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Messages - jdza

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Studer 4 tracks...?
« on: January 22, 2013, 12:05:46 AM »
AFAIK Studer never made a standard machine with both 1/4 and 1/2 track heads. The usual way to achieve this is to sacrifice the record function and replace the record head with a second replay head.

The Studer A80R/RC is very popular. I have one modified to carry both heads. The problem with the R/RC is that changing equalization is done by swapping a card on the repro amp. If you wish to replay say Tape Project tapes you need an IEC card. If you witch to the other head to replay 7.5 ips 1/4 track tapes you would have to change these(delicate ) cards to do so. I personally overcame this by allocating each card its own set of replay electronics. This avoids a switch at low levels.I have not explored this but it is probably possible to build an eq card that does 15ips IEC and 7.5 ips NAB.The A 80 VU has a switch on the front panel that allows switching between NAB/IEC.

Twin sets of electronics behind the Eros repro amp





The other option I have is to do the same with the heads but use an external repro amp. I have an A67 with both heads wired out to a Bottlehead Eros that switches between NAB /IEC.

Twin outputs avoiding low level switching



For heads: Greg Orton builds a simply stunning Flux Magnetics Extended Response 1/4 track head that is a drop in for the A80R/RC.My A67 is fitted with Nortronics Pro heads from John French. These are very,very good sounding and affordable.

It has been written that in the case of the A810 TC machines, the time code head can be replaced with a1/4 track head . The TC head comes after the capstan in the tape path but apparently it is OK in that machine. Other concerns would be the mounting arrangement as the TC head sits on its own pillar not adjustable for Azimuth and space there is at a premium.Personally I would be scared of adding a switch in the head output path of the A810 but it has been done for outboard repro amps so it must be doable.

Listening to some commercial 1/4 track releases on an A80 can be an eye opener. On many tapes the quality that appears poor on say my Revox machines can change to phenomenal on the Studer. Hiss does remain a problem though(more so in the more precise Studers) so I now tend to steer away from classical music tapes.

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: What hardware are you using?
« on: May 15, 2011, 10:24:16 PM »
Quote
What is the small Khorn like corner horns?

The smaller speakers are/were Klipschorns. The top was removed and replaced with the Iwata horn. This carries a JBL 2440 driver fitted with 2450SL diaphragms.These extend to 20k but as it starts to beam at higher freqs the JBL 2404 tweeters are rolled in at 10k at 6db/oct to act as a "filler" more than a tweeter. As the front panel of the original K horn was in a light wood that did not match the horn this was changed to a darker wood-that still does not match the horn (sigh).The Iwata horn here is identical to the smaller horn in the main system(except  it is 3 inches shorter to accomodate the 2 inch throat vs 1.5 inch in the other).

Quote
BTW,.. how low do they go?

They were designed for low distortion ,high efficiency  and higher reach rather than absolute low extension so start dropping like a brick in the low 20s as the horns are no longer loading the drivers at that freq. Lower tones are still clearly felt but at a much lower level.

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: What hardware are you using?
« on: May 15, 2011, 05:17:20 AM »
Steve requested some detail on my equipment in the thread on the Levinson ML5, so a few  additional photos taken at various times:
















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General Discussion / Re: Mark Levinson
« on: May 14, 2011, 11:55:28 PM »
Quote
I think one of our forum memebers had purchased the ML-5 repro cards from Fred and currently using them.





That would be me. The "ML5" has become my daily machine,sounding so much better than  my totally rebuilt A80R. The A 80R closest to the camera has been modified to ML5 spec with electronics,outboard psu and headstack


















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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Studer Head Mod for 1/4 Trk
« on: March 14, 2011, 01:12:43 PM »
I have done something similar with an A80R. Instead of a switch I installed a second rack of electronics for the  FM 1/4 track head, It is really amazing how good commercial 1/4 track releases can sound- certainly a million miles away from my Revox machines



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General Discussion / Re: Will Fred revive the Studer list?
« on: September 30, 2010, 10:09:18 PM »
IMO it would do the owners of the Studer list well to realise that most of the so called master recorders (at least the 2 track ones) now belong to the dreaded "hobbyists". Furthermore it is far more likely that if real money is spent on maintaining/restoring these machines it is more likely to come from us amateurs.I doubt if any of us are true idiots. Through the nature of this affliction we are all ferocious readers who probably by now know a heck of a lot about things Studer.

Despite owning 5 Master Recorders I would not dare try subscribing to the List,much less posting there.I do have the archives of the old list though and find it a remarkable and sometimes amusing resource. I find it remarkable how many posts by some of the obviously most knowledgeable people who post there(Goran Finnberg,Kim Stallings etc) deal with very "audiophile" things i.e. sound of the different machines,sound of  capacitors ,sound of outboard repro amps etc.Very amusing when some "pro" tells the actual Swiss Studer engineers that they are talking nonsense about the machines they designed and built or an "expert" vehemently tells some poor real expert that there is no such machine as an 816 ,only to be rebutted by Martin Berner who goes on to say it was the best  sounding machine Studer ever built- priceless !

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Storing tapes under (Studer) tape deck OK?
« on: September 23, 2010, 08:35:25 AM »
Wow.I would be too scared that I forget about the tapes and then do a demag on the machine with the tapes in very close proximity.

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I am sure Studer had specifications to which their bearings were made,whoever the manufacturer. One E Bay seller( Ha Ha -reliable source of info) claims that the Studer bearings were packed with special grease for lower noise. Steve is probably correct though. While I initially suspected noise to be the culprit,the differences noted in going from an unsuitable bearing to the real thing  were sonically similar to going from a belt drive turntable with no fine motor controller to the same turntable with vice like motor(speed) control.Why a worn Studer bearing would sound harsh and grungy must be a noise issue though.


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Quote
Mine screams compared to other machines

An A80 should not scream. I have 4 A80s that I got about 18 months ago. All of these machines had between 3500 and 4500 hours on them and were well maintained by our state broadcaster. They all screamed in fast wind. Listening to all the A80s on You Tube they all screamed so I assumed that was just how it should be. However both my A810 and A67 were ghostly quiet so I stared experimenting with very unexpected results:

On listening to the A80R I found it much better than the A 810 but extended listening revealed an upper mid glare and grain.I pointed an unwavering Audiophile finger at the tantalum caps in the repro amps. In the meantime I started replacing the small bearings in the tape tension rollers with over the counter nameless bearings.While spooling was now much quieter and all measured parameters OK,I was horrified by the sound of the machine.It now sounded muffled and fuzzy. The effects were really not subtle. I then cannibalised bearings for the best from all 4 machines and was really horrified how gritty some of their bearings felt. Some of the bearings in the pinch roller and stabilising rollers were then replaced with highest quality SKF and NTN bearings with a substantial improvement in sound quality.

Finally I bit the bullet and ordered genuine Studer bearings at huge prices. These have been arriving in dribs and drabs . On installing every single Studer bearing there is a substantial improvement in sound quality-a much bigger difference than say changing cables.The sound now became  much more balanced and smooth.Oh and those tantalum caps?They were replaced with Black Gates and Nichicon Muse and the machine is now at a level where I am too scared to fiddle with anything but the effect was not as large as changing the bearings.

Oh and the fast forward and reverse-Almost as quiet as the A810.You just have to remove that resonating cap from the tape movement roller.

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