Heideana

I’ve got cracking in my wireless Surround 3 speakers connected to my Bar 48. It’s intermittently R or L or both at once & seems to come when I’m switching a channel or source. Switching surround mode off eliminates it until I turn surround mode back on, however unplugging the surround speaker seems to reset it resulting in no crackling. At first I thought it was cable related, but occurs with both comcast and ATV, then I thought it was related to using the dialogue mode, but that wasn’t it either. Looks like other folks have the same problem on the forum but I don’t see any answers there. I’m wondering if the issue is WiFi related and unplugging the surround speaker resets it’s little WiFi chip or settings? I don’t have to re-pair the unit to the Bar 48 after repowering the unit which makes me thing it’s not resetting to a default mode…any suggestions on preventing this intermittent crackling?

Wow! I haven't been here in a while and its' great to see such a debate going on! I started my own reel-to-reel journey after getting a pair of RF-7's a few years ago and finding I wasn’t enjoying listening to music on CD’s and was experiencing “ear-fatigue”. That wasn’t the reason I’d bought the RF-7’s in the first place...I'd grown-up with RTR and wasn't enamoured of Vinyl, so off I went and, at this point, I'm way happy that I came back to RTR. For what its' worth, my experience is that any machine you buy will need some work and its' prudent to make sure you already have a "tape tech" in mind. Especially if like me, you won't be doing your own repair/restoration/maintenance. I found it was really useful to get his/her opinion of the machine I was considering buying and an estimate for any obvious repair work needed. If I'd done that I would have saved the bundle of money I spent on various machines purchased along the road and gone straight to a Studer A810. I also wouldn't rule-out getting a 'Mastering" machine...I recently got brave and acquired an Otari MTR-15. In hind-sight I really wish I'd consider a getting "mastering" quality machine along with the 810 in the first place... Happy to see RTR activity here!

If you're looking for inexpensive tube equipment, you might also check out Rogue Audio. I think they've got an "economical" line. I have one of their Tempest II's and its' been pretty flexable for the money....

I think the Studer a807 and a810 are considered to be the best of the best and the ATR series is the only real competition....gotta love that analog sound...

That amp looks wonderful and curious!!!! This pup would really rock my socks: http://cgi.ebay.com/Studer-A807-PRO-Reel-To-Reel-Recorder-Archivist_W0QQitemZ5807911431QQihZ002QQcategoryZ67812QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem This one wouldn't be bad either and it'd be my second choice at the moment: http://cgi.ebay.com/Studer-A810-PRO-Reel-ToReel-Recorder-Portable-VARISPEED_W0QQitemZ110120757237QQihZ001QQcategoryZ67812QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hey Travis! Thanks for the offer...hopefully the Tape Project machines won't cost as much!!!! What's the current details for joining the tape exchange? My RTR rigs seem to have multipled and I'm waiting on the return of a "slow-speed" PR99 from the Revox center to feel like I'm ready to go! The guy in Santa Rosa sold me a Teac 40-4 that I'm learning to drive with a mixer... Hopkins

Hey Gang -- Check this site out if you haven't already and you're into RTR... http://www.tapeproject.com/ Be forewarned, its' expensive and doesn't cater to the "average" rtr rig...on the other hand, its' capable of essentially nuking any LP-based analog system with a bit of a sneeze I suspect for a fraction of the cost in terms of set-up and up-keep. It'd be nice if it also started stimulating more interest in RTR in the long run, but that's my bias... I probably won't be able to afford a charter subscription, but I am thinking about doing the non-charter option and saving my money to outfit one of my Technics as a "tape project specific machine" down the road...it'd probably also make a killer recorder and mastering rig I suspect..cheers, Hop

FYI...on the Rogue Tempest II...I've got one that I'm using with CWIII's and happy with it. The amp has done much better since driving it with a Peach from Juicy Music...seems to give me a bit more "volume" and better stage definition then before. Hope that helps some...Hopkins

An awful lot of money for someone that not a lot is know about.... http://cgi.ebay.com/COLM-WILKINSON-UNHEARD-RECORDED-REEL-TO-REEL-POP-GROUP_W0QQitemZ150068784754QQihZ005QQcategoryZ1602QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Too late...I've already got the bug! The Sly CD was the "greatest hits"...The CD is buried at the moment, but I'll check its' ID number once I find it (I loaded all my CD's onto a server and put them in to storage...) [&] Anyhow some of these tapes are in great shape and the Cornwalls are very revealing in the stuff you can hear! I've some old 2-track, 7 1/2 ips in-line tapes coming and I'm very curious about their audio quality, since 7 1/2ips 2-track has pretty good resolution...unfortunately, I've already got the analog tape bug...[]

I think I've stumbled across a mint Technics 1506 to put with my Techics 1500 for my dream system to dub some of the precorded reels I've obtained...The little bit of dubbing from 4-track to 2-track at 3 3/4 ips I've has been really clear using GP9 and it'll be much easier with the 1506. Angel told me that the new GP9 from Quantegy gave him a flat-line frequency response of 25hz-30khz when he adjusted the bias on my PR99 to it. He was pretty excited about how wide and flat the new formulation was from a technical stance...I don't know if my old ears can hear that high anymore, but you can really saturate the stuff compared to the old Maxell UL... I finally figured out that I can send my Revox PR99 to my "authorized" Revox repair center for a complete overhaul/tune-up...Did other folks already know that? What a trip that factory service with authorized parts is still available. I'm thinking of sending it off for some preventative maintenance as I'm already chasing after a VU meter issue and think the machine is probably worth the overhaul if I want to use over the long haul since the sound is wonderful, has sos/echo capability and very different then the Technic and Tascam. I've also come across some really great pre-recorded gems along with some of the duds. I got a copy of "Hey Jude" that is crystal clear in that analog way and a copy a copy of Janis Joplin's "Kozmic Blues" that's in really great shape. I also found a good copy of the original Black Sabbath album and had forgotten how great they sound in analog...I'll be happy getting these guys dubbed onto longer tapes as I'd forgotten how fast an "album" side goes! Curiously, I found a great, "unplayed" copy of Sly and the Family Stone that really makes me really wanna dance...what's curious is that I got a hankering for some Sly a few months back, so I purchased a Sly/Family Stone CD and found that it just didn't sound right or like I remembered them and was dissatisfied with the CD so put it aside. I'd forgotten about the CD until I came across the pre-recorded reel and played it. The tape was really revealing and sounded great, making me an analog believer...

Oh yeah! Happens to me every time, then I hope that my partner won't notice the latest addition to my "music room(s)". But, in the end, it always seems to work out and my system keeps getting better...Congrats!!!

Well a hearty thanks a big woo-woo award to all you "oldsters" for keeping this such a warm and friendly place...[:@] This was the first forum I joined and its' served as my primary information source for all things hifi/HT related...in fact, I think its safe to say I wouldn't be sitting here listening to Isaac Hayes' "Theme and Soundtrack from Shaft" in full analogue via 4-track reel at 7 1/2 ips into my Merlin and little Rogue bubbling ever so gently and crisply thru my Cornwalls if it wasn't for the Forum...I'd still be trying to figure out why I wasn't happy with music listening anymore, or worse given it up for something else...[+o(] Woo, Woo, Woo too all of you....Hopkins

Grace's vocal of the reel is superb, especially on "Hey Frederick" and "Re-Joyce"... Even better is that I located a copy of Blind Faith, which I've been listening to in one form or another since I graduated in 8th grade. It's kinda scary how many formats I've had this in and I've got to say that finally the annoying cross-channel distortion is gone when Eric warps out on the leslie...ditto for Stevie's voice, but the passage at the end of "Had to Cry" where the leslies go into overdrive has always been problematic... I obtained a copy of Sly and the Family Stone's "Stand" that's particulariliy great sounding!!! Wow...the horns!!!! I also learned that the only fully analogue sources are LP's, live events and pre-recorded tapes these days...seems there's many interesting things to learn along the RTR path...

Again all, thanks!!! You've given a lot of material to work with as usual...Hopkins