Steve,
Yes, you're exactly right, Revox is the consumer devision of Studer. Confusing the two is
entirely understandable especially for those not well acquainted with tape recorders. But for those with some introduction to the subject it's a little like confusing a Dodge Neon with a Mercedes Benz, both fine for their targeted market, but quite different to the aficionado. Hope I didn't come-off like a snob, didn't mean to.
Yes, a Studer is more $, and yes like all R2R they may appear quite exotic at first. But what price beauty? These days pro-machines can be had for a fraction of their original cost. Folks will spend $10K on a turntable or a CD playback setup. For a fraction of the cost in hardware plus a Tape Project Subscription, one can with pateince and/or money have the best sound still yet available. The only reason everyone is not pounding down the Tape Projects doors is nearly no folks (who crave good sound) have had the right R2R experience...yet. Given the cash outlay and learning curve it's quite understandable really.
"what is the exact relationship between Studer and Revox?"
see:
http://www.studer.ch/index.aspx?menu_id=1&sub_menu_id=4&url=includes%2fhistory_include.aspx&locale=There you'll find:
The brief resum? of the company's history reads as a guide to quality audio. In 1948,
Mr. Willi Studer founded his first own business in Z?rich with a staff of 3 people, producing special oscilloscopes for high-voltage labs.
In the following year the company produced the first own designed tape recorder named Dynavox and
by the early 1950s a new brand name for amateur products, Revox, was introduced. In 1951 the prototype of the first professional tape recorder, the Studer 27 was used by Swiss radio, making overall recordings of the "Internationale Musikfestwochen Luzern".
In 1955 a new era of professional studio tape recorders began with the development of the Studer A37 and B37. In the following years the portable compact studio tape recorder B30 and the first mixing console studer 69 were established. The growth of the company continued, and in 1960 a new generation of tape recorders started with the model Studer C37.
In 1963 the first fully-transistorized professional tape recorder, the Studer A62 was introduced and in 1964 the prototype version of the 4-channel studio tape recorder J37 based on the C37 transport was presented. It represented the most complex, tube equipped machine ever, which paved the way for the acceptance of Studer products by recording studios all over the world.
In 1967 Abbey Road Studio used two Studer J37 to record the world famous Beatles production "Sgt. Pepper".
In the same year the well known
Revox A77 was introduced, with over 400'000 units sold the worldwide best sold tape recorder of its class. This famous machine was used in nearly every studio worldwide. The completely modular A77 was built in more than 50 versions for applications such as broadcast, voice logging, education etc..
In 1970, the
Studer A80 professional studio tape recorder with a complete new design concept followed. Built for every possible use, from 1/8" Quality Control for Compact Cassette tape to 2"- 24-track for music production, A80 tape recorders have been installed in nearly every music or radio studio facility worldwide with an number of more than 11'000 units.
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cdw
