which reel to reel ?
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mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
ReVox
SaSi
Seriously Illogical
The Akai should be a fine machine. Much younger than the Revox and with Glass Ferrite heads, you should not have as a serious issue with head wear as with the Revox.
BTW, I'm more of a Revox fan, having 4 Revox R2R and 3 cassette decks and no Akai whatsoever. Also, welcome to Audiokarma.
BTW, I'm more of a Revox fan, having 4 Revox R2R and 3 cassette decks and no Akai whatsoever. Also, welcome to Audiokarma.
jan_stevns
Super Member
If both are in excellent condition - i'd grab the Revox
Many revox'es are 2 track versions, running 7.5 and 15 Ips, where the AKAI is a 4 track'er running 3.75 and 7.5Ips - a thing to have in mind.
For running the vast majority of consumer tapes, including almost all factory-recorded versions, the Akai would be the obvious choice in that case.
jan_stevns
Super Member
Yessir ... that was "a thing to have in mind"
I wanted to make sure the OP knew what he was getting into. :thmbsp:
jan_stevns
Super Member
Well - at least the OP has narrowed it down to two decks 
I would hate to choose between them - i'm afraid my choise would be the same as most of us - to buy both ! --- And then he's hooked
I would hate to choose between them - i'm afraid my choise would be the same as most of us - to buy both ! --- And then he's hooked
Well - at least the OP has narrowed it down to two decks
I would hate to choose between them - i'm afraid my choise would be the same as most of us - to buy both ! --- And then he's hooked
I don't think I could afford to buy one of them, much less both, unless I found a very lucky deal.
jan_stevns
Super Member
I don't think I could afford to buy one of them, much less both, unless I found a very lucky deal.
hmm..... another thing to have in mind just appeared ... the pricetag on tapes.
Where i'm located, used and usefull tapes are more rare than two mondays in one week
last trade was a .. well - very lucky deal - sold a TV set to a guy, got two TEAC's - and a boxfull of tapes, had to look in the calendar
fortycoats
Super Member
The O/P never said whether the requirement was for a 2-track model. Revox B-77 has an obviously stellar reputation for reliability and sound quality and also, rumour has it, parts are still readily available. However, it also has a reputation for "soft" heads. Akai GX, on the other hand, despite the well-regarded heads, has many stories of bad 'this-and-that' (maybe transistors especially?) although it is certainly one of the most beautiful decks ever produced and I *want* one, regardless of how good or bad it is 
Of course, it has built-in dbx too, which is a plus...
Of course, it has built-in dbx too, which is a plus...
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guiller
Toscaninichus Australis
It is a fact, not a rumor, that Revox still provides parts for its products, although pricing is not cheap. I bought a few of them in the last 10 years. On the other hand, many of these decks have been sold and donor machines are available quite easily.
fortycoats
Super Member
Re parts being readily available -- I had been thinking "why they wouldn't be?" If you go to any car dealership, you'll be able to get any part for any car up to 20 years old (even if at ridiculous prices that doom them to be thrown in the skip while you go and source a much cheaper after-market part instead). Then again, I guess our decks are all gone past the 20-year mark now!
hmm..... another thing to have in mind just appeared ... the pricetag on tapes.
Where i'm located, used and usefull tapes are more rare than two mondays in one week
last trade was a .. well - very lucky deal - sold a TV set to a guy, got two TEAC's - and a boxfull of tapes, had to look in the calendar
I've been lucky in that regard. I got a mountain of tapes with my Akai, and I've added another mountain since then. Two separate garage sales coughed up 25-50 decent to great tapes at $0.10 each.
jan_stevns
Super Member
Nice - hope them garage sellers newer would get a clue to what such things are worth
I - for sure won't tell them
Damn, that's a steal. I scrounge a lot and rarely find tapes, and very rarely buy them. Maxells and TDKs with some Scotch get picked up, but I avoid the old reddish Scotches and all the budget brands like Shamrock, Traxx, and the other low end tapes. Sony and Ampex are iffy as they are known to have shedding issues.
That being said, i wouldn't jump into RTR based upon the assumption of a plentiful, cheap supply of tape at garage sales. Cassettes, that's a different story, but RTR is pretty hard to find out there. When you find them, it's like Sam said 2 sales yielded a lot. The problem is it was only 2 sales, if you catch my drift.