Battle Royal for a Studer A-820

Mike Lavigne · Jul 8, 2012

there is an interesting ebay auction going on for a pristene Studer A-820 from Korea.

This is the first A-820 i've seen as nice as mine cosmetically (maybe nicer?).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Studer-A820...maschinen&hash=item27c899dff0#ht_13172wt_1185

there are still 7 days remaining and it's already at $10,768....and that is plus shipping. it appears to be a knock-out fight between 2 bidders; a***w and o***u. Crazy that you would see back and forth like that so early. i predict 2 things. (1) if the seller allows the bid process to go the distance it will sell above $15,000. (2) someone will buy it direct before it goes the distance.

it should be fun to watch.

Johnny Vinyl · Jul 8, 2012

Mike Lavigne said:
there is an interesting ebay auction going on for a pristene Studer A-820 from Korea.

This is the first A-820 i've seen as nice as mine cosmetically (maybe nicer?).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Studer-A820...maschinen&hash=item27c899dff0#ht_13172wt_1185

there are still 7 days remaining and it's already at $10,768....and that is plus shipping. it appears to be a knock-out fight between 2 bidders; a***w and o***u. Crazy that you would see back and forth like that so early. i predict 2 things. (1) if the seller allows the bid process to go the distance it will sell above $15,000. (2) someone will buy it direct before it goes the distance.

it should be fun to watch.

By posting this one has to wonder of you aren't that someone. Just sayin'

Peter Breuninger · Jul 8, 2012

That is a beauty. Would a guy be happy with that or what!

Mike Lavigne · Jul 8, 2012

John72953 said:
By posting this one has to wonder of you aren't that someone. Just sayin'

John, fair enough. but i'm not in Korea and i have my own A820 twins (one 1/4" and one 1/2") that are not going anywhere. my serial number is different than that one and mine is a MkI. and i don't need another Studer.

and if i was bidding the last thing i would do would be to post about it. i just figured it would be very interesting to anyone looking at this forum.

it will be nice to see an A820 in the same condition as mine go for big bucks.....as i'm hugely invested in mine.

Bruce B · Jul 8, 2012

I think anyone is crazy to pay more than $6k for an A820, when you can get an A80RC for under $4k and it sounds better!

Mike Lavigne · Jul 8, 2012

Bruce B said:
I think anyone is crazy to pay more than $6k for an A820, when you can get an A80RC for under $4k and it sounds better!

point me to an A80RC in anywhere close to that condition for under $4k now. that's so 3-4 years ago!

and stock electronics for an A820 are not their strong suit; but it's easily fixed.

A80RC's are typically pretty hammered.

Johnny Vinyl · Jul 8, 2012

Mike Lavigne said:
John, fair enough. but i'm not in Korea and i have my own A820 twins (one 1/4" and one 1/2") that are not going anywhere. my serial number is different than that one and mine is a MkI. and i don't need another Studer.

it will be nice to see an A820 in the same condition as mine go for big bucks.....as i'm hugely invested in mine.

I know nothing about tape machines, but if it sounds anything like the way it looks....someone is going to be very happy. I only have one question. If it does go for $15,000 is it worth it? I mean, is this deck that revered?

Bruce B · Jul 8, 2012

Mike Lavigne said:
point me to an A80RC in anywhere close to that condition for under $4k now. that's so 3-4 years ago!

and stock electronics for an A820 are not their strong suit; but it's easily fixed.

A80RC's are typically pretty hammered.

Ki all the time shows me the ones he finds. Hell... THIS one went for $1795 !!

I just bought a A80vu for $1500 a couple months ago!

Bruce B · Jul 8, 2012

John72953 said:
I know nothing about tape machines, but if it sounds anything like the way it looks....someone is going to be very happy. I only have one question. If it does go for $15,000 is it worth it? I mean, is this deck that revered?

No... not for that crazy money. If I were to spend $15k on a tape machine, I get a Spitz ATR that's better than brand new!

Mike Lavigne · Jul 8, 2012

John72953 said:
I know nothing about tape machines, but if it sounds anything like the way it looks....someone is going to be very happy. I only have one question. If it does go for $15,000 is it worth it? I mean, is this deck that revered?

it is thee deck to have. it has the best and most user friendly tape handling and is the best built. it is a joy to use. and to me it's the most elegant design. it can be fixed, you can find parts and people can repair it.

ideally you use it with a direct out head switch into custom output electronics.....as it's stock electronics are not it's strength.

objectively the Ampex ATR-102 has a slightly better transport, and there are a number of decks that people prefer the sound of other than the A820.

and that is just one man's opinion.

Mike Lavigne · Jul 8, 2012

Bruce B said:
Ki all the time shows me the ones he finds. Hell... THIS one went for $1795 !!

I just bought a A80vu for $1500 a couple months ago!

the one's i have seen look like projects. not to say that if you are always on the prowl there are not a few gems if you know what you are looking at. point me to a gem sometimes before it sells.

i'm not smart enough to be able to know what to look for.

microstrip · Jul 8, 2012

Mike Lavigne said:
point me to an A80RC in anywhere close to that condition for under $4k now. that's so 3-4 years ago!

and stock electronics for an A820 are not their strong suit; but it's easily fixed.

A80RC's are typically pretty hammered.

See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item2ebfa54388&item=200783774600&nma=true&pt=UK_Recorders_Rewriters&rt=nc&si=IDi0rcqOUXVkTkxwjrO0TCeE0DI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

The good thing about any A80RC is that any needed spares or boards are still easily available at nice prices, and after you replace the bearings and heads, a few electrolytic capacitors and have the machine realigned you get an almost new excellent recorder.

