Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: tape players

« on: September 22, 2010, 02:50:42 PM »

I have an ATR 102 and I also have a Revox PR99 which I guess you could refer to as a prosumer machine.  The ATR weighs 150 lbs, the Revox weighs maybe 50 lbs, both without stands.  They both do the same thing but the ATR exudes a level of stability and quality that is not present in the Revox, which is, nonetheless, an excellent machine that I have used and that I like very well. 

The stock electronics in the Revox are no match for the stock electronics in the ATR and the stock electronics in the ATR are also superior to the Studer electronics that I have listened to.  In addition, I have compared the ATR factory electronics to two commercial repro preamps which I purchased and still own and I feel that the sonic differences may not be significant to most listeners, especially unless they have a $200 or $300k audio system.  The ATR has excellent electronics and if they are in good condition you may well not feel any need to acquire a separate tape head preamp which will introduce additional cost and complexity (more cables, maybe tubes, etc). If you buy a prosumer machine you will definitely want to get a tape head preamp.  I would suggest that if you buy an ATR, you do an a-b comparison with other tape preamps before deciding not to use the ATR stock electronics.

2

General Discussion / Re: Reel Tronix limited edition take up reels

« on: June 11, 2010, 01:24:56 PM »

$900 on eBay. How many do you want?

http://cgi.ebay.com/REEL-TRONIX-PROTOTYPE-CUSTOM-10-5-inch-reel-/330440393994#ht_720wt_1139

3

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Would appreciate some info on Studio machines...

« on: May 16, 2010, 03:51:09 PM »

I am interested in playing the Tape Project Tapes and perhaps other 15ips masters if I can find any.  I have an excellent audio system but do not have a RTR.  I am aware of the two machines Tape Project machines and also of the United Home Audio machine.  After looking through this forum and a lot of other Internet posts I am leaning toward a studio type machine and I do see the ATR 102's from ATR Services and I know that there are some excellent modded Studers.  Having said all this I really don't know where to go from here.  I would like to get a studio machine and I would prefer to be able to mount it vertically, without the bridge (or penthouse).  Although it would be nice to be able to record,  I probably never would use it for recording or for anything other than 15ips tapes. 

I question whether the existing RTR electronics would be useful to me, I think that it might be better to use my phono preamp which is a Boulder 2008.  The Boulder is an excellent preamp has the capability to select any of three equalization curves (One being RIAA for LP's) and the other two can be specified by the installation of a small card so I guess I could have Boulder send me an IEC programmed card and I am guessing that this would allow me to go directly from the playback head to the Boulder and thus into my sterio system.  Does this sound right to you?

If the above assumption about going from the playback head to the phono preamp makes sense then I guess the controls and transport stability and durability would be important to the selection of the deck as would the "Cool Factor", and this is where I am stopped.  I suspect that the most attractive prospects are the ATR 102 or a Studer but which Studer would be the candidate; the 810, 820, A80 (I understand the A80 has the best transport).  Of course the Nagra T-Audio is much higher on the "Cool Factor" scale for me but I really don't have information on the transport stability, parts availability, or even practicality given my parameters so I would welcome any comments at all.

I am not too concerned about cost but sonic quality and reliability are pretty important.

I apologize in advance if I am asking dumb questions here but this is all new to me and I am kind of stumbling my way through the maze!

Thanks

Rocco R

4

General Discussion / Re: A Couple of Questions

« on: May 15, 2010, 08:03:18 AM »

Rocco,

There has been some other discussion of the UHA-HQ decks on this forum. Have you used the search function and read the previous threads?

Yes, I did review the comments via the search function.

5

General Discussion / Re: A Couple of Questions

« on: May 14, 2010, 03:41:28 PM »

Thank you, Ray and Taj; I appreciate your comments very much.

I am a little bit surprised that only two people on this forum apparently have any info that they want to share regarding these decks as I thought that The Tape Project Forum would be the "Center of the Universe" when it comes to RTR decks. 

Rocco R

6

General Discussion / A Couple of Questions

« on: May 12, 2010, 06:13:37 PM »

I just discovered the Tape Project a couple of days ago via Audiogon. 

I am kind of interested in getting a RTR and buying some Tape Project tapes.  As I read the web site and forum posts and follow the links I can see that the first choice RTR would be a studio machine however that is not really practical for me from a space standpoint and probably maintenance/complexity too since I just want to listen to music, not fool around trying to find parts and adjusting hardware.  I stumbled on the United Home Audio site and became interested in their RTR deck, possibly the phase 6.  Although I did read the Absolute Sound stuff, I don't don't put much faith in reviews from audio magazines and I was hoping that some people here would comment about this deck, either on the forum or privately.

I am also curious about the availability of high quality RTR tapes, other than The Tape Project however my Internet searches haven't been turning up anything of high quality.  Could anyone comment about the resources for, maybe, 15ips RTR tapes, and how do you find the "good stuff". I don't see anything on eBay or Audiogon.

Yes, I am aware that you sell two good RTR decks and I am sure that they are quite good by virtue of the fact that they are associated with the Tape Project tapes however I haven't been able to find any comments (other than TAS) about the United deck and that's what I am looking for now.

I am not in any aspect of the audio business and certainly not a shill for United, just looking for information.

Thanks for anything you might be able to share with me.

Rocco R