The most expensive music format (in the world)

Is Reel to Reel the new Vinyl? Short answer: No. Long answer: It's complicated - Press Play.
In this video I'll be playing pre-recorded tapes from 1957 & 2017 The first half concentrates on the history & background, and the second moves onto the current day and the most expensive pre-recorded music format available for the home.
CHAPTERS
01:11 i) History - Explanation of the format
15:01 ii) Now - The ultimate in high-end analog music
More Information/Links:
The Tape Project
(Tapes & Useful Information)
tapeproject.com
The Verge Article from 2015
www.theverge.com/2015/10/5/94...
United Home Audio
(High end 15ips machines)
www.unitedhomeproducts.com
Horch House
(Tapes)
www.horchhouse.com
Opus 3 Records
(Tapes)
www.opus3records.com
Analogy Records
(Tapes)
www.analogyrecords.org
What Hi-Fi article
(quoted in the video)
www.whathifi.com/features/hol...
Clearly a short video like this can't hope to cover every possible aspect of the complete history of Reel to Reel from 1928 to 2017...for example it's missing facts like the first stereo tapes were recorded in Germany in the early 1940s, how the different thicknesses and formulations of tapes affect sound quality, and why tails-out storage of tapes is recommended. If you would like more information on reel to reel the following website is a great place to start: reel2reeltexas.com/index.html
If you are shopping for a Reel to Reel machine on ebay - here's my affiliated link ebay.to/2j1afnA
UPDATE: DUPLICATION PROCESS The company that I contacted have now answered my questions and clarified their duplication process.
They borrow the master tape, make a copy (or more likely a number of identical parallel copies on a bank of tape machines)...they then use these copies as their master to run duplicates off that they sell to you. The original master is returned to the studio.
The 1957 stereo demo tape can be heard in full on my website:
www.techmoan.com/blog/2017/12/...
...and yes the demo tape contains the voices of Art Gilmore as the narrator and June Foray as the bowler - you can see this written at the bottom of the tape box at 08:17
------------SUPPORT--------------
This channel can be supported through Patreon
/ techmoan
Patrons usually have early access to videos
--------------SUBSCRIBE-----------------
kzbin.info?...
---------Outro Music----------
Over Time - Vibe Tracks • Over Time - Vibe Track...
-----Outro Sound Effect-----
ThatSFXGuy - • Six Million Dollar man...

[@Techmoan]

There are links in the video description text box if you need more information on anything covered (or not covered) in the video. You can also skip past the history section and get straight to the present day high end-tapes by jumping to 15:01

[@simonsaysrewind]

Techmoan have a brilliant Christmas and I look forward to more brilliant videos next year 👍 💿 🎶 📺 📻 🎧

[@themroc8231]

Had you missed the opportunity to insert a "Can't slow down" joke I would have been soooo teribly disappointed, I might have had to consider unsubscribing. But you delivered, as always. On a more serious note: happy holidays to you!

[@ColdSphinX]

@Techmoan what's your thoughts on HiRes audio above 192kHz? Like 352,8kHz and 384kHz? Also im still looking for some 384kHz examples as I only found some 352.8kHz on 2l.no/hires

[@dsdvinylrec1428]

Techmoan actually there is a company who makes new reel to reel machines. It is called Ballfinger. Check out their website and this link: manofmany.com/tech/ballfinger-release-new-reel-reel-tape-player

[@Techmoan]

@ColdSphinX At a certain point to me its more about the type of music and how it was originally recorded and mastered than the end format. Its like the old phrase says, ‘You can’t polish a turd’.

[@saulgoodman1390]

"Getting into reel to reel tape, eh?" "Yeah, what really attracted me was the cost and inconvenience "

[@nathanboulton2066]

reely!!

[@joboo7143]

Yeah I found a nice mint condition Panasonic reel-to-reel on a remodel job the new owner didn't care told me to throw it away or keep it so I thought everybody collects records maybe I could start collecting reels as a hobby. So I looked up reels and I see Black Sabbath Paranoid for about $500 and I thought to myself yeah it's not for me.

[@RetNemmoc555]

@@joboo7143 Wow, I had that one (and a dozen or so more pre-recorded tapes) and just threw them in when I sold my 4-channel Teac for $50. I also handed over hundreds of hours of rock interviews recorded from KLOS in the 70s.

[@korbenbutterworth3479]

@@joboo7143 I got a dead Panasonic and a semi working Phillips recently they are nice even if they where cheap

[@user-ju2gx4wq2s]

This is why I'm getting into 8-track. I found three huge boxes of them on the side of the road

[@douglaskalberg8899]

"The machine only plays One Direction" was a scary way for me to mishear.

[@abousono1]

LOL, that's funny!

[@dead_art]

per machine :)

[@MrWombatty]

That's worse than a zombie-apocalypse!!!

[@sheepboy32785]

So... a One Direction "album" then

[@oleo007]

Best comment ever....LOL

[@SorinNicu]

In former Eastern Block, the "western" LPs were not officially imported. You can smuggle one of the newest "western" LP's but the majority of people didn't have access to relatives living in "west" to bring those in (we were not allowed to travel in that direction). Some EMI records pressed in India would trickle in the stores, very expensive and you needed to "know" people to able to buy one. So the reel-to-reel were extraordinary popular for pirating those rare LP's, and every youth dream was to own a reel-to-reel (like Czechoslovakia's TESLA or USSR's MAJAK or later ROSTOV). Basically you would pay somebody to make a copy from their LP to tape. A copy of that "master" copy was still well-regard. Even the third gen copies were still OK, at 19.05 cm/s (7-1/2 ips). Blank tapes were of marginal quality (mostly East German ORWO) and who could get a hold of an AGFA or BASF were lucky.

