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RE: Doc B et al. are fans

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In Reply to: RE: Doc B et al. are fans posted by mhardy6647 on May 20, 2007 at 08:54:03

I wouldn't say the Revoxes are particularly more bulletproof. They are very good machines, but they had a fairly chronic problem with hairline fractures on the PC boards. The main issues with the Technics are crummy brake pads, which is easily fixed, shrieking tape counter pulley - again an easy fix, and the head selector switch is rather exposed and thus susceptible to breakage if the deck is slammed around. The transport mechanism itself is pretty rugged. About the only issue I find in the transport is that the tension roller arms are often tweaked a bit and the roller bearings need to be carefully re-shimmed for proper alignment. Once dialed in they pack tape beautifully. When it comes to rugged decks that sound good the rather homely Otari MX-5050 is also pretty high on the list.

All of these machines will give good performance if they are properly maintained. That is seldom the case, most used machines are beat to s**t. Even ones that look pristine can have worn out internal parts and shot heads.

The pro machines from Studer and Ampex are made with parts that are about twice to three times as beefy as any of these prosumer machines. That's a whole 'nother level of rugged and reliable. But they get used hard too, you gotta pay to play at that level, and the machines tend to be HUGE.

Follow Ups:

RE: Doc B et al. are fans - Braxus 15:51:43 05/21/07 (0)
Doc,
Would a PR99 be any better?
there you have it! - mhardy6647 05:46:50 05/21/07 (2)
Thanks Doc... I wasn't aware of the PCB problem in the ReVoxes. I do believe they're mechanically pretty tough, though.

BTW, I am suitably covetous of those Technics decks (complex or not)!

cheers.

all the best,
mrh
- RE: there you have it! - Doc B. 08:16:30 05/21/07 (1)
  Thank Mark,
  
  I'm not really trying to be a cheerleader for a given brand, and I agree that the mechanicals are very nice in the Revoxes. One real plus is that they are gentle tape handlers.
  
  My first choice for a personal machine was an Ampex ATR100, not an RS1500. After several thousand bucks spent to get it refurbed into proper running shape it now lives in the duping line in San Francisco. Which is probably a good thing, because it has made me figure out how to tweak the RS1500s here at Chateau Bottlehead for better than stock performance.
  
  At the risk of making generalizations, I would suggest that folks look for a constant tension design rather than an older constant torque design. There's a good reason for the change over to that type of transport design on later machines by many manufacturers.
  
  Paul and I have been buying samples of various brand machines so we can learn about how they sound comparatively and also what they might need to have done to them to play our tapes. So there's MX-5050s, a PR99, a Studer A810, and other machines around the studio as well as 1500s. What's Gary Dahl's favorite line - so many tubes so little time? It's kinda the same for tape decks.
  - RE: there you have it! - bshapiro 15:27:30 05/22/07 (0)
    I don't mean to be a one-brand booster either, the only deck I've had for a while is an Otari 5050b which is very solid and good sounding. But...
    
    Once I had a Revox A77 on the back seat, driver had to pull up suddenly, Revox slid off seat, hit back of front seat, crashed to floor. And it still worked perfectly! I'm just sayin'...
" ... good performance if they are properly maintained." - Dave Pogue 05:30:05 05/21/07 (0)
You simply can't overemphasize this. My two Teacs are in tip-top condition thanks to my tech (hope he never retires). Like most R-R decks, they're at least 20 years old, are quite complex compared with other hi-fi gear, and respond very well to regular maintenance, adjustment, de-magging, etc. I only wish it hadn't taken me so long to learn this :-)
RE: Doc B et al. are fans - Sour milk moon 13:16:34 05/20/07 (0)
..and the part replacement prices are huge too, which is why my day to day machines are Teac and Sonys

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