A dream came true - R2R.
- Thread starter byrdparis
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I would look at the Mextaxas machines ahead of the TP1000. They are more expensive though.
Get ready to be surprised. I just finished the project of building a super-low-cost head pream. All tube, and the price point around $250 in parts.
Today I powered it up for the first time in its final configuration and I am seriously shocked by its sound. To me it started as just an educational and a Youtube fun project, but based on what I heard I would not be surprised if this setup became one of my popular choices. And as you know I have a few very fine machines to choose from.
Don't diminish your A810, it has a very capable mechanism, and with good external electronics it becomes a real world class player.
Thank you guys for getting on board with my humble thread about the subject...
I have had this A810 for several months now, and tapes (expensive stuff) are still coming in every week. I spend a lot more than the machine on music... but I think that the whole point.
The A810 sounds very good when you dial it correctly and I am enjoying it very much!
Unfortunately I do not have any mode for direct heads (nor I know how to do it myself) so i can't get any experience with outboard preamp...
in the meanwhile since i was looking to bring some "better" one, i was ordering the AAD TP1000 from france, as it looked like the "right" way for me at that point*
*im not familiar with other machines other than mine, i was listening to the TP1000 for two years at the munich show and last year for extensive period of time in "anna mighty sound" room, with jerome Sabagh playing along with it, also got to talk with the designer (Christophe) and was impressed with what he did. I also looked at the other new designs that were around, like the Mextaxas, but I didn't have the chance to hear them and the price was too high (for me) for tipping my toes in this realm. Although they are very cool looking, I think it's not worth the money for the time being.
I was thinking since I live in Israel and there is almost zero support for such machines as ATR, STUDER. telefunken etc... i would be better to get some "new" machine product for repro with customer care and support. That way I can have some reference and help when needed.
Along the way when I was waiting for the TP1000 that actually arrived yesterday morning (i will post about it if there is any interest) I talked with several people including dear Foxbat and i was eager to buy also an ATR102 fully refurbished with flux magnetic heads, etc.. but, unfortunately the communication with whom i contacted to buy from, was "not there". for it not to be an easy transaction, I decided to put this thought on the shelf... I can't do this kind of purchases with almost zero communication at the very beginning (what will i do when i will need actual support?) Maybe someday in the future I could get a full ATR102 setup and play those tapes at the tip top performance. if i can say something about myself, i know this will not go away and it will bother me till i'll have it but i need someone that understand my side and have some fire to build and sell. anyway the guy is Very nice but it seems he got a lot on his plate to deal with me...)
Aviad.
I have had this A810 for several months now, and tapes (expensive stuff) are still coming in every week. I spend a lot more than the machine on music... but I think that the whole point.
The A810 sounds very good when you dial it correctly and I am enjoying it very much!
Unfortunately I do not have any mode for direct heads (nor I know how to do it myself) so i can't get any experience with outboard preamp...
in the meanwhile since i was looking to bring some "better" one, i was ordering the AAD TP1000 from france, as it looked like the "right" way for me at that point*
*im not familiar with other machines other than mine, i was listening to the TP1000 for two years at the munich show and last year for extensive period of time in "anna mighty sound" room, with jerome Sabagh playing along with it, also got to talk with the designer (Christophe) and was impressed with what he did. I also looked at the other new designs that were around, like the Mextaxas, but I didn't have the chance to hear them and the price was too high (for me) for tipping my toes in this realm. Although they are very cool looking, I think it's not worth the money for the time being.
I was thinking since I live in Israel and there is almost zero support for such machines as ATR, STUDER. telefunken etc... i would be better to get some "new" machine product for repro with customer care and support. That way I can have some reference and help when needed.
Along the way when I was waiting for the TP1000 that actually arrived yesterday morning (i will post about it if there is any interest) I talked with several people including dear Foxbat and i was eager to buy also an ATR102 fully refurbished with flux magnetic heads, etc.. but, unfortunately the communication with whom i contacted to buy from, was "not there". for it not to be an easy transaction, I decided to put this thought on the shelf... I can't do this kind of purchases with almost zero communication at the very beginning (what will i do when i will need actual support?) Maybe someday in the future I could get a full ATR102 setup and play those tapes at the tip top performance. if i can say something about myself, i know this will not go away and it will bother me till i'll have it
but i need someone that understand my side and have some fire to build and sell. anyway the guy is Very nice but it seems he got a lot on his plate to deal with me...)Aviad.
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Your reasoning is sound and I think you made the right choice indeed. Gorgeous machine, and it isn't huge so can be shipped easier and is a wonderful operating and sounding tape deck.Thank you guys for getting on board with my humble thread about the subject...
I have had this A810 for several months now, and tapes (expensive stuff) are still coming in every week. I spend a lot more than the machine on music... but I think that the whole point.
The A810 sounds very good when you dial it correctly and I am enjoying it very much!
Unfortunately I do not have any mode for direct heads (nor I know how to do it myself) so i can't get any experience with outboard preamp...
in the meanwhile since i was looking to bring some "better" one, i was ordering the AAD TP1000 from france, as it looked like the "right" way for me at that point*
*im not familiar with other machines other than mine, i was listening to the TP1000 for two years at the munich show and last year for extensive period of time in "anna mighty sound" room, with jerome Sabagh playing along with it, also got to talk with the designer (Christophe) and was impressed with what he did. I also looked at the other new designs that were around, like the Mextaxas, but I didn't have the chance to hear them and the price was too high (for me) for tipping my toes in this realm. Although they are very cool looking, I think it's not worth the money for the time being.