[@michachemowski8518]

Depends on the country. They were quite widely available in Poland

[@Alorand]

Being an audiophile seems like a masochisticly expensive hobby...

[@TheStarclipse]

Audiophiles Are Going to Extremes: //kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnutqmmMf9uGec0

[@Honsanmai]

I've seen speakers the price of a car

[@Honsanmai]

although if you don't aim for the most cutting edge technology, the highest of high fidelity and the obscurest of obscure formats, you can find something decent at a reasonable price. also a lot of old tech can sound decent even by todays standards, so you might get lucky when browsing fleamarkets.

[@henrikpersson4698]

@@Honsanmai A good car, too

[@Honsanmai]

@Dalle Smalhals I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean with that. I'm just saying that a lot of old audio equipment is still capable of producing decent sound and can even be combined with current stuff.

[@RFC3514]

Having worked with plenty of professional reel-to-reel recorders back in the day, the only regret I have is not holding on to a couple of Nagras and Stellavoxes I had, to sell them to -suckers- "audiophiles" now. The "superior quality" you hear in these tapes is just good recording and good mastering (there was a lot of crap back then too, it's just that those got weeded out over time), it has very little to do with the actual format - that's why these recordings sound great even with KZbin's lossy compression. The problem with modern digital audio isn't its intrinsic quality (which is better than any analog format ever used), it's the fact that it's so easy to use that it enabled some very incompetent people to work as sound recordists and engineers, a bit like the cheap synth boom in the 80s led to a flood of bad musicians, and autotune led to a flood of bad singers in the early 2000s (and "social networking" led to a flood of on-line stupidity in general). Good stuff is still being made (in higher quality and higher quantity than ever), it's just harder to find in the middle of all the crap.

[@danielr9708]

Absolutely. High quality digital files can be amazing. This reel-to-reel thing just seems a bit absurd (but hey, rich people can afford it).

[@Peasmouldia]

Back in the mid 70s I worked as a roadie for Charisma Records. We visited Air Studios (the Oxford Street one) on a number of occasions. Plush don't cover it. The band I worked for at the time, Capability Brown, provided backing vocals on other peoples albums. That place was mind blowing to me at the time. We also used Morgan studios, opposite end of the scale! Your observations are totally spot on. Thanks.

[@prep74]

Excellent analysis and so true. There is a lot of nostalgia about analog recordings among us older folks which is not surprising because if that is the sound one grew up with, then it is those distortions inherent in that media which some people can prefer, but it is not better than digital (which is essentially transparent to source) on any objective measurement of fidelity. The best thing analog media had going for it is that it required skilled and experienced producers to work within that media's limitations (particularly vinyl) whereas now, a 15 yo kid can master a digital recording in his bedroom.

[@nightmareasmr92]

Absolutely! Which is sadly why bands like `White Reaper` and whatever gawd awful messes that Simon Cowell n co. create end up flooding fitness centers and eventually close down due to so many people vomiting. ..,.such a sad sad state of things. And yes... Auto correct for ``singers`` is an allergy of mine. ...It provokes a seriously violent reaction that causes structural damage to any nearby areas.

[@pirate0jimmy]

+1. Making my own recordings from microphones sounds great, or at least not stepped on. The 24/192 recorder is worth one-eighth of what the microphone pair is, and is over-the-shoulder instead of handtruck from a van.

[@PhilipLeitch]

I've got a vintage pair of ears that seem to be the limiting factor in my audiophile system. They haven't made ears like mine in over 40 years.

[@kkfoto]

Mine are a bit older. Even poor quality MP3 sounds good to me now :(

[@robertdaly9162]

I've had my hearing checked a few times (tinnitus and eustachian tube disfunction). They give you a graph showing which frequencies you have reductions in. I suppose, in theory, one could adjust their equalizer to compensate.

[@lbowsk]

Try on some 60-year-old ears that have spent the last 32 years flying airplanes for a living. Oh, and blasting The Who (etc) through huge amps and Klipsch speakers. ;)

[@daviddrake7003]

Steve Like Klipshhorns?

[@AngDavies]

@@robertdaly9162 that's how hearing aids tend to work right? It's why they're not transferable between people. I'd imagine they still clip the audio to safe levels, wouldn't want to mess around with that much in case you end up damaging your ear at those frequencies even further

[@evilspoons]

Sweet, sweet dynamic range 10:00 This is entirely possible on digital but of course we get LOUD as the mix instead.

[@nickwilczynski3684]

You know, that's actually a really good point. I wish people would talk more about this...

[@cdreid99999]

Actually you get compression and quantization. Rick Vito and others cover this. Corporate tax notice that super popular pop songs we're very compressed and quantized so they made that the standard. Rick Vito has a demonstration of this before and after and the difference is stunning. They take genuinely beautiful music and remove the dynamic range so basically you take Master tape quality audio and reduce it to AM radio quality and release it it's insane

[@Bassalicious]

The loudness war is definitely a bad thing the digital age brought us.

[@bmhater1283]

@@Bassalicious What should I say? That war sucks.

[@AutPen38]

The loudness war began at least as early as the late 1950s when Berry Gordy wanted to make his 7" singles sound louder than rival tracks on jukeboxes. (It's why Motown had its own mastering lab with "top secret" technology). Louder songs earned more money in jukeboxes and they were requested more on the radio. It became a stupid arms race that led to the ridiculous "square wave" tracks around the year 2000, but it all started a lot longer ago than most people think. These days, there's a "loudness war" on social media. Whoever shouts the loudest usually gets the most attention. It's refreshing to see someone more mild-mannered (Techmoan) getting lots of attention without resorting to too much clickbait nonsense.

