added a 3rd Studer A-820 Mk2 with both 1/4" and 1/2" heads, guides and hubs

[christensenleif@msn.com]

Telefunken M15 vs Studer A80RC

But Foxbat coming back to your test , you said the Ampex 102 was the winner ?? Yes, that is correct. It produced the most natural sound of the bunch. And if you are curious, here is its plot, but taken with 1/2" tape.

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[andromedaaudio]

Telefunken M15 vs Studer A80RC

But Foxbat coming back to your test , you said the Ampex 102 was the winner ?? Yes, that is correct. It produced the most natural sound of the bunch. And if you are curious, here is its plot, but taken with 1/2" tape.

www.whatsbestforum.com

Did you buy that old portable AMPEX ?

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

no he upped the price to stupid levels...he runs after the market and will never sell anything

 

[yjwu]

Have any of you ever experience your studer cannot both rewinding or fastforwarding the reel? And the stop button keeps blinking. I hit rewind or forward the machine seemed to respond a fraction of a second. Then stopped and not tensioning the tape. Stop button started blinking after. Seem like sensor was sensing something.

I had misplaced pre-stabilizer roller and move sensor roller once; my A820 had problem FF and rewinding. Groves on move sensor roller do have its function: it will prevent thin air developed between tape and roller surface at high spooling. Tape air cushioning created a problem that roller no longer keep up with fast tape motion. A820's control program picked up this mismatch of calculated tape speed from reel motor tacho and move sensor, reported its duty by showing ERR message and drop tension support - spooling no longer possible.

Mistake of this sort only happened when you switched 1/4" rollers and 1/2" rollers. Or you did maintain your own machine and did not sleep well.

It took me half a year to pin down this mistake.

Yeun-Jung Wu

 

[andromedaaudio]

Your wishful thinking is much appreciated. Great crowd in this thread.
All LEDs are on. I will have my tech run through the list Ki suggested. I have all backups I ever need on my vinyl front but not on tape. Now I have to think of backups on tape front.

View attachment 86364

Tang needs an old school back up .
It would fit perfectly to those old horns you have bought .
C 37 , M 15 A , M5 , A 80 an old ampex stuff like that

 

[Tango]

I had misplaced pre-stabilizer roller and move sensor roller once; my A820 had problem FF and rewinding. Groves on move sensor roller do have its function: it will prevent thin air developed between tape and roller surface at high spooling. Tape air cushioning created a problem that roller no longer keep up with fast tape motion. A820's control program picked up this mismatch of calculated tape speed from reel motor tacho and move sensor, reported its duty by showing ERR message and drop tension support - spooling no longer possible.

Mistake of this sort only happened when you switched 1/4" rollers and 1/2" rollers. Or you did maintain your own machine and did not sleep well.

It took me half a year to pin down this mistake.

Yeun-Jung Wu

Thank you for chiming in. Appreciate you sharing your experience.

 

[andromedaaudio]

let's not ruin the thread with - i am done with you let the others talk

Outboard tape head pre-amplifier

Good afternoon all, Is anyone using an outboard pre amp wired from the playback tape heads of your tape deck? If so, which model pre amp (tube-solid state-DIY)? Were you able to wire it so that you could continue use of the internal electronics? If so how did you accomplish that feat? What was...

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If you read this you can read what bruce thinks of the standard studer cards in comparison to aftermarket gear , he has 2 A 80 s afaik .
And bruce has more experience than any of us in this thread regarding tape / recording

 

[c1ferrari]

so you joined the forum just to ask me that question? good for you.

well....er….I do have a few tools. the one i'm missing my friend will bring over tomorrow.

the first pic shows my 2 MRL Calibration tapes, 399-271-512-139 for 1/2", and 299-271-512-130 for 1/4"...….my Fluke 87v multi-meter and my Rigol Oscilloscope. the second pic shows my friend's Audio Precision One Plus signal generator.

my plan is to stick to 15ips. but I do have a preference for 1/2".

i'd comment on Fred's Studer list comments, but why? Fred is not changing so why waste my breath. he wants to deal with pro audio guys but they have no money, he wants our money but does not have the patience/temperament for us. a sad case. I hope he finds what he is looking for.

View attachment 42072

View attachment 42073

Nice, Mike!

 

[c1ferrari]

1 out of 3.....the 820 is only interesting for its drive/transport, not the audio cards, which are at best mediocre

Hi,

Interesting comment about the A820's transport. I obtained my first Studer A820 from Eddy Schreyer at Oasis Mastering. Eddy offered me my choice of either an Ampex ATR-102 or Studer A820. The Ampex's tape handling was far too coarse for me and I dreaded snapping tapes due to
my inexperience!

 

[c1ferrari]

I dunno... to me their wooden cases are like a hearty fart in the middle of a Brahms violin concerto.

WHAT?! Sacrilege!

 

[c1ferrari]

which one is Nina Simone? I am getting that one

Hmm...There's no way I should, but I would purchase the Billie Holiday version.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i just listed one of my Studer A-820's for sale.......got to keep the wife happy as i add to my vinyl playback gear list .

Studer A-820, excellent condition; 1/4" and 1/2" head guides and hubs---the ultimate

Studer A-820 reel to reel tape deck in excellent condition......the ultimate piece of audio playback gear. with both 1/4" and 1/2" heads, guides and hubs. this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. these are very, very scarce...

www.whatsbestforum.com