JL Sargent Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 I see where a neighbor has one of these and its going in the yard sale this weekend. It notice it takes the bigger reels. Appears to be a transport and then 4 tracks worth of electronics separate. Would this be suitable for hifi stereo? Can this even play 2 track stereo tapes? Any enlightenment appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted September 3, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 3, 2009 THe Otari MX 5050 is a GREAT deck if it is in good shape. Is it in a counsel or free standing? Does it have seperate preamp equipment for each track? If it says B II or B III it is a two (2) track high speed deck (7.5/15 Ips), but they also came with a 4th head as an option which will allow you to play 4 track stereo tapes back. There is also a switch above the heads to switch from 2 track playback to 4 track stereo playback. If it is says Q II or Q III it is a quad deck and not much use unless you want to set up a home studio and be able to record 4 tracks. The II and III indicated how recent a model. Most prerecorded tapes from 1960 on are 4 track stereo tapes. That is 2 tracks in one direction, flip tape over (or reverse if it is a reversing deck) and play tape in other direction. Professional recording and production, on the the other hand, is primarily 2 track stereo. Thus, the tape only plays in one direction. The only consumer prerecorded tapes that were 2 track were made prior to 1960 and just recently by the Tape Project. The Orari will record and play in 2 track (one direction) and if it has the 4th head option, it will play (not record) 4 track stereo tapes. If you are not interested in it and it has a 4 track play back head please let me know, as I would be very interested in it. If you can take and post some photos on here of the serial number placard with Model number, and the heads, I can tell you more about it. If it is a big console (not free standing) with seperate electroincs above it you will probably want to pass on it. What were you intending on using if for? Or was it just for giggles? Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcmusic Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 As Travis has told you it can be a great deck if in decent shape, all the info Travis supplied is correct. I have a MX5050 BII modded for Tape Project tapes and it sure is a real gem once you get it dialed in. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 The transport looks real basic and no electronics that I can tell. It has two separate electronic units (looks like they go in a rack) with 2 channels each. The two electronic units appear the same so I'm betting its a quad unit. As for me, I simply prefer analog music and play LPs mostly. I have seen several cheap reel to reel music offerings recently and thought I would enjoy giving that a go. I'm not interested in recorded with it per say. Just would like to listen to some prerecorded tapes. I bet that transport and the elec. units are heavy. Travis, thanks for all the good info. I will try for a closer look tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted September 4, 2009 Moderators Share Posted September 4, 2009 JL That is a 4 track recording deck if it has seperate electronic units, there are much better options if you want to tinker and try out reel to reel. I can fed ex you a prerecorded tape to see if it plays correctly and if the price was right, like $50 you can mess with it and get your money back out of it pretty easy on ebay. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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