[@55billmarshall]

This brought back memories. I was a (mostly live) sound engineer in the 70s and Revox were the standard for semi-pro (and a lot of pro) work. I couldn't afford one so bought a Tandberg, which was surprisingly good and which I used to record live gigs from the mixing desk as well as using it for sound effects for theatre. Ws almost ready to buy B77 when of course Revox brought out the 700 series which was superb but way out of all our pockets. The quality of all these decks was excellent - largely because of the wide dynamic range - none of the compression and Dolby-ish processing which made cassettes sound so boxy unless you had a Nakamishi. It's the recording capability that I miss the most - for a while you could use Mini-Disc which worked pretty well and was a lot easier than lugging a Revox to a gig! But I also miss the sheer quality; I don't think the younger generations realise how poor the quality is from their highly compressed MP3s. Even with my lower hi-frequency response on my ageing ears I can hear a big difference, and I find I don't listen for pleasure anything like as much as when I had my old analog hi-fi rigs (I moved abroad and couldn't take them with me). Now re-learning electric guitar and catching up with technology but oh how I miss the old days. (Incidentally it was great to see the Revox with the built in tape-splicing block on the right hand side - used a standalone block frequently back then to make edits.)

[@xcvsdxvsx]

21:12 That is just about the highest quality sounding sound I have heard come out of a youtube video.

[@AfferbeckBeats]

KZbin's audio has improved a lot in recent years. Look up a song that was uploaded in like 2008, then compare it to the same song uploaded in the last couple of years by the presumably automatic KZbin system where the uploader is the artist as a 'topic'. They sound pretty damn good indeed.

[@RCAvhstape]

Yes, 2112 is a fantastic album! Oh...wait...you were talking about this tape thing...

[@Carl-vm8ej]

I had the same thought :')

[@javaking1000]

Zcooger Second Channel, you are THE BEST! That is some great info that I had no idea about - thank-you!!

[@caloss2]

Right Click the video and click stats for nerds, this video is at opus 251.

[@wanderer_87]

The irony of listening to this video through $4 ear buds is palpable...

[@briansmith8967]

wanderer_87 or on an iPad without earbuds 😉

[@baltofarlander2618]

Amateurs... I listen it on earphones I found on the street, no joking.

[@LBSiUK]

@@baltofarlander2618 No joke, I first heard this video on my tour guide earphone from the road in the Vatican city. Talk about being cheap!

[@basedbattledroid3507]

You paid for your headphones? Maybe that's where I've been going wrong.

[@LBSiUK]

@@basedbattledroid3507 I didn't pay for mine, they were free.

[@jihadjoe]

The quality of that recording from 1958 was awesome! The technology may have progressed, but the direction of mastering has certainly gone backwards.

[@patrickcannell2258]

A digital science. Not an art as it was.

[@garytorresani8846]

And that’s the problem. Mastering used to be an art form. Production was clean and faithful to the music being recorded, no matter what the genre. Then digital happened and mastering went down the tubes. The loudness wars killed music with digital distortion and compression, auto tune etc. add in mp3 and there’s no life, no air in the music. Add radio stations, utube adding even more compression and you get nothing but distortion in certain frequencies, especially the highs. Studies show that the human ear cannot handle long periods of digital compression before the brain says, I’ve had enough and will stop listening from fatigue. In another words, producers and mastering folks have conditioned listeners,to expect and normalize lousy sound quality.

[@markvandenberg4606]

Exactly. A quality recording and the quality of the amp and speakers are way more important than the medium.

[@Zawmbbeh]

⁠@@garytorresani8846it’s a change of standards and is likely motivated by money. That being said, there are still excellently produced albums being produced to this day, some of which focus on dynamic range, some on textures, some on stereo effect, etc. For every trend that seems dead, always seem to go underground. Nothing good ever dies

[@superotterboy1737]

Tape is honestly one of my favourite formats. It's a shame that it's become so expensive and unattainable for most casual listeners. It was such an elegant and yet simplistic platform.

[@ericolens3]

Oof. I hope you are referring to casette tapes or the 8 tracks, VCR casettes, beta casette. I just want to find you house and show off my neodymium collection of magnets.

[@neoasura]

@@ericolens3 Lol don't worry, weather humidity will do it's job just fine on those tapes.

[@av.punk.801]

ugh, preach mate... as a cassette fan, I blame Stranger Things. Give ot some time for the hype to die off and we'll go back to the $2 a tape glory days. As for 8 track, beta/vhs, those are thankfully stable in price these days

[@Padraigp]

There a reel to reel portable for 120 quid looks like a 1950s submarine thing...in a suitcase...I have reel to reel tapes but I wonder should I buy it to play them. I figured they would be bad by now cos my cassettes are bad. Not sure what era they are. I've got shellac records and so much pianola rolls and all sorts of sheet music and records and tapes and goodness knows what.

[@socksumi]

Use a HIFI VCR. Tapes are cheap in comparison to reel tapes and the recording quality is superior... meaning it sounds more lifelike to the source. So yes it's true... the audio quality of VHS HIFI (a good machine) is superior to even the most expensive open reel decks, and is a fraction of the cost. There is your solution.

[@Jurlan]

While seeing this video i've realized that my speakers were plugged the wrong way. Thank you!

[@glalevbg]

And because of your comment , I realized that sound channels of the video are not reversed, but rather my set up, thank you :)

[@jamste1977]

I had my wireless headphones on the wrong way round

[@largeowl6024]

Me 3

[@miesesomar]

My cheapo ear buds don't have R L marks. Thanks, I got that sorted now.

