Can you get great analog sound from analog tape?

There is an excellent RtoR machine that you can get used which is OTARI MX5050 B2. This machine is being or used to be used as a broadcast reproducer. To tell you for sure that Carnegie Hall in NY is still using it for live recordings. Among Reel to Reel machines there is none that I've ever known for the better 2ch performance.

Analog tape running at 15 or 30 ips with Quantegy 499 or GP-9 tape is superior to just about any recording format out there. The biggest issue with running analog tape is the cost ($20 for ~30 minutes of 1/4" tape at 15 ips) and maintenance (cleaning the machine after each use, demagnetizing, making sure that the tape is properly packed on the reels). Properly maintained open reel tape is not a user friendly format. Running the tape at slower speeds with less expensive tape or recording onto a consumer quarter track machine will yield decent results but you are better off with a good CD-R at that point. Keep in mind, to achieve proper performance the bulk of the cost is in the tape, not in the machine.

The Otari 5050 mentioned above is a great machine for not a lot of money these days. They can be had on the used market for < $1,000. However, if you are looking to spend a little more (approx $2k), you can get a Studer A-80 which is both sonically and mechanically better than the 5050 but takes up a lot more room. The nice thing about the 5050 is that it gives you a lot of bang for the buck. The step up from that is the Ampex ATR (especially ones modified with the transformerless I/O boards) or a Nagra. However, these machines will cost upwards of $5-6k for a 1/4" machine.

Analog 1/4 inch reel to reel is a superior format to both red book CD and vinyl records. An even better format is 1/2 inch reel to reel. Unfortunately, I agree with the above that it's expensive, maintenance intensive and not particularly convenient.

Soundstage? Sure. Speaker/room interaction (along with the original recording) is the key factor in soundstage, so the key question is, how well does the recorder preserve the locational information on the original recording? Good reel-to-reel certainly will. Cassette's a bit dicier, since you certainly lose something with the inevitable dynamic compression.

If you're thinking more generally about "that vinyl sound," yes, a good recorder will capture that--just as it captures all the pops and clicks. :)

I get great sound daily from analog tape, playing back anything from production master dubs to factory pre-recorded reels. There are various factors that determine sonics with reel tape, such as: head gap, head quality, tape speed (of course), electronics mods (such as mentioned previously, by-passing coupling transformers, etc.), tape quality, mechanical modifications, and even the quality of the recording. Now some of the drawbacks: 1)Back coated reels require occasional "baking" in special ovens which cost $400 to $500 new, though I found one for $275 used. 2) Real production master dubs are quite expensive, as you can imagine, and are nearly impossible to find. 3) you have to play through an entire reel to hear the last song, otherwise you risk stretching the tape. 4) Good heads are expensive, great ones are worse. The best Saki heads run around $1500. 5) it takes several minutes to reel the tape onto the machine, prior to play. 6) Many of the Ampex ATR models are mechanical nightmares, and require constant maintenance. (I have 2 for sale now, want one?). I'm not trying to discourage anyone, just inform them of what they will experience, as I have already. Is all of this worth it? Hell yes!