Amir's Review of UltraAanalogue Recordings’ Sampler No. 1

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Hi everyone. This is my review of the UltraAanalogue Recordings’ Sampler No. 1.

I bought the tape a few weeks ago and it arrived in its original box that the blank RMG SM900 tape comes in. Considering the $60 I paid on Amazon for that tape, the $250 cost of the UA’s recordings does not seem unreasonable given the small quantities, the work of making the recordings, royalties, labor and such. Of course it is still an investment and the question is whether it is worth it.

In a word yes! My first experience started with spooling the tape, hitting play and getting taken back with the level of fidelity in an instant. I had not even made it back to my listening chair! It was like, “wow, where did that come from?” The Passacaglia starting passage could not be a better choice than to showcase what is to come. The strings pull at your proverbial heart and audiophile ears like there is no tomorrow. I sat there mesmerized until the tape ran off the spool!

But we are getting ahead of ourselves a bit. This being a review from an engineer, it can’t be one devoid of technical analysis :D. As mentioned on the UA web site, this tape by default comes in NAB equalization instead of the more common IEC. They will however make IEC version on request. Also different (?) is the recoding level. Given the SM900’s headroom, the recording is calibrated to a flux level of 250 nWb/m. My playback machine is an unmodified Otari B5050 which fortunately accommodates both. It has selectable EQ and three levels of Flux setting.

The tape nicely comes with a calibration tone at 1 Khz that is supposed to read at 0 dBu. Here is a shot of my meters when the setting is at *320* nWb/m:


As you see, it still reads hot. If I set it to 250, it is worse (peggs max). I am pretty certain this is an issue with lack of calibration in my machine. I plan to by an MRL measurement tape and get it in top shape within 0.00001 db accuracy. :D Fortunately none of this is material on playback as the flux rating just changes what the VU meters show. And there, most of the time they live below 0 dBu. I only saw it peg to the max a few times on dynamic passages.

Edit: turns out this is correct as the recording is not at 250 but 396. Please see Ed's note below.

Back to the content, this being a sampler, you get to hear the different recording settings. The second track for example has high enough gain where you hear the slightest movements of the musicians which is actually fun. Others are mic’ed at lower level so you just hear the music.

Here is the full list of tracks on this tape: Passacaglia, Czardas, Cassado-Finale, Liszt-Canzone, Meditation, Rachmaninov-Song. This brings me to a small nit. The web site has little detail on these tracks. I would have loved to read more about these compositions and the talent behind them playing in these tapes. No doubt they are described in far more detail in the respective tapes/concerts they were extracted. My suggestion is to add those descriptions to the sampler too. Fortunately the tape box has the names of the musicians and their instruments:



Here is the web site page for this sampler: http://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/wpsite/store/?cat_product=sampler-no-1. If you have a Reel to Reel deck and any interest in classical music at very high fidelity, this sampler from UltraAanalogue Recordings is a must have. Highly recommended.

P.S. I have no commercial interest in UltraAanalogue Recordings and bought this tape out of my own funds although Ed may have been kind enough to have shipped it for free to me.
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
Many thanks Amir for your kind words on the Sampler... To hear you say "I sat mesmerized till the tape ran off the spool" makes me very happy!

I just want to point out, actually, all my tapes are recorded at 396 nW/m - so your meters are reading within 1/2 db correctly!!!

On my website, I state the tapes are recorded at +4 db above 250 nW/m = 396 nW/m. I feel this is a big part of why you're hearing such detail & dynamics. It's 4 db more range than 250 nW/m which is almost double the dynamic range. This is not only more range, but I feel it's in the very low level details where you will hear more definition, as they are recorded higher on the curve, farther from the noise floor of the tape. I believe this is where the real "music" lives - in these very low level signals...

Today with the higher output tapes, I purposely record at this higher level to give all the audiophiles more to test their great systems...

I have recorded in CCIR & NAB but chose to record all my masters in NAB because IMHO violins sound more natural with a fuller mid-bass. In a conversation I had a few years ago, with the late Mike Spitz of ATR Magnetics, surprisingly he told me he also prefers NAB...."but Ed we are both swimming upstream - the whole world thinks CCIR is better"

As Amir said, I can supply you with a CCIR or NAB tape, but the real character of the master tape is NAB...

