Is There Any Reason To Buy A Reel-To-Reel Machine Nowadays??

mitch4t

No one is making new recordings on reel-to-reel ...
Please chime in for reasons to buy an open-reel deck today.

There are a handful of places with interesting offerings, such as the Tape Project and Acoustic Sounds. They're too pricey for my tastes, but I keep my reel machines around to play some historic recordings that I have. Someday I'll get around to transferring them to digital.

I have three RTR tape decks: Teac, Pioneer and a Sony tube deck. Plus a collection of vintage open-reel tapes. Without the last there would be no reason to own any tape decks. The format has been obsolete for decades! Making new copies on blank tape from LPs or digital sources is a waste of time and money. 

Ever notice at HiFi/AV shows today, most high end manufacturers use R2R tape to demonstrate their equipment. Wonder why? All I can say is I just got back into R2R and purchased a fully refurbished Revox B77 MK2, HS 2T machine. First tape (15ips, NAB) I purchased to go with it was Lyn Stanley London With A Twist, Live at Bernies ( https://lynstanley.com/product/reel-to-reel-london-with-a-twist-live-sampler/ ). As close to live music I have ever heard in my home, staggeringly realistic. Absurdly expensive, but, if you want the very best SQ format available, R2R is probably it. Of course, not all pre-recorded tapes are this good; some are OK, some are awful.

SQ aside, R2R running at 15ips on 10.5" NAB reels looks stunning to me, guaranteed to get visitors attentions. Not so streaming or CDs.

I love my R2R, an am surprised that audiophiles who spend a LOT of money for minor improvements don’t add R2R to their systems. It’s not easy that’s for sure, but very rewarding. I progressed bit by bit, settled on Teac’s last Prosumer x2000r and prior x1000r. If you get into it, go for 6 head auto reverse. These decks are built like tanks.

The content is limited, BUT, the R2R tapes are my BEST sounding source (even though S/N is the lowest ratio).

I did many listening shootouts here, same music CD/LP/R2R. Everyone chooses LP over CD; Everyone chooses R2R over LP. And Everyone chooses Tubes over SS.

Why? The S/N progressively worsens while appreciation increases, it ain’t a love of noise. I’m 73, after listening, reading ... I came to believe/sum it up: Analog ’gets’ the overtones ’right’.
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I play mostly 4 track stereo pre-recorded tapes, 7-1/2 ips. 50-60 years old, amazingly they still sound terrific. Actually my 2 Track Stereo Tapes from 1956 sound the absolute best, 65 years old. Wider tracks, like faster speed means more magnetic material for the content. 15 ips; pro 30 ips even better, but no pre-recorded content at those speeds.

I bought over 500 R2R years ago, let’s guess avg around $10. plus $3.50 shipping. Later, I sold about 150 of them. The 7-1/2 ips versions have gotten rarer, and the costs have gone way way up.
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You hear things you do not hear on LP or CD versions, i.e.

Moody Blues, original band, strong piano based blues, the intro to the 1st song is a mess on LP, it sounds great on the tape. Curiously, the CD also sounds a mess on the intro, it must have been made from an LP master, I guess the tapes were made from the tape masters at the time.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/113891127741?hash=item1a8470b1bd:g:5EEAAOSwFDddgZ-1

Iron Butterfly

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333887968944?hash=item4dbd4616b0:g:elgAAOSwDrdgJteW

this one is the less desirable slower 3-3/4 ips version. On my 7-1/2 ips you can hear him drunkenly say ’Garden of Eden’

Beatles

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184891757815?hash=item2b0c6854f7:g:OvgAAOSwpDRgvS6-

Sgt. Peppers (again, the less desirable 3-3/4 ips version). On my 7-1/2 ips version, you hear subtleties of their voices, you gain a lot of respect for Paul’s bass playing talents ... I played it for my nephew, a musician, I glanced sideways, tears were starting to flow.
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Jazz, Rock, Crooners, the era when the greats became great all exist on pre-recorded tape, then it stops. I don’t know when they stopped making them, but the content is limited by that cessation.

Technicians with knowledge about these things are getting more rare these days, unless someone gets really involved and devotes a good time on them. Generally spares can be found relatively easy depending on deck and blank tapes are not so expensive. But still it is the most expensive format to keep. Surely an eye catcher with great sonics. Currently own a Revox B77MKII 4 track, two speed 3 1/4 & 7 1/2, a box full of spares and a good number of tapes, mostly RMG SM911, SM468 and Maxell XLI.