[@Mantzy_AUS]

Thanks to this video I realised I was upside down

[@rexsexson5349]

Your channel. Your finds. Your presentation. Your explanation. Your information delivery. Plus your refurbishing of old technology is the best.

[@mutestingray]

“It’s quite simply the best KZbin channel... in the world” - Matt Clarkson

[@zvast]

I had to smile, when you said "how good is my hearing" :-) Because by the time we learn about all this and have enough money to buy such a equipment, from the tape, amps and speakers, our ears are so old, can we really hear such a fine sound?

[@ChaoticAphrodite]

Y’know it’s weird being someone in her mid 40s whose hearing range is better than most teenagers and whose sensitivity is akin to a toddler’s. I am fortunate that I took care of my ears back in the day without realizing it.

[@jimbell3821]

A high school friend had the ultimate one-up over this-a quadraphonic reel to reel, to go with his Marantz 4400 quad receiver (complete with wired remote) and his four Klipsch floor speakers (think they were Heresys, but not sure after all these years), and a quad turntable, just to top it off. No surprise, music selection was limited (and pricey), but it was light years ahead of its time. He had close to 8K in the entire set up in 1974.

[@LittlePixelTM]

I just renovated my Dad's Revox B77 for him; new paint, capacitors, VU bulbs - such a fantastic machine

[@harrygaul4475]

Littlepixel™ That Revox is probably still worth a small fortune; they cost more than cars in the 70's. Cheers for your efforts refurbishing it. Harry

[@LittlePixelTM]

It's certainly not a mint one - my dad used it for editing in the 80s and the heads are prettty worn so it's never going to command the prices of some of the minters you see on ebay. It's academic really - one day I will likely inherit it and I don't really plan to sell it if it does come my way.

[@paulcoddington664]

A friend of mine at high school had a B77 in the family home stereo. It was amazing. I've always wanted one. Had the opportunity to pick up one for cheap some years back, but it looked a bit worn. I still have some reel and cassette tapes that could do with transfer to digital at some point (audio recordings of family events, garage album) - will have to figure out a way to get it done someday (hopefully the tapes are still OK, no assurance that they will be).

[@user-74652]

That 1957 tape you played sounded amazing. For some reason, I never thought I'd ever hear such high quality audio come from that era. It's kind of jarring to hear people talking in that accent with such clarity and no distortion whatsoever.

[@marie-ramaghurburrun9204]

In the 1950s, British company Quad designed and built an electrostatic loudspeaker (Quad 57, later improved upon with the Quad 63 - I believe the number relates to the first year of production) that even today is not easily "beaten" on sound quality, unless you spend well into 4 figures! I have a pair of 63s and I can tell you that partnered with a suitable/appropriate amp(s) and dac (eg: Benchmark) you will have to spend into multiple tens of thousands of pounds to gain greater insight into a recording.

[@mosespray4510]

My dad had a stereo reel to reel recorder in the 70's and 80's and I used it constantly in my pre-teen and teen years. The controls were really satisfying to use, with two big rotary levers that you would turn with a mechanical "chunk." I would love to have one again, largely because it reminds me of him. Thank you for a great video on this subject!

[@kfl611]

Classic audio is supposed to be heavy - solidly built, no plastic. It is supposed to clunk and maybe if you are lucky have tubes / valves.......

[@mosespray4510]

@@kfl611 You're preaching to the choir!

[@thebones]

being a producer in a former life, I've had the pleasure of mastering onto 1/2" 30ips, now that sounds truly great. Make a copy onto DAT is preferable to a hard drive to my ears. One problem with buying old tapes, is that they are falling to bits and ungluing themselves by the hour!

[@paulgascoigne5343]

That dynamic range was absolutely awesome! My subwoofer nearly made the plaster crack on the wall.

[@exiletomars]

If someone is doing digital copies of master tapes tbh I'd prefer the digital transfer of the original master tapes.

[@stevewilson8540]

I know, right? I see no point in further complicating the signal chain by recording it on a different format. You introduce so many more variables. It's more like gear fetishism.

[@newjamisonia]

There are some SACDs that claim to be digital versions of original master recordings. Not super hard to get SACD files onto your PC now.

[@leajiaure]

Gear fetishism is 50% of music for me! The other half is, uh, the music

[@lightningblender]

newjamisonia I find it highly amusing that companies spend millions on copy protection schemes and most times they get broken within a week or two. And within a year it’s a hassle free experience...

[@SirNarax]

@@lightningblender If I may explain the why to that? It is done because the first few weeks of a launch are usually the most important. So they are just trying to delay the inevitable long enough rather than prevent it completely. Although with the music industry it is hard to tell they are a bit silly. That is what it is like for software though.

[@j.b.708]

the ringing in my ears sounds even better on that 15 ips tape!

[@tinasparkle3974]

Absolutely love this guy. Informative, down to earth language, and very dry humour. Really looking forward to visiting the next UK hi-fi show with my newly acquired knowledge of open reel machines.

[@U014B]

Only slightly less expensive than getting the artists to perform live at your house.

[@monzarace]

That would be the neighbor's cat screaming from from the wooden fence then... Cheers.

[@KarlAdamsAudio]

If anyone's wondering why tapes are stored 'tail-out', it's so that any magnetic print-through from layer-to-layer causes a post-echo, rather than a pre-echo, as the former is relatively benign, while the latter is very distracting indeed.

[@miketaylor247]

Interesting..thanks. I have many compact cassettes with the 'print through' symptoms - like a very bad delay effect!

[@darkstarnh]

Correct. In my days as a sound engineer in TV storing tapes 'tail in' was almost a sacking offence!

