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  1. Ampexed

    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    The opposite direction crosstalk is most obvious where there is significant low frequency information on those tracks and relative low level signal on the forward tracks. At 1kHz, you're not going to find much crosstalk no matter what. Try 50Hz..... I use horn speakers which are very revealing...
  2. Ampexed

    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    No that will not work. The right channel track of a 4 track machine will cover only a portion of the right channel track of a 2 track tape, and the right channel will have a severely compromised signal to noise ratio as a result. A 2 track machine cannot play a 4 track tape because of the...
  3. Ampexed

    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    Yes, crosstalk from the reverse tracks was a problem, and plainly audible - no amount of head alignment will cure this. Ampex duplicated their tapes on 3300 series high speed duplicators at 8x normal speed, or 60 ips. The only decent pre-recorded tapes from Ampex were their EX-+ classical...
  4. Ampexed

    New Reel-to-Reel Titles - 4-Track?

    My main question would be WHY? 1/4 track 7.5 ips suffers from poorer signal to noise ratio, has more wow/flutter, and most damning for me is that it has crosstalk from the opposite-direction tracks which is clearly audible to my ears. Raw tape isn't a bargain, but it sure is not all that...
  5. Ampexed

    LampizatOr Golden Atlantic + TRP

    Like we discussed last week, those 6C5 tubes were directly responsible for passing basically all music recorded in the 50s/early 60s on the Ampex 300 tape machine used in studios of the era. This is the schematic of the record amplifier which used two of them plus a paralleled 6SN7 to drive the...
  6. Ampexed

    Metaxas Papillon

    The older Ampex specs tended to be conservative, and the machines actually measured better. I have no idea how conservative or not the specs of the machine which is the subject of this thread are. My 354 is specified for 0.15% wow and flutter, but I routinely measure 0.07%. The only area where...
  7. Ampexed

    Metaxas Papillon

    I think we need to separate the 'spec' from actual measurements. Unless we have actual measurements, we just don't know. I agree though that a measured 0.09% is not good enough, especially at 30ips, and with modern motor control no less. My 30ips machine, which is far from a Studer, actually...
  8. Ampexed

    Metaxas Papillon

    I meant 0.07% - add an additional zero to my numbers! I measure weighted RMS and DIN. Ampex used RMS back in the day, but like I mentioned, the actual numbers for a well maintained machine could be better than spec. The 3M mastering machines (M56/M79) had an even larger flywheel and a capstan...
  9. Ampexed

    Metaxas Papillon

    The best mastering machines of the 50s/60s had weighted wow and flutter of 0.1%. This was the spec for the Ampex model 300 which used a rim-drive flywheel with relatively large diameter capstan, and the actual measured day-to-day wow and flutter on a well maintained machine was around 0.06% -...
  10. Ampexed

    Metaxas Papillon

    What brand and type of heads are being used on this machine? Heads like these vintage ones from PhotoVox which are on two of my machines aren't being made anymore as far as I know.
  11. Ampexed

    Lampizator Valve / Tube Rolling Review Thread

    Just an observation that I'm putting out there. When we inverted the polarity from the DAC, the change was significant enough to startle me, but it's also program dependent to some degree. I'm posting this because leaving the DAC as-is is leaving some fine performance on the table, and the fix...
  12. Ampexed

    Lampizator Valve / Tube Rolling Review Thread

    You should know that the Lampizator DACs invert polarity of the output signal. I was at a member's home recently doing some routine tests and found this, which was later confirmed by Lampizator. This was on a balanced version - I don't know if the single ended version does this also. On the...
  13. Ampexed

    SET amp owners thread

    Thanks. This makes sense in the context of the video.
  14. Ampexed

    SET amp owners thread

    And what is the frequency and output level. The square wave looks a bit too perfect for this kind of amp.
  15. Ampexed

    New R2R tapes of Jazz at the Pawnshop from AudioNautes

    That's kind of what I thought too. I was never impressed with this album, even back when it first came out. And frankly the recording, while nice, isn't earth shattering either. Oh well.
  16. Ampexed

    FYI: MRL Closure

    Calibration tapes eventually wear out and the first to go are the more critical high frequencies. If it becomes impossible to acquire calibration tapes, absolutely the ability to maintain the machines will eventually be affected. Perhaps you don't use calibration tapes, but I sure do. Flux loops...
  17. Ampexed

    FYI: MRL Closure

    That really is unfortunate and will make the shrinking reel-to-reel pool of machines harder to properly maintain. Hopefully someone like JRF magnetics will step in and take over the business but that is probably wishful thinking.
  18. Ampexed

    Custom dedicated audio room owners unite!

    My dedicated room overall 20' x 30' with cathedral ceiling which goes from 8' to 11'. The system uses analog active crossovers (with the exception of the four 18" subwoofers which use a DSP crossover) so the tuning is flexible. When tuned for flattest response at the listening position, this is...
  19. Ampexed

    SET amp owners thread

    That's the 602 series, but the 351 was the same. The way it was explained to me by one of the old time Ampex engineers is that they wanted to squeeze as much gain as possible out of that tube to simplify the circuit. The 354 went to more extreme thinning-down of components, and parasitic...
  20. Ampexed

    SET amp owners thread

    For some reason, Ampex was very fond of using grid leak resistors ('contact bias') on their professional tape recorders. It wasn't a matter of cost reduction because these machines were used in professional recording studios and cost a fortune. Go figure.
  21. Ampexed

    Frequency response is everything!?...

    I was originally speaking about the lack of utility with manufacturers publishing measurements in their advertizing - not to be confused with end users making measurements of already purchased speakers in one's room for purposes of tuning using something like REW.
  22. Ampexed

    Frequency response is everything!?...

    Because even speakers with outwardly 'identical' frequency responses still can sound very different. Things like dispersion, crossover frequencies, resonances, size of cabinets (and size of the sound source) etc make just as much difference as raw response, and those things are difficult for...
  23. Ampexed

    Frequency response is everything!?...

    To designers of equipment, especially speakers, knowing what the frequency response is is vital. Flat frequency response is speakers is not necessarily the goal, which is why manufacturers spend a great deal of time 'voicing' their speakers, but measurements still save untold amounts of...
  24. Ampexed

    SET amp owners thread

    Lovely setup!
  25. Ampexed

    Ron’s New System

    Hmmm - did it look like this in the past? Dig that Space Age TV in the coffee table! :D
  26. Ampexed

    SET amp owners thread

    Could be power supply buzz which is difficult to get rid of.
  27. Ampexed

    SET amp owners thread

    Are the filaments of the 211 tubes being run on AC or DC?
  28. Ampexed

    Sonorous ATR10 MMK II

    3 track 35mm magnetic head - horribly worn from lots of use but look at the size of those tracks!
  29. Ampexed

    Sonorous ATR10 MMK II

    I just realized I promised more pictures of 35mm magnetic film recorders. Here are the master music/sound FX/dialogue recorders at Warner Hollywood studios. This is a bygone era - it's all Teac digital stuff now. :confused:
  30. Ampexed

    Are measurements important to you?

    Speaker measurements are probably more important than those for electronics, but all measurements are capable of being 'fudged' with incomplete information on how they were made. They can only be a guide. I don't believe electronic component measurements do the consumer any good at all except...

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