Enjoy the music & many thanks for your support & interest!
Ed
 
Last edited:

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Thank you Ed. I am glad I don't need to rush to recalibrate my deck :). Thanks again for creating such great work and importantly, being here to explain it to us.
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,606
5,415
1,278
E. England
Ed and Amirm, just popping over from my tape thread.
This is the kind of thing I'm going to buy first if and when I invest in the Technics RS1500/King Cello.
In fact, I pretty much like everything in the catalog.

I know it's a little off topic so early on, but do I have anything to worry about/be concerned about going the RS1500 route when it comes to: NAB v IEC? EQ settings? Flux settings?
I will freely admit, I have a LOT of educating to do so i know what the Hell I'm getting into LOL.

So, will the RS1500 cover all user choices that Amirm mentions in his opening statement?

Great to hear this is so stellar. Will make the initial self consciousness about tape a lot easier to mitigate.
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
First - this will be FUN for you... I can supply you with NAB or CCIR... since most tapes are CCIR, I imagine you should get your Technics with CCIR eq cards. I see no problems with the 396 tape levels, the King Cello handles it fine. I supply a 1 KHz tone at the beginning of the tape you can use to calibrate your output levels... I think this will be on the meters on your King Cello, so I really think all is GOOD... If you have any other questions, just ask here or PM me... happy to help!
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,606
5,415
1,278
E. England
Edward, so tech q no.1:
When I order my deck, will I have to make an option choice ie ccir OR nab? I won't be able to switch btwn both?
I know you can't speak for every label, but is there a choice when ordering from all of them on NAB v CCIR.
And I've been offered a meters box as an option, but it looks like I should DEFINITELY order it, to calibrate output levels.
Thanx for holding my hand as we cross a very busy and tricky road.
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
I'm not sure if the Technics can play both, switchable. ask them. If it has to be 1, since Tapeproject, etc. are all CCIR, order CCIR eq. Definitely get the meters on the King Cello - 1/2 the fun is watching the meters as the tape goes around! With tape, you need meters to know what's going on!
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,606
5,415
1,278
E. England
Edward, are any specialist tapes nab ONLY, or is there always a choice, or are some ccir ONLY?
Thanx for input, only by feeling my way in the dark will I get to the light switch LOL! I mean I don't want to trip up and push my prospective tapedeck over :cool:.
 

Edward Pong

Industry Expert
Jun 24, 2013
386
195
348
Locust Hill, Ontario
I can't speak for really what's all out there, but my tapes are recorded in NAB & offered in both NAB & CCIR. My sense is most are CCIR, but there are certainly many tapes in NAB, I think the King Cello maybe able to play both??? Ask them... if so, you've got it covered...
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
The web site for KC seems to have disappeared. But looking at a picture of their three-box unit, it has selectable IEC/NAB. That is one of the reasons people get these amps because consumer decks tend to only support NAB. The technics 1500 is such a device although the 1520 had both. Either way, it doesn't matter since you are getting the KC pre-amp.

The flux setting at playback only impacts what the meters show. If you don't have switch selectable for that, the meters may bang badly to the right. Again, the KC meter box has selectable settings (in db) that you can use to adjust what it shows as Ed mentioned. You play the 1 Khz tone and mess with the dial until you see the desired level. Note that nothing changes in the sound you hear. It is just impacting what the meter shows.
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
7,006
512
1,740
Snohomish, WA
www.pugetsoundstudios.com
If you are using an outboard pre, then the meters don't work and you will have no way of setting gain unless you use a volt meter. That's why Nick Doshi put meters on the front of his boxes. Unfortunately the KC doesn't have meters, unless Charlie makes a unit with meters. I thought I saw one somewhere.
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,606
5,415
1,278
E. England
The package I have incl the King Cello includes an option for a separate meters box, so obv Charlie's unit doesn't have meters as standard.
 

Ki Choi

Member Sponsor
May 13, 2010
764
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1,590
Seattle WA area
One of the options is to split the tape output signals and run it through a dual channel AC millivoltmeter. I use a Leader LMV186A with good results. I agree it helps to visualize the signals to assure the machine and the outboard preamp are working the way they should.
 

Tapetech

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2014
142
23
328
Fairfax, VA
One of the options is to split the tape output signals and run it through a dual channel AC millivoltmeter. I use a Leader LMV186A with good results. I agree it helps to visualize the signals to assure the machine and the outboard preamp are working the way they should.

