Nagra T

[awsmone]

Hiya

Is a working Nagra T a worthwhile buy or would I be better to get a UHA ? For playback only?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

for sexyness the Nagra T is the ultimate. chicks dig Nagra tape decks!!!

i owned a pristene Nagra T for 6 months back in the day. beautiful piece of machinery.

but.......find a Nagra T expert you can reach out to if you need help before you dive in. there is little support or knowledge base for those. Doc Bottlehead (Dan Schmale) of the Tape Project here in Washington State is a factory designated Nagra Tape Deck repair person to maybe contact about the details.

OTOH UHA is totally safe and sane. Greg Barron is great!

my 1st choice would be the best Ampex ATR-102 (or nice Studer A-80--2nd choice) you can afford. easily serviced and the upside of the performance is better than either of your ideas. and the dollars would not be any more even for a nice ATR. contact ATR Services to see what it might cost you.

 

[Two-Track Analog]

Hiya

Is a working Nagra T a worthwhile buy or would I be better to get a UHA ? For playback only?

Assume that any Nagra T that has not been fully refurbished will need maintenance - if not immediately, within reasonable timeframe of purchase if being used on a routine basis. As Mike mentioned, Doc at Bottlehead was designated a Nagra authorized repair center early this year and has since taken in several Nagra T Audio decks for complete servicing / refurbishing. Having taken in 5 Nagra T Audio decks since the spring, he has put significant time into and now has a good level of familiarity with the machines and their typical ailments. To keep things simple, he charges a flat fee for by the book, end-to-end servicing. Repairs are billed hourly.

 

[awsmone]

Thanks guys

Great feedback

 

[Two-Track Analog]

Let us know if you end up buying the Nagra T, the UHA, or something entirely different.

By the way, I'd echo @Mike Lavigne 's sentiment about the ATR102. Excellent machine, serviceable without a PhD, and incredibly flexible with the ability to swap head blocks & guides in 2-3 minutes as well as run 4 speeds. The only downside is that they're less living room friendly than a UHA or even Nagra T, but can be mounted in a vertical case for space conservation (see my profile image for an example) in a home system.

 

[15IPS]

Hiya

Is a working Nagra T a worthwhile buy or would I be better to get a UHA ? For playback only?

Nagra T is like the space shuttle. Cool, but it'll break you to keep it running. Plus the heads on Nagra's dont sound as nice as Studer 316/317. Might I suggest a Revox A77HS with updated playback cards?