[@johnmichaelrichards]

Spot on. indeed there was at one time a move towards using archival tape media which had a much thicker base and sometimes a composite base, to lessen the effect of bleed-through. For the last five years some of my colleagues have been archiving a massive collection of BBC Radiophonic Workshop recordings and similarly making digital copies too. The bleed-through on these old tapes, most of which were always appropriately stored tail-out at RPWS at Maida Vale, is none-the-less very noticeable. For those of you who have good quality compact cassette decks, bleed-through is even more apparent. And if you really want to hear it, leave a healthy ten second lead in time, such that not just the leader tape, but also the magnetic tape portion is blanc and you'll hear the muffled bleed-through. Moreover, the effect of post-bleed-through and, more especially, the manner in which most audio sounds generally decay in amplitude versus time, is the prime reason why so very many high-end copies are not only half-speed mastered, but often reverse-mastered too, so the tapes are rolling backwards - this actually ameliorates issues of tape head over-saturation. The technique is equally applicable when making either tape or vinyl copies. Pre-echo bleed-through is almost akin to the disconcerting effect one hears when playing a recording backwards. This is why post-echo is less intrusive.

[@johnmichaelrichards]

The tapes received were a mixture of those which had been kept at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop at Maida Vale, so not archived by them, but clearly, someone had discipline therein and thought to look after them. i can't comment on the rest of the BBC in London, though in my work occasionally works in BBC radio they were not at all disciplined and there was an ethos of devolving all such responsibility to the BBC Sound Archive, so this meant that many were the worse for wear or utterly destroyed before the archivists got their hands on them. The very large number of tapes which went to Mark Shaw and his colleagues at the University of Manchester, was from the private estate of the late Delia Derbyshire. She sadly became an alcoholic later in life after the BBC unceremoniously dispensed of her expertise, but she was a compulsive hoarder and the old reels were found in the attic and all over her house - thankfully they didn't end up as landfill.

[@johnmichaelrichards]

Indeed. Such a tragedy so much material has been lost through inept storage and lax handling

[@orchidhouse297]

The local school let me have a big broadcast quality Xerox that could run at 15 inches per second. The sound quality was as good as anything I had until mini disks appeared. It was a 'loan that might be forgotten' as it was too heavy for the lady teachers to move around, so it had been replaced with a record player.

[@bareknuckles2u]

You make amazing videos! The footage, editing, background research, sound, etc is so great. Most importantly, however, is YOU! You are so well spoken, intelligent, and thoughtful. Thank you for these videos!

[@geekdomo]

A year since I saw this video. 3 new Reel to Reel decks and hundreds of tapes. I now have a Teac X1000-R from '82. Restoring these things has become a new passion of mine. Thanks Techmoan for the new addiction.

[@kc4e841]

I had a Teac that did sound on sound. Back when a real 4 track cost more than a house!

[@micheltremblay4774]

I still have a TEAC X-1000RBL with DBX that I bought new in 1984-85, it just sounds wonderful. I still have a few original tapes, 4 AKAI EE-150-10M and 2 MAXELL UDXL 35-180B and I play them at least once a year. They are loaded with Big Band and Classical music recordings from High End analog sources.

[@francisaugistino701]

geekdomo I pick up a Teac A 5300 and need to learn

[@jijzer3284]

I have the same problem 12 26cm decks later

[@arielrivera4051]

Your videos never cease to amaze me. I'm with my mouth open from beginning to end.

[@fiftystate1388]

1:43 That's how I explain my ~2014 plasma TV. The companies keep improving their premium product lines right up to the point where they cease production. I somehow think even in 1981 today's trend applied somewhat: the buyer ends up with the 'best ever,' at the best price. Just back then we weren't _soaked_ in electronics and spoiled by the competition quite as much. IOT? The _what_ of things? We're living like alien royalty compared to '81.

[@brandonrizzo5129]

Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue' album is some of the most perfect music for this format!

[@steveschu]

I heard my first reel to reel recorded audio as a teenager during the CD is king era. The tape was the Miami Vice soundtrack played at the 15 ips quality through a very nice sound system and my mind was blown. To this day the quality and warmth of reel to reel is superb.

[@lancelot1953]

Hi Techmoan, fellow engineer here - I just wanted to thank you for your outstanding videos about the history of Hi-Fi and your excellent nostalgia-laced reviews of well-known (and lesser known) audio milestone equipment. Your productions are very informative especially for "older" (actually mature) audiences like me. I wish you and your family Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. Thank you again for thoughtfully documenting all these components for the benefits of younger generations. Ciao, L (from Maine, USA and Québec, CAN)

[@adslf874yti3q7u4hf83]

My dirty secret: I don't subscribe to you or to 8-bit guy either, because like you said it always comes up as a recommended video. I have now subscribed.

[@jamiemarchant]

I have also had the same thing happen with other KZbinrs.

[@chrysanth.5700]

Mark, there is a special place in Hell for people like you have not been subscribed. The four track demons will come and gobble you up. It'll be a sad day. Either that or they'll understand the deal with KZbin's algorithm and just congratulate you on subscribing.

[@oleo007]

The best "nerd" channels of youtube !!

[@webchimp]

The only one I've not got around to subscribing to is Scott Manley as most of them are game related which I'm not interested in.

[@siouxmoux3]

KZbin autoplay feature is worst thing Google has forced onto the public. I Just subscribe to Channels like to watch.

