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Messages - useridchallenged

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Hi Craig - the cost to refurb a STUDER A820 is a function of the machine condition and what you want ATAE to do to the machine.  Machine condition has a signficant impact on reconditioning costs.  The more original and less abused the machine, the less it will take to get it buffed up and upgraded.  If you want a fully remanufactured A820 (custom power supply, industrial stand, custom electronics, tape transport improvements, etc.), indeed it is possible to spend well into five-figures.  However, if you want to get your A820 nicely refurbished and fully upgraded to the correct revisions, with all critical systems in excellent shape and everything adjusted to the nines, that might be done for just under five-figures (not including the cost of the A820 itself, of course).  One of my machines was a bit of a Frankenstein in terms of its software and hardware revisions (some MkI and MkII elements) and had seen plenty of use (at a major record label).  ATAE was able to modify and upgrade everything so that all the hardware and software revisions were complete, anything that was worn or out of spec replaced with OEM parts, and the machine was upgraded to effectively a full Mk II.  I now have A820 machines that I'm confident can be run 24/7 for years to come (essential in a production environment).

Eric

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / STUDER A810 Professional Recorder information
« on: November 14, 2008, 09:31:06 PM »

I've completely transcribed and scanned an original 1983 STUDER A810 Professional Recorder brochure, and put it at:

http://www.theaudioarchive.com/TAA_Tape_Studer_A810.htm

The A810 is also known as a "compact" recorder.  It weighs at least 30% or less compared to its big brothers, the A820, A800 and A80 Master Recorders.  This only means that it weighs 68 lb instead of 200!  Its performance is pretty good, both on paper and in practice.  We have three A810 machines at The Audio Archive (http://www.TheAudioArchive.com), but they are in storage since we standardized on the STUDER A820 three years ago.  Nonetheless, I wouldn't turn up my nose at an A810 when compared to the myriad other machines to choose from.

I prefer the STUDER A810 to the A807, and naturally prefer the A820 to the A810.  Then there's the STUDER A80 Master Recorder, which still trumps the A810 (more on the A80 another day).

The A810 had to make a number of compromises in order to get all that functionality into such a small form factor.  The tape transport is not as state-of-the-art as the STUDER Master Recorders (the transport is what can really make the difference between tape machines), and the A810 generates a fair amount of heat for such a small package.  Electronically, it is a close cousin of the A820, and even shares a fair number of card modules with the A820.  The A810 is a truly worthy contender for Tape Project playback.  It may be a bit industrial looking, but don't let that fool you - what it lacks in pretty and cool, it makes up with raw performance.  STUDER A810s are still relatively plentiful - consider that 10x more A810 machines were made than A820 machines, which works out to perhaps 30,000 machines out there (and sadly in landfill).  The STUDER A810, like the A820, is plenty complex with its microprocessor-controlled servos and communication features.  Unless you're a really good tech and engineer, I'd steer clear of trying to fix one of these up on your own.  Consider that the A810 was found in many broadcast (radio and TV) studios, as well as film and audio recording studios.  The A810 is no sonic slouch, and is rugged, too.

If you want to compare, you can also see a brochure for the ultimate 1/4-inch STUDER, the STUDER A820 Master Recorder at:

http://www.theaudioarchive.com/TAA_Tape_Studer_A820.htm

More to come over time.  I hope to eventually put up original STUDER A80 and STUDER A800 brochures as well for Tape Project member enjoyment.

Eric

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: STUDER A820 Master Recorder information
« on: September 29, 2008, 04:05:23 PM »

Quote
Tape scraping on the reels is a easy fix ... Teflon them :)

Cute!

Actually, as a constant tension machine, the A820 produces a fabulous tape pack.

For anyone unfamiliar with scrape flutter, you can read briefly about scrape flutter at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow_and_flutter_measurement

and for a list of in-depth technical references, see

http://home.flash.net/~mrltapes/scrape-flutter-and-tape-compliance-bibliography.pdf

But to save you time, I quote the wiki:

Quote
Scrape Flutter High frequency flutter, above 100 Hz can sometimes result from tape vibrating as it passes over a head, as a result of rapidly interacting stretch in the tape and striction at the head . This is termed 'scrape flutter'. It adds a roughness to the sound that is not typical of Wow & flutter, and damping devices or heavy rollers are sometimes employed on professional tape machines to prevent it.

Fred Thal at ATAE has provided us with SHR headblocks (Single Head Reproducer).  With these modified geometry head nests, the only fixed element in the entire tape path is the playback head (no erase, record, or timecode heads, nor any fixed guides).  Every guide and point of contact otherwise is a rolling surface.  This really keeps scrape flutter to an absolute minimum, and takes the already-fabulous STUDER A820 sound to the next level (but I'm clearly "biased", every pun intended).

Eric

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Tape Machine Compatibility Database Project
« on: September 29, 2008, 03:45:30 PM »
Just a note that any of the professional STUDER decks are compatible with the Tape Project.  My personal favorite is the STUDER A820:

http://www.TheAudioArchive.com/TAA_Tape_Studer_A820.htm

but any of the Master Recorders (including the A80 and A800) are great.  The A820 does weigh 200 lbs.  And FWIW, when my wife-to-be first laid eyes on the A820 after I moved one of them into my home office, she said "you didn't tell me it was beautiful!"  The compact STUDERs are also excellent Tape Project candidates, including the A810 and A812.  The sonics of the compact machines aren't up there with the Master Recorders.  The STUDERs are like Swiss watches - not exactly the machines you want to practice on for DIY repairs and mods.  Except perhaps the A80, which is ALL analog, including the switching controls - everything - not a CPU to be found anywhere.  Nonetheless, the mechanics and tape transport of the A80 are still non-trivial. The tape handling of these machines is legendary and they are built like tanks.  We run our A820 machines 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, year-round.  Aside from head maintenance, normal capstan wear and consumables like pinch rollers, these machines have all been trouble-free (they were all fully refurbished before put into service).

Eric

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / STUDER A820 Master Recorder information
« on: September 29, 2008, 12:49:21 PM »

For anyone curious about the last of the STUDER Master Recorders - the STUDER A820 - check out:

http://www.TheAudioArchive.com/TAA_Tape_Studer_A820.htm

This webpage represents the full text of the original STUDER A820 marketing brochure, along with some of my own comments on the machine, as well as full machine specifications from the service manual in the left column.  There is always much focus on the electronics of playback equipment (ie. tubes, solid state, capacitors, circuit topology...), but in the case of tape decks (and similarly turntables), a significant component of the sound quality is derived from the transport of the tape - not just wow-and-flutter, but scrape flutter, tension in the tape, and vibration/resonance induced in the tape.  When it comes to a precision transport, the STUDER A820 is truly a work of art - the metal casting and CNC machining more than make up for the lack of slick carbon fiber accessories <smile>.

Eric

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Tape Project Machines / Bottlehead vs Aria (on Studer A820/2CH)
« on: June 26, 2008, 12:58:29 AM »

Has anyone had the opportunity to compare these two tape head preamps?  These are candidates for connecting to my Studer A820/2CH machines.  I don't want to get into a solid-state versus tube war.  Unless you've actually heard these two preamps side by side, anything else is just an opinion.  I have the Studer 317 PB heads for use with the OEM electronics, and plan to have additional headblocks with appropriate heads dedicated for use with the either the Bottlehead or the Aria.

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