Im not really arguing with Mike. He is right. From a technical standpoint, the absolute original source, or master tape, will always be better than any generation copy of it. But if that is what your paying $300.00 a reel for, than you should expect that. What Im saying is, the copy that I make on any one of my machines, sounds just as good as the source Im using to my ears, and the ears of many of my fellow reelers. And thats all that is important to me. I am not measuring the results with sensitive test equipment, Im listening to it via my stereo, which is pretty top notch, luckily, since I put alot of it together before children were born. I could never do it now. So, I enjoy my perfect to my ears sound, and enjoy the expressions of fellow audiophiles when I play things for them, or make them recordings. None of us are using test equipment to evaluate any difference between my source material, and the tape of it that I made. Ray