[@SilverfoxDE]

This is very interesting since I've only yesterday had my Revox A77 machine (purchased in 1970) fixed so I can play the tapes I used to record my group's music on during the 1970's. Brings back many memories! My Revox has been idle for 30+ years but now sounds amazingly good 😃 Thanks for your KZbin

[@gregfaris6959]

Just as a point of reference, Revox was the « consumer » line of the Studer lineup, and we used B77s as footrests in my studio, where tape would run through Studer 820 machines, and NOT at 15 inches-per -second! 30 ips was the minimum to be considered « professional » and 60 ips was preferred. These recordings would blow every digital format ever developed completely out of the water for frequency response and dynamic range, but Dolby A-Type noise reduction (later Dolby SR) was required to get the utmost out of the format, by eliminating tape hiss.

[@MegaBakerdude]

Even on my crappy laptop speakers - those snippets sounded the best they ever have. Another excellent video.

[@martynhowser8142]

Went to toilet, left video running.. MASSIVE ship noises coming from my speakers - sorry neighbours! I know its 2am! And I've just peed all over my floor in rush to turn speakers down

[@Rutherford_Inchworm_III]

well done, sir

[@venichen1]

LOL same, I usually have something playing on the TV while I do stuff on my computer. Had this video playing and I wondered why I'm hearing ship horns. I quickly went and lowered the volume as it was 2 am.

[@thehunterofdeath2180]

😄😄😄😄😄😄😄

[@AnSim78]

🤣

[@normfromga]

I went the other way...I heard the sound effects through my crappy flat screen speakers, so I reran the segment through my Teac receiver with a couple of satellite speakers, plus a powered Yamaha subwoofer. Back in the day, anybody with a decent stereo system HAD to have a sound effect tape/record to show it off, preferably with planes, trains, or automobiles zooming across your living room! (It was 2PM on a Sunday afternoon, so the neighbors were more forgiving. ;-) )

[@Gainn]

Having a clearout during this lockdown a couple of weeks ago and in the corner of the garage all boxed up were my dad's old pair of Ampex ATR-700's with another box full of brand new reels. So that was a good day.

[@jakeagusta]

9:48 onwards with headphones is an absolute must. I really enjoyed listening to that whilst watching the left and right VU meters.

[@tylorrutyna_8462]

I’m 15 and just got my grandfathers 1968 teac a 4010s and fixed the belts and break pads on it and it sounds amazing have a bunch of Elton John billy Joel journey Rolling Stones Beatles Led Zeppelin Michael Jackson tapes It me and my dad listen to them together

[@nicktendo69lmao99]

Op 65458 That’s so cool! What Beatles and Michael Jackson tapes do you have!

[@tylorrutyna_8462]

The Beatles let it be sergeant peppers and please please me And MJ is off the wall thriller the Jackson 5 third album and abc by the Jackson and there first album

[@nicktendo69lmao99]

Op 65458 Wow! Michael Jackson’s Thriller goes for 300 dollars online but off the wall would go for at least 1000 dollars or more! Beatles tapes go for at least 100 dollars or more if you want to know! Also is Please Please Me in mono? Because if it is it would sound even better! Same goes for Sgt Peppers!

[@brianbassett4379]

Make sure when you record anything that you burn it on the highest speed possible for the best sound and it looks cool as shit kid.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

OMG, you have a dad?

[@michaelanderson2881]

I got a 4-track Teac 2340-SX in 1979 and it was so exciting. My friend and I recorded every day after high school, on the weekends, sometimes skipped school and walked to his house after his parents left for work just to jam and record. I now have a DAW with unlimited channels and effects, and it's just nowhere near as fun.

[@michaelmeichtry316]

Excellent video presentation! A lot of time and effort went into producing this history lesson/audio analysis surrounding open-reel systems. Kudos!

[@StopChangingUsernamesYouTube]

1:41 What a strange tagline for an ad. It's like a sports team chanting, "We're number two!"

[@SolidEyeYEG]

That "intro to stereo" artwork looks quite modern and clean, yet it's so old.

[@TomokoAbe_]

I love reel-to-reel. I have a very nice system, AKAI, and the sound is marvelous. You can make your own tapes and transference is flawless; reel-to-reel is very forgiving about volume. The sound is incredibly rich and with texture that you will not get with MP3s, LP records, cassettes, or other. How much was the AKAI...don't ask. Far too much, but worth it. Mine does not play backward the reverse side. I have to load it all manually but it still sounds great.

[@vicinvesta8349]

But.... if you copy from LP, CD it does not sound any better than original!

[@stevet7487]

For a short period just before DAT, some recording studios were using ED Beta vcrs to record audio as it had a vastly superior signal to noise ratio.

[@jmuench420]

I can't see it being better than SACDs or high-res (24-96 or higher) FLACS or DSD files. Get/make reel-to-reel or vinyl rips if you want a particular sound.

[@jahlaune]

My dad had a reel to reel that thing played hours of hours of music . I still have some of those reels and a few commercial jazz releases . I think his was by Apex but I’m not sure . Plus he had a portable one took a crap load of c batteries

[@vicinvesta8349]

Keep it and pass along to your children.

[@KozmykJ]

Revox and Studer machines were a joy to work with. I used to use them for studio work in the 80s and 90s. Even the so-called "semi-pro" Revox B77 could produce high quality masters, especially the ones with 1/2 track heads. The best part though was the smoothness of their transports. A lot of thought went into the design of their motor control and braking. Many's the time I've just sat and waited for them to spool, gradually speeding up then slowing down so as not to stretch the tape. Thanks for the memories...

