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    Analog Audio Design TP-1000

    I found the schematics, they are quite clever and complicated, due to many EQ options. If I decide to embark on that project, I would buy a beater machine and just to shoot for one EQ format.
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    Carbon Fiber Reels? How about carbon fiber pancake platters?

    Out of sheer curiosity I decided to make it. I bought several sheets of carbon fiber, five, to be exact, but 4 of them are too thin and they do not hold their shape well. The last one, 1/16" thick, seem to be just what the doctor ordered. So I went into my basement and first shaped it roughly...
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    Analog Audio Design TP-1000

    The dreaded Pawnshop was also recorded on Nagra, I believe... :( I think the machine itself is good... as witnessed by the 2xHD recordings.
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    Analog Audio Design TP-1000

    Adrian, that is very interesting, and perhaps when/if I retire, I will look into that. So far with all the Nagras that I had/have I have never taken apart their electronics. I worked on the tape transport, but those tightly packed modules make me claustrophobic from just looking at them. Do...
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    Analog Audio Design TP-1000

    The result of playing narrow tracks with wide heads will be more noise and more crosstalk - both negative effects. Whether this is harmless or not will depend on the user's sensitivity and perspective, but the real question is why do it? The only benefit of wide heads is a bit better S/N on...
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    Tape Pancakes, Oh No!

    Well, they shoot for low cost... Many of them are assembled that way, with the flanges not centered... these can sometimes be made better by loosening their screws and making the flanges more centered.
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    Analog Audio Design TP-1000

    dcc, it is not my intention to hijack the thread, so I agree, if someone feels like debating that subject we can do so in a separate one. Charles did not challenge me, he asked for my reason and I gave him part of it. I am not surprised at your impression on the Nagra - it is a fine and very...
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    Analog Audio Design TP-1000

    dcc, a question for you... I presume your Studer has butterfly heads - correct? So does your new one, but the commercial tapes are typically recorded with narrow heads. That incompatibility is something to keep in mind.
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    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    All correct, and this is a very, very typical vicious circle: the prices are high so few people can afford the product... so the production is small... so the prices stay high. There is only one way to break that cycle and it is by drastically lowering the prices to what the public can and is...
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    Unboxing my new toy

    Wife snapped that picture .
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    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    No, I would not count on that.
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    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    It can KINDA play it... the right channel will be several dB lower in volume.
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    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    As they say: "Pay once... cry once..." Yes, recording at 7.5ips will save you a few bucks today, but you will end up with a result that could be better. So sometime later you look at all those good, but not great, recordings, and think: "I should have done 15ips!" The only reason to do 7.5ips...
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    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    Do you think recording companies buy tape at retail?
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    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    I have been thinking along the same lines.
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    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    I can only guess the OEM pricing on tape, but I am absolutely certain it is NOT $100 per reel. So yes, I am perfectly willing to pay an extra $50 or so for 30ips recording... but I sure as hell am not going to pay twice the price of the 15ips ones. The royalties are the same, the process time...
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    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    The cost would be about the same. Tape cost is a very small element in the overall cost, so, just for the sake of discussion, perhaps a saving or $25 per album. On the other end... how about 30ips tapes for just $50 extra? :)
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    Tape Pancakes, Oh No!

    Well... lesse... you can break a tooth while eating a chocolate bar - actually happened to me. Major pain and expense. I don't see how THAT can happen while playing a pancake. :) But I do get your point... I am just trying to guide some innocent souls towards great spiritual discovery. :)...
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    Tape Pancakes, Oh No!

    Pancakes? Nothing could be easier!
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    Metaxas Papillon

    Well put, Adrian. It is not like any one is rejecting the idea that a talented group of engineers, with many years of experience and successes behind them, could produce an even better machine with today's technology... the problem is - there is no such group anywhere today. Perhaps there is...
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    Metaxas Papillon

    I have measured many different machines, many brands, the pro models, and they all, even being 40-50 year old, meet or exceed their specs, as long as they are not damaged... so when I see published specs from an established company I do take it at face value, based on my experience. For...
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    Metaxas Papillon

    .09% presumably at 30ips is indeed VERY sub-par. So, what happened to the statement that it measures just "as well as the vintage machines."? .09% would be unacceptable even for good consumer machines. You never answer the question about "weighting" and you don't even provide the proper...
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    Metaxas Papillon

    What is myopic is claiming that .15% W&F is unimportant. I am trying to be fair here, I hope this is just a typo.
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    Metaxas Papillon

    So what about your earlier statement that: "The Metaxas machines measure as well as the vintage machines." Somehow it doesn't ring very true... I am afraid. I told you earlier that 4mm capstans were bad... but you kept saying something about some "superior speed control". Where is it?
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    Metaxas Papillon

    Every time I try to find its specifications I see W&F .25%. Is this the REAL number?
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    Tape Pancakes, Oh No!

  27. F

    Metaxas Papillon

    On top of that different parameters affect the sound in different ways: some very innocent while others very, very objectionable. For instance, a bit of clean noise is easily overlooked, same for some FR variations, while others will smack you straight into your face - things such as odd...
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    Stellavox SM8 Service by Jean Michel

    The dreaded butterfly heads - the Devil's invention.
  29. F

    Analog Audio Design TP-1000

    It is too bad the M15 does not take 14" reels. It is a sizable machine, but I guess they wanted to keep the reels within the outlines of the machine. Most people let the large reels stick out.
  30. F

    Analog Audio Design TP-1000

    Unlike the reels, the pancakes are specific to a particular machine, they are not universal, which limits their marketing potential.

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