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Messages - niklasthedolphin

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1
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: list of recorder brands past and present
« on: February 05, 2013, 08:34:50 AM »
Movic
Saba

2
Tape Tech / Re: 7 ? VS. 15
« on: December 11, 2012, 12:50:38 PM »
Yes I am suggesting that one can have a custom head the size of which is optimized for a given speed. There are sometimes heads that can be substituted from one brand of deck to another that can be more optimal than the stock head as well. Greg Orton is quite flexible about making custom heads to meet a particular need and John French has done quite a few head swaps to optimize the performance of various decks.

That's great to know.
Thank you.

However, unless you are certain that Labosh (the person behind the opening post) har some kind of frequency extending heads on his deck, my post/advice to Labosh from December 10, 2012, 04:06:39 PM will stand valid.

3
Tape Tech / Re: 7 ? VS. 15
« on: December 10, 2012, 06:04:25 PM »
It just might not be any BIAS issue.

http://www.endino.com/graphs/

Commonly known, 15ips lacks bass tones compared to 7?ips as 30ips lacks bass compared to 15ips.

The FR moves one octave for each doubling of speed

http://homerecording.com/bbs/general-discussions/analog-only/30ips-15-ips-mastering-282941/

http://www.electricalaudio.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=907

Using a head designed for the desired tape speed ameliorates this issue. The links to which you refer discuss the use of the same head at different speeds. The length of the track on the head determines the lowest frequency response. A head design optimized for 7.5 ips will not sound as good at 15 ips. But a head design optimized for 15 ips can sound better at 15 ips than one designed for 7.5. Note also in those graphs that the head bumps are practically non existent in the better machines.

No change of head stack was mentioned in the Opening Post.

Do you have a head stack with extended frequency heads in mind when you mention "optimized head design"?
Or would it be the heads impedanse being manipulated to dampen the low end bump being the speed optimized heads?

The low end bump, by nature, will be there dictated by the choise of speed; however insigniicant they may seem on more modern decks using IEC (CCIR) rather that NAB curve.
The Bump will always move one octave up with a doubling of speed.
Below the low end bump there will practical be no low end left.

Normaly a change of head stack will be the choise of the amount of tracks.

Many decks, also pro decks from Studer, Lyrec and other decks I know of, have a choise of speeds but no option of specific speed optimized head stacks.

Please enlighten me/us.

4
Tape Tech / Re: 7 ? VS. 15
« on: December 10, 2012, 04:06:39 PM »
It just might not be any BIAS issue.

http://www.endino.com/graphs/

Commonly known, 15ips lacks bass tones compared to 7?ips as 30ips lacks bass compared to 15ips.

The FR moves one octave for each doubling of speed

http://homerecording.com/bbs/general-discussions/analog-only/30ips-15-ips-mastering-282941/

http://www.electricalaudio.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=907

5
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Let dream about designing a new machine!
« on: October 02, 2009, 02:55:45 AM »
Quote

It was another one that me suggesting anything digital in the thread I linked to.
I want to keep it stricktly analog.

"dolph"

You mean a 1/2 inch cassette analog stationary head format? Just keep in mind there is not much tape length in a VHS cassettte for high linear tape speeds.

My we interest you in an El_Cassette? Remember that format?

I remember EL-Cassette.
And that's Not what I mean either.

Now; If you reread the thread I linked to and remember my nickname is the same as here, then I'm sure you will get an idea about what I mean.

"dolph"

6
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Let dream about designing a new machine!
« on: October 01, 2009, 12:57:18 PM »
Quote
When I refer to a VHS format I'm not saying that the entire audio signal chain be that of VHS format.  I'm thinking more on the lines of the tape cartridge, rotating head and transport layout.  The tape speed could run at a faster than VHS speed perhaps double giving 1 hour tape time per cartridge.  As it would not be concerned with a video signal all of the engineering could be devoted to audio only.  Considering that Hi Fi 1/8" cassettes are fairly capable devices the device I envision should be able to exceed that quite easily.

If you keep the rotating heads you have two choices: FM analog or digital technology. The digital is superior in many ways one of which is the data can be buffered to get around the head switching problem.

Again they basically have made a format on this principal, RDAT. The Sony PCM800 is a good example. Tascam made a compatable unit as well.

It was another one that me suggesting anything digital in the thread I linked to.
I want to keep it stricktly analog.

"dolph"

7
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Let dream about designing a new machine!
« on: September 30, 2009, 06:28:12 PM »
Even though I meant it to deal with cassette tape deck, there are some points of view about open reel decks in this thread I started up on another community some time ago.
Please have a look:
http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=1407

Just for fun.

"dolph"

8
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: New Toy from Denmark- Lyrec Frida
« on: February 27, 2009, 09:25:43 AM »
I know from the person that was chief engineer on Lyrec factory, that many of these machines were build with specific features on demand.
Price from new was high, around Dkr 76.000,- / US$ ~15.000, and the machine was meant to take over from any studio machine like Studer, Nagra or whatever.
And it did.
I have been told about many studios in Europe, even in Switzerland, in the Middle East and Far East, where These machines took over from exactly Studer and Nagra.

I wonder, however, what differences mkI and mkII had?

Can you tell a little about this?

