subject to wear. It's not a "myth."

What does wear are the tapes themselves every time you play them, so more times than not any used tape you buy on the market has lost it’s higher frequencies and doesn’t sound too good. This is because as a tape sheds overtime it changes the azimuth.

There are several ways tape can lose HF and wear is only one of them. Exposure to a magnetized tape path is another - that's the function of a demagnetizer. But I'd sure like to know why you think tape wear changes azimuth.

The heads used in consumer decks are the same heads used in cassette decks like Nak. 

That's actually impossible. Cassette and reel are two different formats, two different tape widths.

Funny enough one of the advantages of VHS tape for example is that it does not come in direct contact with the heads, so VHS heads and VHS tape does not wear ...

A VHS tape deck wraps the tape around a rotary spinning tape head, which gives it a high "write speed" relative to the speed of tape travel. There is definitely contact between tape and head and wear is the result.

We should also note that is a myth that reel to reel heads wear.

While I agree with a lot of what you posted, its a simple fact that heads wear- I've replaced many of them in my time, on cassette, consumer RTR and pro machines as well.

My first and only deck was a Pioneer RT-1011L, which I would probably still have except for one thing: head wear. The heads had obvious visible wear at a time when I was too broke to replace them. So I wound up practically giving it away. One of the dumbest and most regrettable moves of my entire audio career. So yes indeed tape heads do not defy the laws of physics. Reel to reel tape heads definitely do wear. 

@Cleeds

What’s your point? First you say one thing, then another. Either way, there’s no question that tape heads are subject to wear. It’s not a "myth."

That’s actually impossible. Cassette and reel are two different formats, two different tape widths.

So, many of the consumer reel to reel decks sold on the market like cassette decks were manufactured with heads that never wear down. For that reason ferrite heads for example cannot be relapped. They never develop a flat spot. Since the ferrite is encased in glass unlike metal heads, they can be polished but not reshaped. Also to clarify, head wear and head failure are not the same. Ferrite can go bad.

There are several ways tape can lose HF and wear is only one of them. Exposure to a magnetized tape path is another - that’s the function of a demagnetizer. But I’d sure like to know why you think tape wear changes azimuth.

Mostly from wear on the spools. Tape played the first time will not have the same azimuth as the tape played the 200th time.

A VHS tape deck wraps the tape around a rotary spinning tape head, which gives it a high "write speed" relative to the speed of tape travel. There is definitely contact between tape and head and wear is the result.

VHS rewinders solved a problem that did not exist. Because of the nature of moving heads, VHS tape floats close to the heads but do not need to make direct contact unlike linear tracks. Early VCRs would load and wrap the videotape virtually completely around the video head (leftover technology from the U-MATIC format) leading to premature wear. Under normal circumstances VHS tape will never "wear out" or "fade". That is a common myth spread around from the ads to "save your tapes".