http://www.revox.com/en/news/news-details/article/revox-und-horch-house-vereinbaren-enge-kooperation.html
I hope this actually gets built and sold.
I hope this actually gets built and sold.
New Revox Reel
- Thread starter dminches
- Start date
I agree that this can only be a positive for tape heads. OTOH the form factor seems to be limiting.
based on my experience with various levels of tape decks, it's hard to imagine a platform of the size shown in that picture attaining current state of the art performance in tape decks. looking under the hood of my particular master recorders I own or have owned, and considering the forces involved in moving heavy tape reels smoothly, I wonder what performance level is intended for this product.
my mind is open to the possibility that the latest technology applied to the challenges of tape deck performance can overcome the seemingly modest size.
my reservations not withstanding, Bravo to those responsible for this effort.
if the performance target is Revox then I agree.
but if it's the big-boy Studer master recorders I have my reservations.
Technology trumps size. Motors don't have to be very large these days to have a lot of torque and the deck chassis can be easily milled by CNC for strength and rigidity so again, size isn't necessarily a critical factor any longer.
Just look at the Air Force One compared to the other turntables like the Transrotor Artus and the Clearaudio Statement.
We have to wait and see.
I used to have Revox A77 along with my Tandberg 64X when my friend and I had an underground radio station in high school and college, but gave it to my violinist cousin when I stopped using it a few decades ago. I also had a Revox CD player, so I'm a Revox fan. Their stuff was bullt like a tank.
NOTE: this was reposted due to an edit.
Just look at the Air Force One compared to the other turntables like the Transrotor Artus and the Clearaudio Statement.
We have to wait and see.
I used to have Revox A77 along with my Tandberg 64X when my friend and I had an underground radio station in high school and college, but gave it to my violinist cousin when I stopped using it a few decades ago. I also had a Revox CD player, so I'm a Revox fan. Their stuff was bullt like a tank.
NOTE: this was reposted due to an edit.
I agree.
The sound quality could well be the same, but the heavy duty Studers may outlast it.
just like tt's; robust build matters in performance at the top of the RTR food chain. you can hear it.
and this new design has that cantilevered stand which cannot be beneficial to ultimate performance.
again; I'm not negative on the product.....I applaud it; just wondering what performance level it's aimed it.
I can provide this link as requested but it's on another forum, I hope that's acceptable here. If not the moderators have my permission to kindly remove it and to please accept my apologies in advance.
In an era when a new DAC or digital source seems to be released on an hourly basis this Revox news for me at least is perhaps the most exciting release-related news I've read in years. I really like the "slimline" form factor. I thought the very last sentence on that linked page was intriguing: "...the starting point for a whole new product line".
I was thinking about the comment Mike made (and agree with) concerning the stability of the studio/master recorders, aka the big Studers, Ampex etc. It's been repeated often enough that you have to start by getting the tape to move straight across the heads first before trying to extract performance from other areas, hence the need for a stable, robust transport platform.
However playing around with a Nagra IV-S with the QGB adapter has me revisiting the concept of good performance in a little machine. It makes great recordings, and indeed plenty of them have been dragged around the world to record on location. The quality is very good, they pretty much take a beating and still work. I don't know how they'd fair in a pure studio environment, but most of our machines won't see the workload they were originally designed for regardless.
If those photos are good renderings of the new machine's profile, I'd bet it could work given a certain level of component quality.
Tom
However playing around with a Nagra IV-S with the QGB adapter has me revisiting the concept of good performance in a little machine. It makes great recordings, and indeed plenty of them have been dragged around the world to record on location. The quality is very good, they pretty much take a beating and still work. I don't know how they'd fair in a pure studio environment, but most of our machines won't see the workload they were originally designed for regardless.
If those photos are good renderings of the new machine's profile, I'd bet it could work given a certain level of component quality.
Tom
+1 You beat me to it
I have some recordings made using small Nagras such as the 4S. They are exceptional and there is nothing to belie the small size of the units. Indeed, some of the Fone recordings I own are what you might have expected RCA Living Stereo to sound had they kept going for another 30 years, amassing the improvements of technology along the way. As for speed stability, they are almost without fault - as good as I have heard from any analogue based source.
My surmise about the $5K starting price point. I would think that would be for a playback only 1/4" 2 track. If you want to have record capability, that would be a significant add on (for record and erase heads and the additional record electronics.) There might even be 1/2" capability that would be an add on for a 1/2" kit (heads, guides, rollers, etc). If the sonics are equal to a typical prosumer model (Technics 1500, Otari MX5050, Tascam BR-20, Revox PR99, etc.) with good-great aftermarket prepro (BH, King-Cello, Doshi, etc) this could be a big deal. The folks that do the fine reconditioning of older prosumer decks may have some major competition, at a price point at the lower end of their offerings. If the sonics can compete with the big boys (Ampex ATR-100 series, Studer 820, etc) then that could be a game changer.
Larry
Larry
Yes, I agree. And I can't even see the point of having record capability anyway. Afterall, in this day and age where the tapes cost as much as they do, it is not as if consumers possess sources worth actually recording (not even if you wanted to transcribe a valuable original LP using a high end setup). It was obviously a very different case 30 years ago and even into the early 90s when I for one still had reason to (relatively economically) record to open reel. Plus the main point behind all of this is that the tapes are being made available along with the machine.
That said, in these mockup pre-production pictures I see a red LED above third-last key. What would that be used for? The pictures are too small for me to even see what the transport keys are (or maybe it is just my ageing eyesight).
That said, in these mockup pre-production pictures I see a red LED above third-last key. What would that be used for? The pictures are too small for me to even see what the transport keys are (or maybe it is just my ageing eyesight).
5 K ??? hard to believe , it looks a bit like a telefunken i think , also german
anyway it looks slick , and it will have modern spareparts .
Maybe the vinyl revival wont stop there , and main street will start spinning tape lol.
regarding tape cost i have a lot of broadcast tape as well , its not very expensive but has definetively the tape sound .
It might be my next audioproduct , available in first Q 2017 , i was thinking also about buying a fully restored telefunken deck
anyway it looks slick , and it will have modern spareparts .
Maybe the vinyl revival wont stop there , and main street will start spinning tape lol.
regarding tape cost i have a lot of broadcast tape as well , its not very expensive but has definetively the tape sound .
It might be my next audioproduct , available in first Q 2017 , i was thinking also about buying a fully restored telefunken deck
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