• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Recommendations for Portable Reel to Reel players?

Marantz13

Marantz13

New Member
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if any of you guys had any recommendations for good portable reel to reel players. Currently I own a large reel to reel player and was hoping to find a reel to reel I can bring to other places more easily, without sacrificing sound quality. Preferably, I would like a stereo 1/4" machine that can play 7", 7.5 ips tape. I would mainly use this to listen to pre-recorded tapes so recording ability is less important. I have tried looking at all of the listings for reel to reel players on ebay, but many portable machines either are mono or only play 5" tapes. I appreciate any feedback you guys can give, as I am sort of new at reel to reels.

Thanks,
Marantz13
 
Register to hide this ad
Marantz13 said:
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if any of you guys had any recommendations for good portable reel to reel players. Currently I own a large reel to reel player and was hoping to find a reel to reel I can bring to other places more easily, without sacrificing sound quality. Preferably, I would like a stereo 1/4" machine that can play 7", 7.5 ips tape. I would mainly use this to listen to pre-recorded tapes so recording ability is less important. I have tried looking at all of the listings for reel to reel players on ebay, but many portable machines either are mono or only play 5" tapes. I appreciate any feedback you guys can give, as I am sort of new at reel to reels.

Thanks,
Marantz13
Click to expand...

Wow, that's a tough one, at least if by "portable" you mean "on battery". The combination of stereo, portability and 7" reduces the choice to the Nagra IV-S and the Stellavox with stereo headblock and ABR accessory, both of which are totally overkill for what you want to do. There might be other possibilities at the other end of the marketing range, but the only low-end portable recorders that I am aware of are all very small machines, that take 11 cm reels or even less, and are not stereo.

However, if you can sacrifice some of your requirements, there are more realistic possibilities out there. You might consider a Uher Royal for instance, not battery-operated, not really portable (13 kg), but still smallish and it does take 7" reels. One good thing that makes me think about this particular deck is that (by exchanging the headblock, providing you can find them) it can play both 1/2 track and 1/4 track tapes. The specs are in the user manual there.
 
Last edited:
The UHER is an obvious choice.
Don't forget that the Revox B77 has a nice carrying handle on the top. That put's it into the "transportable" category, right?
Since you are willing to fore-go 10,5" reels, a machine like the Teac X-3 or X-3R could be a solution as it's compact and relatively lightweight.

It's really hard to get a R2R deck to properly function on batteries, primarily because of the large motors required to move the reels and the capstan. If you accept AC operation, then the options similar to the X-3 I mentioned are many.
 
Marantz13 said:
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if any of you guys had any recommendations for good portable reel to reel players. Currently I own a large reel to reel player and was hoping to find a reel to reel I can bring to other places more easily, without sacrificing sound quality. Preferably, I would like a stereo 1/4" machine that can play 7", 7.5 ips tape. I would mainly use this to listen to pre-recorded tapes so recording ability is less important. I have tried looking at all of the listings for reel to reel players on ebay, but many portable machines either are mono or only play 5" tapes. I appreciate any feedback you guys can give, as I am sort of new at reel to reels.

Thanks,
Marantz13
Click to expand...

You have Nagra, StellaVox, and Uher 4000 Report-S, and one Sony and one Akai (the X-IV) for portable machines. Nagras are not 1/4 track, most StellaVox models are not 1/4 track. Uhers could be, but much more commonly 1/2 track. All are very scarce, the Akai and Sony usually the least expensive. Most affordable portables, are 5 and sometimes 7", usually mono and usually 1/2 track mono. Many of them are also dependent on AC. Do remember that portable open reel machines do like lots of batteries, in the case of a Nagra, 12 D cells.
 
SaSi said:
The UHER is an obvious choice.
Don't forget that the Revox B77 has a nice carrying handle on the top. That put's it into the "transportable" category, right?
Since you are willing to fore-go 10,5" reels, a machine like the Teac X-3 or X-3R could be a solution as it's compact and relatively lightweight.

It's really hard to get a R2R deck to properly function on batteries, primarily because of the large motors required to move the reels and the capstan. If you accept AC operation, then the options similar to the X-3 I mentioned are many.
Click to expand...

Those Teacs have very weak capstan motors, motor switches with problems, and very dependent on diligent maintenance to not fail you. Motor switches scarce, capstan motor scarce. Very picky about that capstan belt being the proper type, and changed regularly.
 
jlb2 said:
Wow, that's a tough one, at least if by "portable" you mean "on battery". The combination of stereo, portability and 7" reduces the choice to the Nagra IV-S and the Stellavox with stereo headblock and ABR accessory, both of which are totally overkill for what you want to do. There might be other possibilities at the other end of the marketing range, but the only low-end portable recorders that I am aware of are all very small machines, that take 11 cm reels or even less, and are not stereo.

However, if you can sacrifice some of your requirements, there are more realistic possibilities out there. You might consider a Uher Royal for instance, not battery-operated, not exactly really portable (13 kg), but still smallish and it does take 7" spols. One good thing that makes me think about this particular deck is that (by exchanging the headblock, providing you can find them) it can both play 1/2 track and 1/4 track tapes. The specs are in the user manual there.
Click to expand...

No Nagra has 1/4 track heads. 1/2 track or 1/2 track with time code, or full track mono only depending on model, and how ordered. StellaVox same way (but did have a 1/4 track headblock available optionally). Both have spare parts costs, which make Studers seem cheap by comparison. Sony's TC 770 is battery, and 1/4 track Stereo, and so is the Akai X-IV, the only such machines I am aware of which do what you want, at somewhat attainable prices.
 
I guess that depends on the definition of portable. I have an Akai M8. Came with a handle and built in speakers. That makes it portable... but it weighs quite a bit so it’s limited portable.
 
Thank you all for your input,

The Sony TC 770-4 looks like a good option, but I can't find many current listings so I'll have to keep an eye out for them. The Akai X-IV also looks nice but does not play 7" reels. I only found one Uher report model (4400) that was stereo, but I am not sure if that one takes 1/2" or 1/4" tape. If you guys know what tape size it takes or other Uhers which are stereo and take 1/4" tape, please let me know.

If running on batteries is unreasonable for quality R2R's, I am willing to also consider AC options. The Uher Royal machines look like a good portable option for AC power, and with a decent price. I'll have to look more into portable AC machines.

Before I came here, I found the Aiwa Executive Attache (TP-719s), which had what I was looking for except stereo playback. Do you guys know if that is a good machine at all, and if it is possible I could put a stereo head in? If not, are there stereo machines similar to that one?

Thanks again,
Marantz13
 
KentTeffeteller said:
No Nagra has 1/4 track heads. 1/2 track or 1/2 track with time code, or full track mono only depending on model, and how ordered. StellaVox same way (but did have a 1/4 track headblock available optionally). Both have spare parts costs, which make Studers seem cheap by comparison. Sony's TC 770 is battery, and 1/4 track Stereo, and so is the Akai X-IV, the only such machines I am aware of which do what you want, at somewhat attainable prices.
Click to expand...
That's interesting, I didn't know that there had been a 1/4 track headblock available for the Stellavox, only the same layouts as Nagra. I wonder what it could be used for, maybe instrumentation recording? Well, to be fair Marantz13 did not specify that he wanted 1/4 track, he just said 1/4" tape. I thought the ability to play 1/2 or 1/4 track might be useful, considering he wants to play pre-recorded tapes. Whether or not this feature is important depends on his tape collection.

Re. the Nagras needing a lot of batteries, it's been my experience that, although they do require 12 D-type batteries to operate, they draw so little power that a set will last for weeks or even months of regular use, so it's a problem of weight rather than cost. I know engineers who used battery size adaptors to use C, or even AA cells in their Nagra. This saved weight and did not reduce the battery life in any significant way, considering they could still record all day long and more on a battery set, while saving their shoulders and their spine. The rationale for the 12 D cells was that the machine had been designed before high performance alkaline batteries.

BTW Marantz13 I hadn't seen that this was your first post. Welcome to Audiokarma!
 
Last edited:
Marantz13 said:
Thank you all for your input,

The Sony TC 770-4 looks like a good option, but I can't find many current listings so I'll have to keep an eye out for them. The Akai X-IV also looks nice but does not play 7" reels. I only found one Uher report model (4400) that was stereo, but I am not sure if that one takes 1/2" or 1/4" tape.
If you guys know what tape size it takes or other Uhers which are stereo and take 1/4" tape, please let me know.
Click to expand...
All the machines discussed in this thread take 1/4" tape. 1/2" tape is for professional and/or multitrack use, and is not used in any portable audio recorder. Are you talking about 1/4" width, or 1/4 track? 1/4-track layout stores 4 tracks over the width of the tape, 2 in one direction and 2 in the other direction, so you can double the recording duration by flipping the tape, like cassette. 1/2-track stores two, wider tracks on the tape, so you cannot flip the tape but the quality is better. Pre-recorded tapes should say on the label whether they are 1/2- or 1/4-track.

