King of R2R

[Masterlu]

What brand/model is regarded as the King of Vintage R2R 2-Channel decks for the home?

I have a soft spot for these, and already own about 8 of them. Mostly Technics RS-1500-US and assorted Teac's.

Kinda keen on getting a Tascam BR-20 mint of course.

[Rex Anderson]

Given that R2R is not big except in some recording studios, I would be looking for a Studer machine if you want professional quality mechanics and electronics with balanced inputs and outputs. Revox was the semi-pro line but not nearly the same quality as Studer.

You could also be on the lookout for an Ampex ATR-100 or an Otari MX-5050 or a Nagra IV.

https://reverb.com/item/4118913-otar...nally-restored

Watch out for heads that are too worn, they can only be lapped so many times before the gap is exposed. Many parts may no longer be available, pinch rollers etc.

Getting machines working and calibrated is tough, not many techs know how to fully align a machine.

[vintage_tube]

What do you have in your stables currently Ivan?

Best Sir,

Bob

[cleeds]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

What brand/model is regarded as the King of Vintage R2R 2-Channel decks for the home?

I have a soft spot for these, and already own about 8 of them. Mostly Technics RS-1500-US and assorted Teac's.

Kinda keen on getting a Tascam BR-20 mint of course.

Ivan probably knows that answering this question is as tricky as responding to, "What's the best preamplifier for home use?"

Originally Posted by Rex Anderson

... Getting machines working and calibrated is tough, not many techs know how to fully align a machine.

+1 to that! Setup and alignment are as important with R2R as they are to LP playback. At one time, the service department of your local audio salon was perfectly competent at servicing these decks. Today, that store is probably gone and if it isn't, its service department almost certainly is gone.

Here's my take on Ivan's question. The Technics RS-15XX, RS-16XX and RS-17XX are indeed among the best machines. They were excellent when they were new, and they remain serviceable now.

Teacs have never been among my favorites; I think they were no better than just competent consumer machines.

Both Studer and Otari made excellent machines, of course. They probably fell more into the pro-audio realm but if I were buying a deck today, I'd be looking closely at them.

Other top contenders are the Tandberg TD-20A/TD-20A-SE and Crown 700 and 800 series decks.

The Tandbergs may be among the best-sounding decks ever made, imo, but parts are extremely scarce and even many experienced techs won't touch them. I surely wouldn't buy one today. But I still have mine that I bought new and it is an extraordinary machine. For service, I rely on Soundsmith.

The Crown decks never quite got audiophile cred. However, I have a Crown 822 series deck that was rebuilt by John Haines of Jemah Services and he brought it to a new level. Like the Technics and unlike the Tandberg, the Crowns are easily serviced by a competent tech and they are very, very reliable. Getting parts has never been a problem.

[Masterlu]

Thanks for talking me down, off the ledge. I'm just really hooked on R2R's and don't use them very much.

Perhaps the story of my life.

[W9TR]

When I worked for Harris Broadcast I evaluated the RS-1500 series, the Otari MX 5050B, Crown 822, Revox B-77, and Studer A80.

By far, I mean not even really close, the Studer A80 out performed them all on tape handling (what happens when you are fast rewinding and the power goes off?) and audio performance. No LF head bumps, super quiet, very low distortion.

Finding a cherry one would be a project in and of itself but well worth it.

Tom

[Vintage Pete]

There are a number of top contenders. Studer/Revox comes to mind almost immediately (I once had an A77 in my system circa 1977). Crown comes to my mind as well; I have a hard time not voting for Crown, but then I'm biased. I have a Crown SX724 in my system to this day and it sounds fabulous. I don't use it very often but when I do it's always a treat.

[Mark J]

Technics look great
Tandberg sound great
Bot somewhat handicapped with limited parts availability

Crown sounds exceptional after Chuck Ziska works his magic on them. He took over from John Haines when he retired. Chuck has the parts stock and knows the machines inside and out. These machines are built missionary tough, belt changes can be done in the field, head blocks and electronics can be removed and sent together to be set up by a professional without having to send the transports. The SX, lesser electronics section and the 700 transport, again lesser, sound the same as the CX electronics and 800 transport. The SX is hard-wired vs. plug-in cards, even one for phono amp on the CX electronics. The 800 has some electronic controls vs manual push buttons on the SX. But since they sound the same and perform just about the same I'm with Vintage Pete saying that the Crown machines are a great vintage machine. A nice CX-822 can be set up with an amplifier to be a complete stereo system ready for the addition of speakers, tuner or other line sources and a turntable.

The Studer/Revox machines after the A77 (it is needing a full rebuild now and that gets costly so some techs don't work on them any more because people want a problem fixed not a rebuild and the tech can't do that because there is another problem right around the corner) are very good machines and have some parts support. I would think something like the A700 or some Studer would be something to consider along with a Crown SX/CX-822, you want the -22, a half track machine, they sound better than the -24 quarter track machines. But they burn tape twice as fast.

[Mark J]

How did that happen, double post. I don't like doing that.

[vintage_tube]

Here's a few -- from my notes with Jeff (J-Corder fame) & a couple other R-R vendors at my last RMAF visit. Hope to revisit again this year.

Studer A820 the grand-daddy of R-R machines. Better power supply than the A810 & Woelke heads & 30ips on both too; probably the best transports of any R-R. But on a side by side of both the A820 & A810 the A820 kills the A810 (10 times more A810's made than A820's).

Technics RS-1800 (of course one of Jeffs' favorites).

Akai 1000 Pro (beats any Technics hands down -- but super scarce); built in the last days of R-R decks.

Tascam 42's -- The BR-20's have a better transport but inferior sonics.

Crowns - built like a tank but poor electronics & inexpensive transistors.

Otari 5050 series -- need modding to sound their best.

Revox PR99, C270 and A77 (B77 too).

Teac X1000 -- much better head design on the X1000 than the X2000 which doesn't cause uneven tape wear.

Sony TC-765 Haven't seen one in years but was in my notes as a great home R-R by Sony.

IIRC when I had my Akai GX-400D heads relapped by John French (JRF Magnetics), I believe he mentioned he manufacturers or has heads made for many Studers.


Best Sir,

Bob