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Reel to Reel Question

strat10

strat10

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone, if you were to take a song and play it on a turntable then record that song onto a reel to reel from the vinyl playing on a turntable which would produce better audio quality? The original vinyl or the reel to reel? And how would a CD compare? Thanks.
 
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If you had a really good reel to reel recorder, and good tape, set up properly, the reel copy might sound as good as the vinyl. Bias or EQ on the r-r might make it sound sweeter to your ears, but this subjective affect could be repeated by eq'ing the sound straight off the turntable.

As for whether they'd sound better than the CD, it'd depend on what CD player was spinning the silver, and what turntable and phono-pre were handling the vinyl. On a good turntable, with good quality pressing, the vinyl could well sound better than the CD, but that's a lot of 'could wells' and 'dependings' :)

I personally like the sound of a reel, even when it's just messing with recordings of digital sources. It smoothes some of the harshness of some CD masters I think, and there's other seem to agree...
 
Reel to Reel copy can only ever be as good as the source material.
Vinyl degrades with every playback, granted you'll probably never wear an album out in a lifetime, or two for that matter, but accidents happen...
Given that, the reel recording does not compress the signal as does most digital formats. It's your best bet for a true archive. I have never heard a good reel to reel on a quality system.
I feel deprived.
 
Reels can sound amazing at best. I've had numerous machines over the years and it can sound "better" than the original depending on bias and so on, but as someone said, it's all a matter of preference. The best I have heard is 1/2" tape 2 channel at 15ips, pure heaven. The standard consumer "4 track" 2 channel w/noise reduction can also sound great as long as it's run at 7.5ips or higher.

I should really get another reel to reel....:scratch2:
 
Welcome to the tape forum, since it is about tape, many of us may be biased, (pun intended). While I like many CD's and LP's, there is something special about the sound from the 7" reels and cassettes that still see regular play around here.
We may put up with a little background noise in the same manner that died in the wool TT junkies will put up with some surface noise on an LP.
Dynamic range & signal to noise ratios are great specs to shoot for, and I guess when you do an A/B test, you will utlimately decide which you like better.
I say just keep your music spinning, and have fun. :thmbsp:
 
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