I need advice. I want the best system possible for playing reel-to-reel tapes. Currently I have the Technics RS 1520 tape deck with Flux Magnetics heads and a King/Cello tape preamp. Eventually I met upgrade the preamp to something like the Doshi or the Merrill. My question is this. Focusing purely on sound quality, would there be any benefit to upgrading the tape deck to something like a Studer A80 or A820 or an Ampex ATR 102, or any other machine--assuming I'll be using an external preamp, not the built-in Electronics? Does the transport even make a difference to the sound?
I keep hearing that all that matters are the tape heads and the electronics, and that all transports sound the same. Is this true? It seems unlikely to me, since in the turntable world it is generally recognized that turntables make a big sonic difference (and not just cartridges and phono preamps). In fact, I know this to be true for turntables, since I've compared turntables using the same cartridge and the same preamp and they sound different. Has anyone tested this for tape decks? Has anyone done an A/B comparison between two tape decks using the same tape preamp, to see if the transport makes a difference?
I keep hearing that all that matters are the tape heads and the electronics, and that all transports sound the same. Is this true? It seems unlikely to me, since in the turntable world it is generally recognized that turntables make a big sonic difference (and not just cartridges and phono preamps). In fact, I know this to be true for turntables, since I've compared turntables using the same cartridge and the same preamp and they sound different. Has anyone tested this for tape decks? Has anyone done an A/B comparison between two tape decks using the same tape preamp, to see if the transport makes a difference?