The Uher 4400 does not meet your requirements, it only takes 5" reels.

Marantz13 said:
Before I came here, I found the Aiwa Executive Attache (TP-719s), which had what I was looking for except stereo playback. Do you guys know if that is a good machine at all, and if it is possible I could put a stereo head in? If not, are there stereo machines similar to that one?

Thanks again,
Marantz13
Click to expand...
You cannot take a mono machine and make it a stereo machine by putting a stereo head in it. You would need to add all the electronics to amplify the second channel, and solve all the problems: wrong head fixture, no space for the extra circuitry, etc. If you want a stereo deck, then your only option is to look for a stereo deck. Whether you need a 1/2 track or a 1/4 track layout (or both) is up to you, depending on the tape collection you have.
 
Last edited:
jlb2 said:
That's interesting, I didn't know that there had been a 1/4 track headblock available for the Stellavox, only the same layouts as Nagra. I wonder what it could be used for, maybe instrumentation recording? Well, to be fair Marantz13 did not specify that he wanted 1/4 track, he just said 1/4" tape. I thought the ability to play 1/2 or 1/4 track might be useful, considering he wants to play pre-recorded tapes. Whether or not this feature is important depends on his tape collection.

Re. the Nagras needing a lot of batteries, it's been my experience that, although they do require 12 D-type batteries to operate, they draw so little power that a set will last for weeks or even months of regular use, so it's a problem of weight rather than cost. I know engineers who used battery size adaptors to use C, or even AA cells in their Nagra. This saved weight and did not reduce the battery life in any significant way, considering they could still record all day long and more on a battery set, while saving their shoulders and their spine. The rationale for the 12 D cells was that the machine had been designed before high performance alkaline batteries.

BTW Marantz13 I hadn't seen that this was your first post. Welcome to Audiokarma!
Click to expand...

He wants to play pre-recorded reel tapes, usually meaning 1/4 track Stereo, 3 3/4 or 7 1/2 IPS, which is what I have assumed. Most pre-recorded tapes are. And the standard consumer home HiFi format.
 
The Akai M-10L will do that but trust me you will want to use external speakers with it, plus in spite of its “portable” handle on top it is quite heavy. Models such as the Akai GX-220 (non “D” model) and the X-1810 also have built in amps and speakers but they aren’t really considered “portables” per se. Sony made an entire line of portable open reel decks but for the most part they are not the greatest performers. Any machine like this is going to need some work too don’t forget.
 
Sorry jlb2, I didn't know there were different ways used in reel to reels to store tracks but KentTeffeteller is right in that I am looking for a 1/4 track machine.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
StellaVox same way (but did have a 1/4 track headblock available optionally)
Click to expand...
Ah, just found what you are talking about. It's not a 1/4 track headblock actually, it's a whole 4-track machine called SQ7, specifically designed for quadraphonic recording. They made 50 of these in total. Photos and details (in French) are available there for those interested.
[/Off Topic] :)
 
Wow, now that is a rare machine! For those who don't know it yet, the APR2003 is a modified Sony TC510-2 that adds balanced inputs-outputs and a time code track. Very few were made, and probably even less have survived. I don't even want to know the price of a used one :confused: In its original form it only takes 5" reels, but someone (Claude Gendre if my memory serves) managed to make it accept even 10.5" reels by mounting a Stellavox ABR on it. A guy in Hong Kong is selling (not cheap) similar accessories that he manufactures himself, check "TC510 reel adapter" on a well-known auction site.

Needless to say, there is no such thing as a 1/4 track APR2003 (or TC510-2 for that matter), so it doesn't fit the bill for Marantz13.
 
But there is a Sony TC 770 battery portable 1/4 track machine with Stereo capability, which is the best option for him for a portable machine. That or an Akai X IV portable.
 
KentTeffeteller said:
But there is a Sony TC 770 battery portable 1/4 track machine with Stereo capability, which is the best option for him for a portable machine. That or an Akai X IV portable.
Click to expand...
I used to have a TC770. It also has XLR mic inputs and great mic preamps. It can be a bit of a challenge to keep it running mechanically. I recall having problems with the take up clutch control linkage. An interesting note about this deck, it has mechanical feedback on the supply side clutch to keep the tape tension the same regardless how much tape is on the supply reel. Same thing for take up torque. I used mine for on location recordings until I got a digital recorder. It made wonderful recordings. I called it a poor man's Nagra.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom