BamaMike

NICE! Sorry you have to part with them.

Thanks again! I have them up and running with spare parts from a La Scala project and new Crites tweeters. The plan is to do a re-veneer. The water stains will not sand out but the veneer is intact so I will most like veneer OVER veneer.

Thanks so much! The additional features of the THREE will undoubtedly lure me in. I've been working towards a bedroom system but in addition to her "bath time music" this might be cool to have in the bedroom until I get my act together on the system. I'll be watching for a deal in the next few months. Her birthday is in July so I have time.

I tried to search for a thread but the words "ONE" and "THREE" don't exactly return a short list. LOL Can anyone provide a review (there's a couple on the main site but...)? Just curious what you all might think or if that many have even purchased. I bought my wife some Sennheiser PXC550 headphones for her work and she likes them a lot and now that she is familiar with bluetooth, she is requesting a bluetooth style system for the bathroom for when she is in the tub. Being the guy I am, I would op for the THREE over the ONE just for the added features etc. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

Perhaps I got it wrong but if I'm not mistaken, this article attacks the statement; "make it sound more analog" and leaves the digital/analog preference up to the listener. I see (and hear) the benefits of both but my ears hear something different (read that "gooder"!) when I listen to a good analog recording. The few times I made it in to a studio with my band, the engineer(s) highly praised analog and the use of high quality mic preamps to get the best sound. They even recorded certain tracks on tape and then mixed them down to digital via Protools. Also, most of the listening public gets CD quality. If we all had access to 96k 24bit, perhaps the argument wouldn't be as prevalent as it is. In any event, I have some reel to reel recordings I will always cherish. There is some magic there... a certain "I dunno what" but it sure sounds good to my old ears.

Regarding older tapes... I recently purchased a collection of 96 7" reels. All Scotch from the 70's. I believe the person who made the tapes used a Teac deck form that era. More often than not, these old collections were done out of convenience of having some LONG playing music with little regard for fidelity but NOT in this case. While they are all recorded at 3 1/2 ips, the sound quality is great and the tapes are all in excellent condition. I payed approximately .50 cents a reel and I now have 450+ albums at my disposal ranging from easy listening, folk and country to rock. The collection even came with a little booklet of hand typed play lists and a library system he used for labeling the boxes. I love stuff like this!

There have been some "lists" compiled for Sticky Shed Syndrome (SSS) as it is referred to. My only personal experience is with Ampex Grandmaster 3600. Upon opening a box (purchased from the Evil Bay), it was full of bits and pieces of the backing. It literally was "shedding" off the tape. Tossed the tape and kept the reel and reloaded with ATR MDS-36 (My current favorite formulation). All of my Maxell and TDK that I purchased in the 80's is still intact and in rotation on my decks. From wiki: Many tapes affected by sticky-shed are those that were made by Ampex/Quantegy such as 406/407, 456/457, 499, and consumer/audiophile grade back coated tapes such as Grand Master and 20-20+. Tapes made by Scotch/3M are also affected and the most common offenders here are the "pro" tapes such as 206/207, 226/227, 808, and 986 as well as audiophile tapes such as "Classic" and "Master-XS". Though less common, many Sony branded tapes such as PR-150, SLH, ULH, and FeCr have also been reported to suffer from sticky-shed. Blank cassettes from the 70's-90's are unaffected because the hygroscopic binder was not used in cassette formulations. However, some cassette tape formulations do suffer from a similar problem caused by fatty acids working to the surface of the tape that can cause sticking to heads and guides and severe modulation of signals through the playback head until it is cleaned. As of 2012, no documented or proven examples of sticky-shed from Maxell or TDK exist[citation needed]. There have been a few reports of some tape from the current manufacturers ATR and RMGI exhibiting symptoms of sticky-shed. But these may be isolated incidents relating to prototype or single bad batches and not necessarily indicative of the overall product line integrity. BASF tape production did not use the unstable formulation, and their tape production rarely shows this type of coating instability, although BASF LH Super SM cassettes manufactured in the mid-70s are prone to the problem. As of 2015 some 35mm magnetic fullcoat tapes produced by Kodak, such as those used for the audio portion of older IMAX films, are also reported to be exhibiting sticky-shed.[4] As tapes remain in storage for a longer time, it is possible that other binder formulations may develop problems.

OOPS!! Far RIGHT. LOL

2 out of 3! LOL The Akai on the left is GX630D.

Big money! Every now and then you run across a deal. My little Teac R777x will have to suffice for cassette use until I get lucky.

You got that right! Do you still own it? My brother is a huge Nakamichi fan. Owns 7 decks but has yet to work his way up to a Dragon. I bought a lot of gear when I was in Japan in the early 80's (Air Force) and all the cool guys had a Dragon and Bose 901's. lol

The proof is in the pudding. I rarely run across pre-recorded music that sounds very good. I guess a lot of folks weren't concerned with the fidelity aspect back in the day so much as the ability to play music for long periods of time. The majority of my recordings are the first or second play of a record and recorded at the highest speed possible. The goal is to be indistinguishable from the source. I can preserve my vinyl collection and play that tape for years.

I've been considering these guys for some work. Distance/shipping has me concerned. I may go for it but it would be nice to find someone within driving distance which means .... Alabama (HA HA... never happen!), Georgia or Tennessee. I've heard of a couple. One in Nashville and one near Atlanta. Neither sounds as promising as the Reel Pro Sound Guys though.

Got all my reel to reels together for a group photo...

I like the fact this thread is still alive! Dynamics is definitely a factor with tapes. Would love to hear more about your Studer once you take ownership.