Reel to reel deck -Talk me in or out of buying

Kubla, you can make an offer on my Technics 1520 (balanced), open reel when my Ampex 351 arrives :^).

Looking at Ebay tonight I see 1693, reel to reel tapes for sale.

Several are masters or master dubs and many are 7.5 IPS prerecorded, including three Beatles albums STILL SEALED.

I've purchased about 100 used tapes on Ebay in the last year or so. I got some dogs, just like I do when I buy old LP's at the thrift shop. Some because the material is not good and some because the recordings are not good.

However, mix in the great and (some) rare recordings I've scored, many of which I have never seen on LP or CD, and the price of the deck is a bargain, in fact less money than many audiophile power cords.

I recently bought a 15 IPS half track of a never released James Brown tune that is KILLER sound. When my audio group gets restless, I throw it on, crank the volume and watch everyone do their imitation of "The Godfather of Soul."

(They can't stop, somebody help them !)

Funny you should respond Albert, I was going to email you about your technics v. a tubed revox g36. Isn't the Ampex 351 tubed? Maybe you can email me a comparison between the ampex and technics when it comes in.

15 IPS tapes are hard to find. Tape, even with the hiss, sounds better to me than digital.

I still don't understand all of the pros and cons. I mean, we're all a little loopy here, but is buying a reel to reel deck at the top or at the bottom of the loop - i guess that's my question.

Reel-to-reel tape is the ultimate hair shirt medium. You can't find any particular track in the middle of the tape, the tape can break or shriek or has had the treble shaved off by being played via magnetized heads. As a mechanical device, a tape deck needs regular maintenance by someone who really understands these beasts. Parts are rare or nonexistent. And you want to compound all this by buying a TUBED unit, and you don't even have any tapes.

I say go for it.

I have had various reel to reel decks in my system for almost 40 years and still play one frequently. Blank tape are still available but the choices are quite limited compared to the past. If you are interested in pre-recorded tapes they are still relatively easy to find but can be expensive. I purchased a DAT recorder about 10 years ago to copy some of my lp collection. While the sound was very good I still preferred the warmer analog sound from reel to reel. I agree with one of the posters about R/R they are not convenient to play, maintain and store but by all means go for it.