Recording LPs

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
One thing that separates today's audiophiles from their predecessors is home recording. Many an audiophiles made their own home recordings--and JGH used to feature a regular column on reel to reel tape decks and recording in his then fledgling Stereophile.

Today, as is my case, I use my r2r for playback--but there's a growing minority out there who claim there's a third use for r2r decks beyond live recording and playback; theses audiophiles report that LPs copied at 15 ips on r2r decks sound better than the source disc.

How many out there have tried this and what are your impressions? Is the recorded tape better or simply different. Is it a case of the head bump adding a little richness to the recordings.

Waiting to hear everyone's experience!
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
One thing that separates today's audiophiles from their predecessors is home recording. Many an audiophiles made their own home recordings--and JGH used to feature a regular column on reel to reel tape decks and recording in his then fledgling Stereophile.

Today, as is my case, I use my r2r for playback--but there's a growing minority out there who claim there's a third use for r2r decks beyond live recording and playback; theses audiophiles report that LPs copied at 15 ips on r2r decks sound better than the source disc.

How many out there have tried this and what are your impressions? Is the recorded tape better or simply different. Is it a case of the head bump adding a little richness to the recordings.

Waiting to hear everyone's experience!

That is interesting as I have heard several espouse on this fact. One of our moderators here (mep) has gone on record many times at UHEF as well as Tape Project forum that he feels this to be the case. I have also read retorts from another of our members FrantzM that this just shouldn't be the case so like you Myles I am interested in what people have heard
 

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
6,455
29
405
Hi

I wil hold my peace on this subject ....

Frantz
 

mep

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
9,481
17
0
Frantz-we all know where you stand on this issue and it is hard to argue with your logic. As Steve reported, I have already run my mouth (or my fingers across the keyboard) on this topic numerous times and numerous places. I am a big proponent of making tapes for your personal use from your LPs. There are several good reasons to do this even if we want to concede that the tape only represents the quality of the LP and nothing magic happens during the recording process. Making a tape saves wear and tear on your treasured LPs. Also, I like to make compilation tapes that have lots of different songs on them vice a recording of an entire LP. I love the sound of my deck and the fact that I can make a tape, spool it up, and sit back and listen to around 45 minutes of uninterupted music is cool. Also, I feel very lucky to own a great pair of the Ampex 350s-they sound awesome. Blank reels of the big tape are around $50. That $50 buys a lot of great sound.

Mark
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
7,006
512
1,740
Snohomish, WA
www.pugetsoundstudios.com
Another thing would be to make some tape from really good DSD5.6 files. I've gotten some really great results from that.


Regards,
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
Another thing would be to make some tape from really good DSD5.6 files. I've gotten some really great results from that.


Regards,

That's an interesting variation Bruce. There was a fellow on Ebay, etc. (I think from Canada) that was selling 15 ips R2R tapes made from digital recordings.

What differences do you hear between the digital and R2R playback. Readers should also know that Bruce's decks are far from stock :)
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
7,006
512
1,740
Snohomish, WA
www.pugetsoundstudios.com
Just think of the best SACD you've ever heard with added tape saturation and lushness. It softens the edge on siblience and makes the bass fatter.
I use SM900 tape which is really quiet and you can hit pretty hard.
I had a piano player in a jazz group that had recorded his album on a Korg MR1000 at DSD5.6 He didn't like the glare/edginess that he got from poor mic placement/acoustics and everything I did took the life out of it. I ran it through the Studer and took the feed off the tape and magic happend. It really needs to be a good digital recording though. Recording a CD sounds like dung.

Regards,
 

John Brooks

New Member
Apr 26, 2010
16
0
0
Washington (the state)
I haven't copied LPs to tape, but have copied a couple CDs with surprisingly good results.

To wit: I wanted to copy the Purist Audio System Enhancer CD to tape so I could burn-in and maintain tape machines and accessories. For any of you who haven't used this CD, it far surpasses the Ayre or any other similar product. I also wanted to have a "reference" track on the tape, so I could hear before and after. I chose to record "Old Man River" from the Sinatra and Sextet Live in Paris CD. This may be the most soul and emotion that Frank ever put into a song. It (and the Purist) were recorded at 7-1/2 ips 2-track. The playback of the tape removed (as Bruce noted) all traces of digital grunge and added a smoothness, body and fluidity to the vocals and piano that are utterly delightful. Later I obtained the MoFi LP of this performance. I would say that the top end is a bit more lifelike on the LP (played back through a Nottingham Hyperspace with Ace Anna Arm and ZYX Universe and Art Audio Vinyl Reference) and the tape a bit more euphonic. Both are dramatically superior to the CD.

I may at some point try recording the CD at 15 ips and see what the difference is.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,442
13,471
2,710
London
Interesting because yesterday I heard one vinyl done this way and the tape sounded better, and the guy who did it claimed that was always the case on his Studer
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing