Reel to Reel decks

Ralph,
I don't want to AGAIN pick nits, but I will anyway...

First, tape **Can** sound better than the source. Why? Physical vibration. If you have the speakers playing while making the recording, the tape will *not* sound better than the source, but if you use headphones to monitor and turn the speakers off then it has every chance of doing so. In addition, tape can filter out digital noise quite effectively. Try it!

Assuming one's source is vinyl, or CD, or cassette, or 8-track, or me playing the piano... will the tape (recorded with the speakers off) playback sound better than the original source did when it was played back by itself (or played)?

If so, why?

FWIW, I can perfectly understand why tape playback, with recorded from source with speakers off, might sound better than tape playback which was recorded from the same source with speakers on, but saying so is not quite the same thing as saying that tape sounds better than the source, and I expect should not be used as a reason to explain it.

The problem with seeking the best RTR based sound available is that there is not a lot of source material available relative to other formats and it can become quite expensive just to listen to the same stuff over and over again just for the sensation while everything else (99% of the music available) sounds inferior. Potentially an expensive addition with some very real limitations. Be careful!

Andy_p, you are a lucky guy however to get to where you are the way you got there!

BTW, I think I saw that United Home Audio is participating at the Capital Audio Fest near DC this weekend. UAH where I heard some of the new RTR master recordings eclipse vinyl and CD last year on a very fine mbl system. I suspect that some of this technology will be on display there for those interested in hearing.

Actually here is what is advertised:

"Special events in the UHA room at the Capital Audiofest:

" UHA will be playing a precious few 0 generation Master Tapes recorded directly to 1/4" tape at 15ips, these tapes are not copies,
these are the original 0 generation tapes. We have both jazz and classical, you won't want to miss this demo.

3.) We will be playing "The Tape Project" 1.5 generation Master Tapes.

4.) We will be playing tapes we recorded using the Phase6 reel to reel tape deck from a $100,000 vinyl system, incredible reproductions."

I recently picked up a near-mint TASCAM 42B, (2-Track, 15ips) from a local church having been inspired by the CES reports of "Best Sound at the Show" at the Tape Project room as well as the amazing j-corder and the United Audio sites. I made a 15ips recording on NOS 3M/996 tape of direct-to-disk vinyl; Basis/Graham/Benz front-end through EAR 834P pre-preamp output directly into the deck. Listening through Sennheiser HD-600 headphones from the deck jack to the playback was amazing. Actually heard things I'd never heard before. I now intend to tape all my best vinyl. Tape quality is crucial. You can buy used 10.5 inch reel tape, but there's no guarantee it's been stored properly even though it may appear fine. You'll need to "bake" the tape (unless it's an old pre-recorded acetate). NOS and new tape is available but is expensive. TEAC/TASCAM Service Support has been great and is a crucial consideration in getting into this.

Here's another view of "the copy sounding better than the original." And I still can't believe it, no matter how many I do. I currently have two Otari machines at hand (one belongs to a friend) along with a Teac A2300SD (Dolby). I've been dubbing my own 4-track commercial tapes (mostly 7 1/2 but a few 3 3/4) onto one of the Otaris at 2-track 7 1/2 and 15 ips. In every case, the dubs are audibly better than the originals.

I'm not sure how far I'm going to take this -- and the excellence of the tape stock used for dubbing does make a major difference -- but the results so far have led to more and more dubs. Outstanding cases in point are the Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" and "Sketches of Spain." Has anyone else tried this?