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  1. J

    Official Melodiya master tape release from Reel to Reel Tapes Russia

    Packaging nice. BUT . . . how does it SOUND????? John C.
  2. J

    Who Still Has A Tape Deck?

    Revox B215 and Nak CR4A cassette decks to go with my Studer A810 and Tascam BR20 RTR's. I use the cassette decks to record streams off Tidal; the Revox, in particular, is terrific for this, and $4 for a C90 cassette beats $70 for a 10.5" reel of LPR35 to get the same recording time at 7.5 ips...
  3. J

    Setting repro head azimuth

    The Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck, first manufactured in 1982, recognized that correct azimuth would vary for each tape played, and employed a motorized azimuth correction system that automatically set the correct azimuth for the tape being played. It did so by splitting the playback head gaps...
  4. J

    Advice in buying a Studer A80

    I have two acquaintances, both of whom own '64 Chevy Corvette Sting Rays. One of these persons bought the car, took it to a well-known Corvette restoration company (not far from where I live, actually), and spent nearly $100,000 to have the car completely rebuilt from the ground up. It looks...
  5. J

    Setting repro head azimuth

    Method A Note that MRL test tapes have two frequencies for azimuth adjustment: 8khz for "coarse" adjustment and 16khz for "fine" adjustment. John C.
  6. J

    Best regards and presentation of my Studer A820

    I use denatured alcohol. More effective than iso IMHO. John C.
  7. J

    Let´s not forget Jonathan Horwich of International Phonograph

    I just listened to both tapes. Both are terrific, but I'd rank Daley/Getz a hair above the Ward Trio. Part of it is that the jazz is more mainstream, so more within my wheelhouse (although the Ward Trio isn't that avant-garde), but on the cuts where Getz is playing, it's like having him...
  8. J

    United Home Audio Ultima 4 With Outboard Power Supply

    The Tascam BR20 transport is no slouch, and using it was a wise decision IMHO. I'd say that it is just as easy on tape and just as reliable as my Studer A810, except that the Studer has a scrape flutter roller, and the BR20 doesn't (but I think Greg may add one to the UHA decks). It's in the...
  9. J

    Getting an Ampex ATR-102, looking for 10 reel titles to start me up!

    The John Wojciekowski tape from IPI is terrific. So are the Mark Colby and Matt Ulery trio recordings (in fact, ALL of Jonathan's jazz recordings are excellent, both musically and sound-wise). On the classical side, the Analogue Productions release of Reiner/CSO's classic RCA recording of...
  10. J

    Let´s not forget Jonathan Horwich of International Phonograph

    Yes, I don't mean to denigrate the quality of the Brandeis Quartet recording. A wonderful performance and wonderful sound. It's just that I personally like a closer mic perspective for string quartet - this mirrors my preference for sitting close to the quartet (in the first four seating rows)...
  11. J

    Let´s not forget Jonathan Horwich of International Phonograph

    I have several of Jonathan's tapes. They are all marvelously recorded, and the music is sublime. I prefer his jazz and solo piano recordings to the Brandies quartet (I prefer closer miking for string quartets), but everything he offers goes from excellent to off-the-charts. John C.
  12. J

    Pioneer 1011L pinch rollers

    Terry's Rubber Rollers will rebuild pinch rollers. http://www.terrysrubberrollers.com/ John C.
  13. J

    Phase compensation; STUDER A810

    I wonder if they ever imagined that these machines would still be running (and highly prized) 35 years later . . . John C.
  14. J

    For Jonathan, Ed, Acoustic Sounds, etc: why not consider MDS-36 or LPR90

    Hi Larry. No I wouldn't want to save $60 and risk the print through. But when I read the spec sheets on LPR90 vs., say, 900 it's true that while the headroom is reduced by 3db, the print-through spec is exactly the same - I think 57db. Now it's possible that this specification has no...
  15. J

    For Jonathan, Ed, Acoustic Sounds, etc: why not consider MDS-36 or LPR90

    Don't think my A810 takes 12" reels . . . :( John C.
  16. J

    For Jonathan, Ed, Acoustic Sounds, etc: why not consider MDS-36 or LPR90

    To the folks who make our wonderful master tape dubs: Have you considered using MDS-36 or LPR-90? Most classic vinyl like the RCA Living Stereo records were more than 30 minutes; often they were 40. My Reiner/CSO tapes from Acoustic Sounds are wonderful, but the Pines/Fountains and...
  17. J

    A New Believer in Ed Pong

    After reading several outstanding reviews of Ed Pong's recordings, I decided to dip my toe in the water and ordered his tape of the Schubert Grand Fantasy and Saint-Saens' The Swan with Xiang Yu, violin and Yun-Yang Lee, piano. The recording and performance are phenomenal. I loved the...
  18. J

    Toe in the water

    Haven't owned the ATR60 or Otari, but I had a PR99 that I wish I'd kept. Solid machine with excellent sound quality even in stock form, and since they were basically the same as the B77, there are lots of spare parts available and excellent techs to repair/refurbish them. Unfortunately, the...
  19. J

    Brand NEW Reel To Reel Machine from Ballinger in Germany

    I'm tickled that a new RTR is coming (for real, it seems, as opposed to the Horch House vaporware). I hope this effort is exceptionally successful, as that might tempt others (Revox, which almost certainly must still have the technical information for resurrecting the B77/PR99; Technics and the...
  20. J

    Brand NEW Reel To Reel Machine from Ballinger in Germany

    I've never seen an 820 in person, but the photos of the chassis are awe-inspiring. And the thing weighs, what, 200 lbs.? That's not because of the electronics . . . I wonder how many of them Studer sold . . . John C.
  21. J

    Reel to Reel Head Wire out and associated topics

    Hi Ed. Sorry - hit the wrong number key! I was thinking RMG 900 tape, and typed the 9. Original post corrected. John C.
  22. J

    Reel to Reel Head Wire out and associated topics

    A reasonable compromise for those of us that don't have Fred next door is to have someone of Fred's caliber do a complete mechanical and electrical alignment of the deck, refurbishing as necessary, with azimuth set via an MRL test tape. Then you plug it in, sit back and enjoy your tapes. In...

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