[@RyanSchweitzer77]

I used to work at a public radio station that still had their old Studer B67 2-track machines in their studios --this was in the mid-2000s, long after they went to digital hard disk & CD-R recording/playback and were just about calling it a day with using 1/4" tape (they were only using it to record NPR promo feeds at the time). I used to futz around with those B67s then (bought new when the station first signed on the air in 1981), playing back old tapes I'd found around the station to curiously listen to during downtime on my shifts there. The B67s were removed sometime around 2007, luckily bought by a tape deck collector after the station put them up for sale. I would've taken one myself, but living in a small-ish apartment at the time, I just didn't have the room. I did save the Studer 169 8-channel mixer that was in the same studio though when it was upgraded to a Mackie. :) The B67s too were great machines that sounded superb and ran smoothly. I've read that BBC Radio used B67s in the 70s and 80s as one of their main production/on-air decks.

[@stan.rarick8556]

$$$$$$$ 😁

[@tomgreen663]

I wouldn’t say The B77 was semi-pro either. Radio studio workhorses.

[@olik136]

Since real documentations on TV are almost all gone- replaced by shitty staged doku-soaps- I can't stress enough how much I like techmoans channel (and a few others) and I am also glad that he didn't get stuck with the dashcam reviews.

[@watershed44]

Oli K Bravo! Well said, and 100% accurate statement, quality documentaries on regular TV outlets are almost extinct, we're lucky we have YT, DM, VO, and people like Techmoan to take their place.

[@neoasura]

I agree, if there's any people that deserve Patreon donations, it's people like this that put this much effort into their videos. I have no problem donating like that.

[@777jones]

I haven't watched TV in years. Doing that would cut into my KZbin time.

[@RyanSchweitzer77]

Yes, Techmoan is awesome, so informative and entertaining (especially the puppets, IMO :) ), most especially in comparison to today's staged-for-drama televisual dreck as you appropriately mentioned. I myself have been watching his channel back in his dashcam days, and I was totally delighted when Matt took a slightly different direction (not that I didn't like the dashcam reviews, I enjoyed those, and it made me go out and buy one) and started reviewing obscure and obsolete media technologies--a great fascination of mine. :)

[@almostfm]

Back in my radio days (late 80s/90s), the station I worked at had 5 of those Revox reel to real tape machines. I loved using them.

[@VilladsHoffmann]

"Lionel Richie, despite the fact he says he can't slow down, he has done" best line!

[@themountain5644]

9:47 It REALLY feels like travel in time in your head. Sounds extremely great.

[@LaatiMafia]

Techmoan videos have such a high production quality! Very nice of you to warn the viewers of the high volume differences! :)

[@ronaldr9911]

I came to a big lover of music in the 50’s first records I owned were 78’s. Then in the ’60s had Records and Tapes. Was very happy with my LPs and whatever live music I could hear while living in Adelaide then NSW. was working in music and 1970 moved to England and started working for a large Sound Company that was the pioneer in those large outdoor systems and manufactured the first Road Desk on the Market. I then went on to work as a Roadie but whilst working Part-time at Hi-watt amplifiers scored a Roadie job with an up-and-coming band and while working with them they were recording an album and the studio was a lot more than the 2 I had spent time at in Adelaide. When the Album was finished and the Master Tape was played, I was blown away. The Band had left the equipment had gone in the Van and I said to the Engineer you will be off soon? He said no I have to make the masters for the record plants, What Copies of that tape and he said sort of but have to reduce the Sound so it will fit on an Album comfortably so the needle can handle it. So, I stayed and he worked away and when he was finished, he put it on to play and it did not have the Punch the master had and for Decades listening to that Vinyl album was always a disappointment to me. That Original Master tape was Gold and 2 copies had been made before it was locked away one for him to work with doing the plant masters and then the other that was used to make copies for the members of the group who had professional tape units at home. Most of the guys in these Groups had Professional Tape Machines at home and they were able to obtain tapes from other top Groups so they listened to a limited amount of vinyl at home. I now have my music at the quality of that Master Tape and no ridiculous costing Tape or CD or Record Player. No overpriced Amplifier but the replacement cost of my main speakers is $16,000us. And none of those bullshit high-end cables that make no difference to what you hear. All my music is now high-end digital and also has my large Library as MP3 @320. Not only does my music sound better but playing my music is a pleasure don’t have to turn the album over at around 20 minutes with my collection on Hard drives including small portable ones plus have q high-end pocket player with great headphones, The software in that player and on the Computer makes it enjoyable. 1. Can playlists I have created, Random off all albums in a folder, or random of the whole hard drive playing music to suit the mode I am in. If I want a particular tune, artist, or album I just say the Command. Plus, can carry my whole collection in my shirt pocket. Not a room full of shelving. Just recently walked into a music store and it had Vinyl clearly on display and I notice Darkside of the Moon standard pressing $70. I started laughing and the guy who owned the store asked what’s so funny and I said people falling for the scam to pay $70 for this. I bet you have it on CD for a much smaller price for a better sound. The last copy I bought of Dark Side of the Moon is in 7.1 Surround sound and is mind-blowing. All the great Albums have been remastered giving you digital copies of those great Master Tapes.

[@nheng6913]

Always craved a Revox and finally found an A77 for $150 (early '80s) with capstan servo speed out of control. A coupling capacitor for $0.20 and a half day of effort and I was in heaven. Thanks for an interesting view of these machines and sounds.

[@michaelopnv634]

"But, listen to it now in stereo!" *BOOM*

[@RobConstantine]

Art Gilmore Narrates the Stereo Demo :-) Sounds like June Foray at the bowling alley :-)

[@murrfeeling]

I was wondering if that was June Foray.

[@cogspace]

"In my opinion, which is the only one I've got" I love this. I am definitely using this.

[@BrentBlueAllen]

I love stereo demo recordings. They're all so funny, like a 3D video that intentionally pokes things out at the viewers.