"dolph"

9
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: New Toy from Denmark- Lyrec Frida
« on: February 12, 2009, 03:18:40 PM »
Just got my second Lyrec PTR-1 from Lyrec of Canada last weekend. Fully sorted out and tasty sounding. 27 pounds and handles 12 inch reels with switchable NAB/IEC eq at 3 3/4 to 15 ips. Perhaps the last designed analog tape recorder- was introduced in 1989.

Rich

What headphones did you test the headphone jack with?

"dolph"

10
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: On Audiogon - Otari MX-7000
« on: February 12, 2009, 05:56:37 AM »
As a follow up on the post on Lyrec machines, it seems like there will be spare part support in the future.

Quote:
"A new company Lyrec Denmark is established.
Our aim is to supply with spare parts, for the many recorders
still working globally, and offer repairs as well.

Spare parts will be available as refurbished,  NOS and new
manufactured.

Furthermore full documentation will be available successively."

From http://lyrec.dk/

"dolph"

11
Tape Tech / Re: Rewind, or not??
« on: February 03, 2009, 05:08:11 PM »
  I dont think I've ever actually tried shuttling the tape on my 1506. Seems kinda scary, jogging the controls from one fast direction to the other, but sounds like its common practice........

 I do it on my 440 deck, but that machine has a different feel to it at the controls. Its also possible to spool an *entire* reel onto the floor with that deck before you realize what is happening.

 How does shuttling work mechanically? I guess the brakes are not active at this point, just changing which motor is holding back torque...or something?


Tj

I guess I misunderstood then.

I'm certainly not pressing FF and Rewind several times after each other.
I use only one direction and stop.

"dolph"

12
Tape Tech / Re: Rewind, or not??
« on: February 03, 2009, 05:10:21 AM »
  I put around five feet of leader tape at the beginning and end of 7" reels; makes threading easy and of course is a better place to put on the brakes, unfortunately the leader sometimes passes me by and runs off of the reel, in which case only the leader takes a little tattering. The tape that broke was approx in the middle......first time it happened but then again I dont RW/FF that much, with the exception of 10" reels that I store tails out; and these are run right off of the spool, not stopped mid-tape.

  Perhaps the breakage was just a fluke. I should dig out a reel of 'junk' tape in each size and abuse 'em a little, just to get a feel for how each machine is handling the braking.

 On the Ampex decks, it seems as if you must shuttle tape controls to come to a controlled stop. Is it also a common practice on consumer decks, or was your comment that the machines do it automatically as part of the stop function?

Dolph...what machine are you running, and whats a 'memory flag'?

Thanks-
Tj


Memory flags are for more moderne decks.
It's definated points in the counters memory like "back to zero" or "back to last".
These will take the tape to the point defined, winding and breaking automatically.
Very precisely it will take you there.

Leader tapes is obviously needed on all tapes IMHO.
But five feet?
Well maybe. Why not?

When wanting a specific spot without flags, I have to shuttle tape controls as well.
With flags it does it automatically.
No machines is designed to stop instantly due to the fragile tapes.

But I believe machines has been made where you can say "go to counter point XX minutes XX seconds".
But this function might not be as welcome as cue and variable winding speed.
Those are on the Lyrec Frida, which is the deck I use.

"dolph"

13
Tape Tech / Re: Rewind, or not??
« on: February 01, 2009, 03:41:05 PM »
I have no issues with FF or RW.
Tape decks ruining tapes when FF or RW need service/adjustment.
I have no flap-flap-flap when rewinding.
I use memory flags to stop before that.
I never, or hardly ever, FF to end of tape because my choise is ?-trackers.

I have fairly fast winding speeds at 80 seconds for 3600 ft.

"dolph"

14
General Discussion / Re: ANYONE MADE 15 ips 2 TRACK COPIES OF LPs?
« on: January 18, 2009, 07:58:56 AM »
Really interesting thread guys.
I always dreamed of having an isolation booth to put my turntable in but until the advent of standalone phono stages that wasn't really practical. Now I could see that have a phono stage with balanced outputs could get the table far enough away so that any mechanical feedback would be eliminated.
On the subject of recordings of the lp's sounding better than the lp (aside from any influence that the feedback would have) I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that perhaps somewhere in the cutting process, there's a point where the eq that's applied (reverse RIAA) that the formula for eq is perhaps biased a tiny bit to help minimize tape hiss or maybe some other artifact that occurs during the cutting. And maybe (a lot of maybe's here) the tape hiss or something in the biasing is filling in that gap. Kind of like an analog dither. I'm sure you know that it's common for folks to run their recordings (mostly digital) through tape to smooth the sound. Most of them attribute the improvements to natural tape compression but could there be other factors involved?
Well, just another one of my half baked theories. I'm sure Paul could slap this one down with no effort.

I will question if true balanced output from a phono stage is at all possible.
Where is the steady reference that the two counterphased (sorry my bad english) signals are supposed to curve/float around?

Recordings sounding better than the original tells me something about who likes a certain character of sound and who prefers the sound to be as close to the Analog Reference as possible.

The certain sound character some people tend to like makes them go for tape decks adding this character in the Recordings or the PlayBack.

"dolph"

15
General Discussion / Re: ANYONE MADE 15 ips 2 TRACK COPIES OF LPs?
« on: January 15, 2009, 04:46:51 PM »
I made many 15 ips 2-track recordings from TT.

Indistinguishable from source.

No wonder when I think about live recordings I made are classes over any other source.

"dolph"

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