RogerD · Jul 8, 2012

11,000 for a A820 that you can not upgrade the stock electronics on and to get decent sound requires to spend another 2k to 4k.....not me.

btw I sold my half inch for 8K...they are a great transport but you have to have a qualified tech to repair one and sooner or later it will hiccup,too high maintenance for me.

Steve Williams · Jul 8, 2012

Bruce

I disagreed with you in another thread re paying for an audition but I'm with you here. Paying that sort of coin for that machine is not anything I would do either

Gary D · Jul 8, 2012

In my experience with the A820 the transport was very good only if you kept the tape path very clean all the time.The Time code head feature was a big part of that as residue built up very fast.That said the transport would malfunction at times in recording sessions arrrgh.There are only three people at best on the west coast to service these .There is know doubt the 820 is beautiful but parts availability and lack of ready support make it a non starter compared to other recorders. $12,000+ is a lot of coin for a sight unseen recorder.I can see throwing another $2500 at it to bring up to spec. The electronics playback side are less than stellar if you have the HXPRO record cards than the record side is excellent.
All told you can have $18,000-$20,000 in this rig with a playback system bought. For 1/5 that you can get recorders that sound much better and tape handling although not as pretty It is still very good + ... IMHO

Mike Lavigne · Jul 8, 2012

it's now at $11,137 btw....

it's funny with all the nay sayers on the A-820 (or is it simply the price?), i get people who want to buy one all the time contacting me. i tell them i have a completely rebuilt, better than new, perfect condition Ampex ATR-102 that i need to sell to pay for speakers, and all they want to talk about is A820's. for the typical non-techie audiophile like me, the ease of use, and elegant design, is hard to beat. and considering a tt set-up with anywhere close to this performance is going to be north of $50k-$75k all in, plus $10k-$20k+++++ for some Lps, $20k for the right RTR deck actually pencils.

and personally i've never had even the slightest issue with my 1/4" A820 i've owned for 5 years now. my 1/2" A820 works great, although i'm likely going to have the motors rebuilt and replace a few of the bearings. but these issues are not significant or even expensive. i suppose having Ki in the neighborhood takes away some of the fear i should have.

MylesBAstor · Jul 8, 2012

Mike Lavigne said:
it's now at $11,137 btw....

it's funny with all the nay sayers on the A-820, i get people who want to buy one all the time contacting me. i tell them i have completely rebuilt, better than new, perfect condition Ampex ATR-102 that i need to sell to pay for speakers, and all they want to talk about is A820's. for the typical non-techie audiophile like me, the ease of use, and elegant design, is hard to beat. and considering a tt set-up with anywhere close to this performance is going to be north of $75k all in, plus $10k-$20k for some Lps, $20k for the right RTR deck actually pencils.

and personally i've never had even the slightest issue with my 1/4" A820 i've owned for 5 years now. my 1/2" A820 works great, although i'm likely going to have the motors rebuilt and replace a few of the bearings. but these issues are not significant or even expensive. i suppose having Ki in the neighborhood takes away some of the fear i should have.

I'm still waiting for the Studer Ki left me in his will

Gary D · Jul 8, 2012

Mike Lavigne said:
it's now at $11,137 btw....

it's funny with all the nay sayers on the A-820 (or is it simply the price?), i get people who want to buy one all the time contacting me. i tell them i have completely rebuilt, better than new, perfect condition Ampex ATR-102 that i need to sell to pay for speakers, and all they want to talk about is A820's. for the typical non-techie audiophile like me, the ease of use, and elegant design, is hard to beat. and considering a tt set-up with anywhere close to this performance is going to be north of $50k-$75k all in, plus $10k-$20k+++++ for some Lps, $20k for the right RTR deck actually pencils.

and personally i've never had even the slightest issue with my 1/4" A820 i've owned for 5 years now. my 1/2" A820 works great, although i'm likely going to have the motors rebuilt and replace a few of the bearings. but these issues are not significant or even expensive. i suppose having Ki in the neighborhood takes away some of the fear i should have.

Mike,

I asked Fred if he would service mine and he replied in the negative,in all fairness Fred has taken on a new venture and it is all about a custom playback A820,the ultimate playback machine. If I had Ki next store I would probably have 2 like you. The A820 is probably the finest built machine,I just don't care for the playback. One must take into account when recording a master whether using a Studer or a Ampex it will still sound great. I just don't like the idea of using seperate playback electronics. That's a hurdle I haven't been able to jump yet.

Roger
p.s. I was on Gary's logon by mistake.

Bruce B · Jul 8, 2012

Gary D said:
The A820 is probably the finest built machine,I just don't care for the playback. One must take into account when recording a master whether using a Studer or a Ampex it will still sound great. I just don't like the idea of using seperate playback electronics. That's a hurdle I haven't been able to jump yet.
.

That's why I went with the A80RC models... it has great record AND playback electronics (after Ki worked his magic!).

They are so easy to tear down and put back together. All you need are about 5 tools.

RogerD · Jul 8, 2012

Bruce B said:
That's why I went with the A80RC models... it has great record AND playback electronics (after Ki worked his magic!).

They are so easy to tear down and put back together. All you need are about 5 tools.

Bruce,

I was ready to upgrade the stock A820 boards,pulled them out and only a fool would modify those electronics. Sure it has been done as transformers are eliminated and opamps switched out,but just looking at the boards,I thought no way. Maybe if I had 10 MR70 channels hanging around I would have mated a pair up to my A820,but that still requires Ki to get on a plane and come to Reno if the transport logic goes haywire.

Battle Royal for a Studer A-820

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