Rex - In no way would I dispute your technical analysis and the knowledge you undoubtedly gained from your extensive professional experience, but I have to say that hearing some of the restored and rebuilt R2R decks playing newly released tapes at recent shows like AXPONA was an enlightening experience for me. I have never heard such natural sound from a playback system, with a density of tone and eerily realistic decay that I could only previously have dreamed about achieving. I am one who also appreciates analog LP playback but the R2R playback systems I heard were at an entirely different level of performance as far as realism is concerned. Granted that the tapes they're playing are around $500 or so and only have limited titles available, but I was completely mesmerized by the resulting sound quality. I still can't get over it!
