Well, I have truly lost my audio mind and joined the ranks of the R2R world. I explored used decks, new decks (although the new Revox was announced after I made my decision) and highly refurbished decks. I was limited to a desktop unit just due to space limitations in my room. I also investigated various tape sources (and prices, which are breathtaking) and even after all of that due diligence which indicated there was nothing sane about this, I took the plunge anyway. I did this based on my experience that tape so often sounds so gorgeous to me and I love the tactile nature of the experience.
So, big shout out to Steve Smith of Two Track Audio for "enabling" me with a refurbished and upgraded Studer A810 and Nick Doshi for "enabling" me with an Evolution Tape Pre. Nick was kind enough to rewire the 810 so that I have a direct XLR out from the head to the preamp and it just sounds great. I purchased all sorts of doodads (demagnetizer, adaptors, take up reels, etc., et al) and, yes, I purchased tapes. I somehow continue to purchase more tapes and watch the balance in my bank account get reduced in astonishingly big chunks for a small number of titles. I do this because the whole thing sounds gorgeous (as long as you feed it good tape, and if you don't, my vinyl likely sounds better if I have a decent copy). Steve and Nick were quite patient with my many questions, all of which revealed my true newbie status in the tape world. Our own DMinches was also quite gracious with his time on the phone and texts as I asked him yet more questions.
I could have gone lots of ways on this, but felt like this was a good starting point for a reasonable price (as far as these things go). Thanks again to Steve, Nick and Dave and to this forum for providing so much good background information.
So, big shout out to Steve Smith of Two Track Audio for "enabling" me with a refurbished and upgraded Studer A810 and Nick Doshi for "enabling" me with an Evolution Tape Pre. Nick was kind enough to rewire the 810 so that I have a direct XLR out from the head to the preamp and it just sounds great. I purchased all sorts of doodads (demagnetizer, adaptors, take up reels, etc., et al) and, yes, I purchased tapes. I somehow continue to purchase more tapes and watch the balance in my bank account get reduced in astonishingly big chunks for a small number of titles. I do this because the whole thing sounds gorgeous (as long as you feed it good tape, and if you don't, my vinyl likely sounds better if I have a decent copy). Steve and Nick were quite patient with my many questions, all of which revealed my true newbie status in the tape world. Our own DMinches was also quite gracious with his time on the phone and texts as I asked him yet more questions.
I could have gone lots of ways on this, but felt like this was a good starting point for a reasonable price (as far as these things go). Thanks again to Steve, Nick and Dave and to this forum for providing so much good background information.
