Is there an 'Audiophile' Reel-to-Reel Machine for Under $1,000?

I have used Pioneer, Sony, and Revox machines, and all were excellent, (and the Revoxes were not better than the others). These were all 10.5” reel machines.  The Technics direct drive models have an excellent reputation too. I doubt any of these will be under a $G though.

Those "audiophile" or "high end" tapes might just cost $1000 each, without the deck to play them on.

https://store.acousticsounds.com/c/397/Reel_to_Reel?srsltid=AfmBOoq_30jJoXVf6CfRWeKZmw0NO9S-P4YduWB3HwWXRoROyCsAJ_h0

I bought a Teac X300 that comes very close to the sound quality of the revered Pioneers and was able to get one fully refurbished for $650.  I see some on eBay at or around that price. I’m very enamored with mine when I play factory issued tapes on my system.

No.  And most likely anything you would find used and in need of repair would be a 4-track machine, whereas the new "audiophile" tapes are almost exclusively 2-track.  If you want a cheap machine, are you really willing to spend $400 on up PER ALBUM for the "audiophile" pre-recorded tapes?

The only decent machines that one can occasionally find for quite low a price is the Otari 5050 because it is a professional machine that was built in vast numbers and is extremely rugged.  But, because it is a professionally used machine, most of them on the market have been heavily used.  A friend who serviced machines likes them because of how rugged they are and they are relatively easy to fix.  He said that the basic build is even better than Studer machines.  The amount of work needed to get a machine really up to snuff is considerable, and aligning heads and calibrating machines requires a lot of skill and specialized gear and expensive alignment tapes, so it is not something that is a do-it-yourself project even if you are good at it. 

Many great sounding machines, like the Technics 1500 and 1700 models, are very much in demand and command high prices.  But even ones in good working order can be ticking timebombs.  The Technics machines are filled with cheap Panasonic electrolytic capacitors that WILL start to leak and the leaking electrolyte is highly corrosive and can destroy circuit boards.  That means anyone owning such machines should spend a lot for preventive parts replacement if they hope to keep those machines alive.