Reel to reel decks sound way better than cassette decks. Once you get the hand of it, mounting them is fast. I have a Pioneer RT-707 in my garage system and use it all time. With auto reverse I get an hour and a half of music.
Why do people like reel to reel players?
do They sound all that much better than the other stuff?
they look very cool and remind me of language class when I was younger which was the only place I saw them used. It’s like a record player mounted on the wall where you can watch something spin.
It seems a bit impractical to get the tapes and then to mount them all the time. Cassette players seem a lot better. Cassettes used to be a bit easier to get. Not sure they’re even available anymore. I remember they were double sided just flip them over.
- ...
- 44 posts total
They sound great. I also have a Pioneer RT-707, and even with just good quality needledrop tapes (7.5 IPS quarter track Maxell UD 35-90, good for two 1970’s era albums per reel), there’s a warmth and organic flow that vinyl alone can’t quite match. The top end is rolled off, and of course the noise floor is much higher - but that stuff in the middle...is magic. Playing these tapes is the only time I’ve consistently liked the Tannoy supertweeters, but it still sounds amazing without ’em too. I find the supertweeters way too "hot" for vinyl playback with MC cartridges (even loaded down). I’ve heard the $500 a pop modern audiophile reel tapes, backed by lots of expensive kit (high end J-Corder Technics deck, Doshi Audio tube head amp), and yes they’re truly State of the Art (no HF roll-off, lower noise floor). However, that route is a no-go for me due to high cost coupled to poor availability of material. I just play my old needle drop tapes as an occasional treat :) The "warmth of vinyl" reputation really belongs to tape. I have had (and still have) lots of high end analog gear, which I still love too - just saying, I’m not comparing this tape to a Fluance. The best Koetsus get very close to this midrange magic, but good tape still has more of it. |
Decades ago, I was lucky to have the opportunity to get a few first generation open reel copies of some recording studio tapes. They blow away the LP versions , especially so in the bass quality. That said, copying LPs to open reel doesn't improve anything though it was one way to get a copy of a friend's LP without buying a copy. But, then you had to buy 7" reels of tape. The commercial mass-produced open reels one used to be able to buy were typically transferred at high speed which compromised the quality. So, for me, I liked having an open reel for those situations where it allowed me to record live music, or, the few times I had access to studio masters. For routine playback of commercial music, one is far better off in terms of both convenience and sound quality using LPs, CDs, or CD/Hi-Rez quality streaming. (And these days, almost all new recordings are done digitally even when you buy the LP.) |
OP, I have the same question. I asked what is the source of music on that thread mentioned by @mgattmuch (?)… and really didn’t feel like I got a satisfying response. I think… there are few. I can see if you are recording live music. But for the vast majority of us…. Some really old stuff… and not much of it… I think. |
- 44 posts total