Open Reel Curious

@mattsca, if streaming is your primary source open reel will blow you away especially if you hear high speed tape. once you hear tape going back to streaming is akin to returning to AM radio. 

But as others have mentioned, its not for the faint of heart. For most audiophiles hearing a high speed tape is akin to taking a magic elixir. Once you hear it you will want more of it. Would suggest you take a pass on the consumer level decks and look for something like an Otari 5050 MK2 or newer, or a high speed B77, or a Technics 1500. Above that you can get into the Studer 810, Otari MTR-12, Somy APR 5000 series or Ampex ATR-102.  I have 7 decks so have jumped in with both feet and a bunch of wallets. 

In the early days of my audio journey I spent time with a Pioneer 10.5” RtR ans a Sony of similar quality. We recorded albums and live radio broadcasts of concerts by the likes of The Dead, The Wailers, Little Feat, Robert Palmer…that were pretty high quality. Now, I can get on Tidal and create playlists, find those same broadcasts, and do it on the cheap. Open reel is fantastic, but obsolete. 

Hello mattsca. I am an open reel enthusiast. I'm into it mainly because of my age (68) and my manner of collecting music. I buy everything of whatever artist I like. Historically that meant reel to reel. I have several hundred studio quality original master tapes. I don't play these tapes back through my main system. I have three reel to reel decks. A Technics 1506. A Sony TC850 and a Teac X2000M. What these machines have in common is they all have 1/4 and 1/2 track heads and they play back at 15 IPS. The 1506 deck also plays back at three speeds making it the most versatile. These decks were all top of the line at the time of their release. I transfer the tapes into a computer with a studio grade sound card. Most of the tapes that I own are too fragile to use for regular play back. If you're considering getting into reel to reel you need to consider what tape you are going to buy. It is a GREAT time to get into it depending on what genre of music you listen to. Right now on EBay a guy is selling studio master tapes for $40.00 each! I bought several from him. I love Mason Williams music. I bought the studio master tape from his 1963 LP "More Hootenanny". I was thrilled to get it. I needed to stop the deck after each song to clean the heads and tape path. It's a pain in the neck. It's worth it to me as I'll never hear these songs in pristine studio quality otherwise. Just some more things to consider. Also, machines of 1980's vintage will need updating and regular maintenance. I enjoy it all immensely! Good luck. Joe

@Mahler123.  Probably Paragon Audio on Jackson Rd.

Here is a list of R2R pre-recorded tapes:

https://thereeltoreelrambler.com/resources/where-to-buy-music-on-tape/

I still maintain a 15ips 2T tape copied from the original master can be the ultimate in terms of SQ, albeit at a vey high cost. One of my favorite sources of R2R tapes is Acoustic Sounds:

https://store.acousticsounds.com/s/462?x=y&banner_id=317

There tapes, copied from the original master (or copy of), can sound about as good as it gets.

In addition to a Revox PR99 Mk2 I also stream from an Aurender N10 and play records on a high end TT (Michell Engineering GyroDec, SME IV and Clearaudio Maestro V2 Ebony MM cartridge). A good R2R tape is often far superior to streaming or an LP in terms of SQ.