Yes, that will work. One could also split the tape output signal and run audio back into the tape deck's line input (with the deck in source monitor mode). That will activate the deck's VU meters. The deck's input amps and meter amps would need to be tested and calibrated for accuracy.
 

c1ferrari

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 15, 2010
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Say, that's pretty clever! :cool:
 

Tapetech

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2014
142
23
328
Fairfax, VA
And you use the tape deck's line input controls to calibrate the meters: Play a 250 nwb/m MRL tape and adjust the line input controls for "0" VU (for a +3 operating level) or -3 VU (for a +6 operating level). Then put a small dot on the panel indicating where the line input control is set to. Most music tapes being sold today are recorded with +3 to +6 operating level range.
 
Last edited:

musicmanbob

New Member
Jul 12, 2012
13
0
1
Atlanta, Georgia Area
UltraAanalogue Reel to Reel Recordings

Hi everyone. This is my review of the UltraAanalogue Recordings’ Sampler No. 1.

I bought the tape a few weeks ago and it arrived in its original box that the blank RMG SM900 tape comes in. Considering the $60 I paid on Amazon for that tape, the $250 cost of the UA’s recordings does not seem unreasonable given the small quantities, the work of making the recordings, royalties, labor and such. Of course it is still an investment and the question is whether it is worth it.

In a word yes! My first experience started with spooling the tape, hitting play and getting taken back with the level of fidelity in an instant. I had not even made it back to my listening chair! It was like, “wow, where did that come from?” The Passacaglia starting passage could not be a better choice than to showcase what is to come. The strings pull at your proverbial heart and audiophile ears like there is no tomorrow. I sat there mesmerized until the tape ran off the spool!

But we are getting ahead of ourselves a bit. This being a review from an engineer, it can’t be one devoid of technical analysis :D. As mentioned on the UA web site, this tape by default comes in NAB equalization instead of the more common IEC. They will however make IEC version on request. Also different (?) is the recoding level. Given the SM900’s headroom, the recording is calibrated to a flux level of 250 nWb/m. My playback machine is an unmodified Otari B5050 which fortunately accommodates both. It has selectable EQ and three levels of Flux setting.

The tape nicely comes with a calibration tone at 1 Khz that is supposed to read at 0 dBu. Here is a shot of my meters when the setting is at *320* nWb/m:


As you see, it still reads hot. If I set it to 250, it is worse (peggs max). I am pretty certain this is an issue with lack of calibration in my machine. I plan to by an MRL measurement tape and get it in top shape within 0.00001 db accuracy. :D Fortunately none of this is material on playback as the flux rating just changes what the VU meters show. And there, most of the time they live below 0 dBu. I only saw it peg to the max a few times on dynamic passages.

Edit: turns out this is correct as the recording is not at 250 but 396. Please see Ed's note below.

Back to the content, this being a sampler, you get to hear the different recording settings. The second track for example has high enough gain where you hear the slightest movements of the musicians which is actually fun. Others are mic’ed at lower level so you just hear the music.

Here is the full list of tracks on this tape: Passacaglia, Czardas, Cassado-Finale, Liszt-Canzone, Meditation, Rachmaninov-Song. This brings me to a small nit. The web site has little detail on these tracks. I would have loved to read more about these compositions and the talent behind them playing in these tapes. No doubt they are described in far more detail in the respective tapes/concerts they were extracted. My suggestion is to add those descriptions to the sampler too. Fortunately the tape box has the names of the musicians and their instruments:



Here is the web site page for this sampler: http://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/wpsite/store/?cat_product=sampler-no-1. If you have a Reel to Reel deck and any interest in classical music at very high fidelity, this sampler from UltraAanalogue Recordings is a must have. Highly recommended.

P.S. I have no commercial interest in UltraAanalogue Recordings and bought this tape out of my own funds although Ed may have been kind enough to have shipped it for free to me.

Hello all and Amir, I am more than happy you finally got around to purchasing this tape. I don't have this particular reel to reel recording, but, I have several tapes and all are outstanding. However, my favorite is "The Chaconnes" featuring Xiang Yu on violin and Li Wang on piano. And, the recording on this tape that still brings tears to my eyes is Bach's Chaconne. It's absolutely awesome. Don't get me wrong, the Vitali in G minor and Monti Czardas remain tantalizingly good. I have a number of LP recordings of Bach's Chaconne and love them all. But, this reel to reel recording surpasses them all. As soon as I get a few dollars ahead, I plan to purchase several more tapes from UltraAnnalogue Recordings. I am not sure that any other producer of reel to reel classical music tapes are better. Dr. Ed Pong and Tony Ma go out of their way to produce music of the highest order and with outstanding musicians. The end results are the very best my ears have experienced. Thanks again for your review.

MusicManBob
 

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