I was thinking since I live in Israel and there is almost zero support for such machines as ATR, STUDER. telefunken etc... i would be better to get some "new" machine product for repro with customer care and support. That way I can have some reference and help when needed.
Along the way when I was waiting for the TP1000 that actually arrived yesterday morning (i will post about it if there is any interest) I talked with several people including dear Foxbat and was eager to buy also an ATR102 fully refurbished with flux magnetic heads, etc.. but, unfortunately the communication with whom i contacted to but from was not there. Although it's not cheap, I decided to put this thought on the shelf... I can't do this kind of purchases with almost zero communication at the very beginning (what will i do when i will need actual support?) Maybe someday in the future I could get a full ATR102 setup and play those tapes at the tip top performance. if i can say something about myself, i know this will not go away and it will bother me till i'll have it
Aviad.
thank you dear friend!
the TP1000 was a logic decision for me (also exciting one...), for buying a brand new machine to listen to music. and not to worry too much about it...
time will tell if it was the right one
i hope Christophe will have a lot of work and continue to build, upgrade and support us for a very long time. as i always say, its just metal wood and paper, its all replaceable and getting things too serious is never a good idea... (i live in israel so we have bigger problems to deal with )
Congratulations on your new tape deck!!
With a different transport & electronics, all your tapes will sound different. Totally amazing Christophe could design this & bring it into production without a lot of fanfare.... Bravo to him!
I look forward to hear your thoughts on it's sound!
Comparison is a killer... One thing I've learned in all these years is, as good as something sounds, you don't really know how much better it can sound until you actually hear it....(sounds obvious but this is the real fun in our hobby) For instance, for many years I used a WE437a based tape amp for playback on my Studer A80. It sounded amazing... until we finished the WE300b based tape amp... and even here, the NOS 1956 WE300b tubes took the sound to another level. There is no free lunch in audio!
Take your time, on this journey. Enjoy every step & level of sound...
As good as this TP1000 sounds, I believe the next step if you want to search for more, is a tube based tape amp. It's liken to getting a crazy phono stage for your turntable... no different. This is in no way to poo poo on this or any deck's playback, just what I've learned.
Ed
With a different transport & electronics, all your tapes will sound different. Totally amazing Christophe could design this & bring it into production without a lot of fanfare.... Bravo to him!
I look forward to hear your thoughts on it's sound!
Comparison is a killer... One thing I've learned in all these years is, as good as something sounds, you don't really know how much better it can sound until you actually hear it....(sounds obvious but this is the real fun in our hobby) For instance, for many years I used a WE437a based tape amp for playback on my Studer A80. It sounded amazing... until we finished the WE300b based tape amp... and even here, the NOS 1956 WE300b tubes took the sound to another level. There is no free lunch in audio!
Take your time, on this journey. Enjoy every step & level of sound...
As good as this TP1000 sounds, I believe the next step if you want to search for more, is a tube based tape amp. It's liken to getting a crazy phono stage for your turntable... no different. This is in no way to poo poo on this or any deck's playback, just what I've learned.
Ed
thank you ed!
you are absolutely right , we know it for many years in audio...
but now. I have some more references and maybe in the future I will have more
In vinyl i traveled far to find the ultimate, it took a lot of time and money to search the "best"...
for now between my A810 and the TP1000 i could honestly say i'm enjoying my tapes very much, does it could be better?
sure, there is no "bottom" to our Hobby
Congrats on the new machine!
I firmly believe the new machines are much more accurate in terms of speed consistency and have much better built-in amplifiers. If you think about how much electric motors, motor controllers, and electronics, have evolved over the past ~40 years, that comparison should be clear.
As far the tape head pre-amp, I don't think the TP1000 has a pre-out, unfortunately.
Now I know why everyone prefers the modern violins... 300 years of progress... you know... CNC's and modern chemistry...
Actually I was going to say the reverse is true!
Modern luthiers like to setup these blind studies where violinists are asked to play Strads, Del Gesu & moderns as ask them & an audience which they prefer... some moderns do quite well in these kinds of "studies".
In fact I would say modern violins do not come close to the sound of old Cremonese violins...IMHO
Of course this question is way more complicated than a little test like this... for sure modern violins are loud but do not have the gorgeous colors of the 300 yr old Cremonese violins. Also it's a question of "how" to play an instrument to bring out it's best sounds... it takes even a top violinist at least 4-6 months to learn how to bring out the best in that instrument! It's definitely not so simple!
I say the true test of this is, what at the top violinists in the world playing??? Not moderns! If moderns were the equal or better why would anyone pay $16-20K/year for insurance for these Strads???
With audio/motors I'm not convinced new is always better... nothing is absolute! I think we all know in audio, measurements don't tell us everything.... our ears are way more sensitive to things which may not be measure able. Things like the rhythmic pulse & drive of the music...
Ed
Hi Ed, my remark was, of course, sarcastic.
And it is not that just new is not always better... that can go either way... but it also has to do with the critical mass that does not exist today. We no longer have hundreds of talented engineers all over the world engaged in an endless search for perfection, and with huge resources behind them.
And it is not that just new is not always better... that can go either way... but it also has to do with the critical mass that does not exist today. We no longer have hundreds of talented engineers all over the world engaged in an endless search for perfection, and with huge resources behind them.
Sorry for my not clueing into your humour....Hi Ed, my remark was, of course, sarcastic.
And it is not that just new is not always better... that can go either way... but it also has to do with the critical mass that does not exist today. We no longer have hundreds of talented engineers all over the world engaged in an endless search for perfection, and with huge resources behind them.
There are people who really tell me moderns are the equal to the old Cremonese!
They say, "I've played them both & there's no difference" (in fact you just told me, you are not a formula 1 driver of violins!!!)
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