[@darkdave1998]

having worked with these in an archive, I was blown away, love these

[@BitcoinWillFixEverything]

This is one of the highest quality videos I've ever seen produced on KZbin. Great job.

[@Shermanbay]

One solution to the 2-track/4-track dilemma is a machine with interchangeable heads. Pioneer made a high-end, 15ips/10.5" reel machine with interchangeable head blocks, IIRC, RT1011. Not only does it have this feature, but I was able to rewire the synchronous motors, feeding them from a 100-watt power amp driven by an audio generator. This gave me a VSO to fine-tune any tape from -50% to +100% speed (half pitch to double). Set the generator on 60 hz for standard speed. Since tapes arrived in my office from many different sources, and I had to match them to a non-tunable piano, this arrangement was wonderful.

[@kb9khm]

I have a '65 Viking 880 that has a lever on it that slides the position of the record/play head ever so slightly that it can align with either a stereo 4 track tape, or a mono/stereo two track tape. I've played both types through it and it's an effective solution.

[@tapewolf]

Some versions of the Otari MX5050 have four heads, the extra being a 4-track stereo head for playback. It could only record 2-track stereo .

[@marcusswift9489]

Great video Techmoan - thanks. Believe it or not, I've actually got the 1958 Capitol stereo demonstration on vinyl, pressed by EMI, and simply called The Stereo Disc. I've just put it on again, as I write, to hear those incredible recordings! It's amazing what they could do back then, and indeed 1958 seems to have been a great year for stereo recordings. I've also got an EMI Eminence re-pressing of Holst's Planet Suite, from 1958, recorded with just two microphones and an EMI reel-to-reel recorder (BTR2 if I remember correctly). The clarity and sound stage is amazing, and it's also the best performance of the piece that I've ever heard. As good as records are though (and better than CDs), I still do love my reel-to-reels! I've had various ones over the years, and currently two Ferrographs and a Teac, but I'm about to replace them all with what I regard as the ultimate reel-to-reel - the Technics RS1500, which I've just bought, and is currently on its way to me from Germany. I'm as excited as I was when just a baby, not even walking or talking, and first saw my Dad's reel-to-reel in action; it absolutely mesmerised me!

[@KevinKessler]

I had the Bell T-200 tube unit you showed at 7:48. It was 1/2 track stereo in only one direction for both inline and offset operation. I was impressed how it worked with no belts, pulleys, couches, or brakes. I wish I still had it because I have a lot of old tapes that we recorded on it in the 70's.

[@buddyweiz]

Noticed your record player, got me own in the beginning of 1990 as used. Still use it and love it!

[@1974muaddibable]

You must be one of the nicest persons in KZbin, so Helpful. Once again. my inner kid, came out thanks to you. Muchas Gracias !!! from a Chilean guy who lives in USA whom whishes he lived in Chile... or anywhere else for that matter.

[@1974muaddibable]

Dontpickmelast101 I wish I could, but I am divorced with children. They are more important. My older daughter is looking forward to move there after college, I can only hope. Thanks for the input though. cheers!

[@AfferbeckBeats]

The coolest man I've ever met was a percussionist from Chile. Man he was cool.

[@1974muaddibable]

danehb89 There are plenty of artist over there, I am myself am a drummer, but I walked away because their energy wasn't matching mine. I had an OBE and now I have found a different way to let out the artist in me. I picked up oil painting, Thanks to Bob Ross and I also have a couple of albums in iTunes. If you can spare some time, please check them out. my favorite: "Do More Thinking" in reference to DMT. I go by AROS. I hope you enjoy it.

[@rodmunch69]

Here's an idea, start walking south, sooner or later you'll no longer be here - then you can be happy finally. Don't worry, your kids won't miss you.

[@1974muaddibable]

Rod Munch is that what you father did? aw... so sorry.

[@jimswonger8111]

I use to record and edit on Otari MX-5050B II’s. I still have the splicing block. We used them for theater playback with an autocue to stop the tape between cues. I don’t miss the overnight re-recording/editing of tapes during tech rehearsals.

[@BogoEN]

Just bought one. Love it so far, especially the ability to choose tape type and track type ( at least for playback).

[@ingra888]

Excellent video once again! I also have a Studer Revox B77mk2, which died on me a bit of smoke from the back end cable socket! But it was a really good sounding machine, I bought it from a world music organization I used to be a live sound recording engineer at. The Revox. Was back-up to a Tascam DA20 DAT recorder and this was in 1992-3 before we went total digital to Dat only!

[@BrianBattles]

I only listen to wax Edison cylinders with a mechanical acoustic megaphone. None of this crummy modern electric, digital crud!

[@stephenfiore9960]

*......I only listen to ELO-the Electric Light Orchestra-dubbed from CD to Edison cylinders while in a Maxwell time machine...*

[@robshekelberg5315]

Brian Battles you're not a special snowflake because you listen to music on overpriced acoustic waveguides and tube amps

[@mogshade66]

Brian Battles Very funny 😊😀

[@cartnhorse]

MorbidManMusic: What is the source of what you are listening to on tape?

[@dustinwheat4096]

rob shekelberg someone doesn’t get the joke

[@oc2phish07]

I still have a lot of Hi-fi from my enthusiast days in the 1970s. Including a Linn Sondek LP12 with Valhalla and Nirvana upgrades, an SME Series III arm and among others, a Stanton 881S cartridge. Add to that my Quad 34 pre-amp and 405 Power amp, RAM 200 speakers, Technics RSM63 3-head cassette and Akai 400DS MkII 3-head reel-to-reel. This was a really interesting video.

[@mcfats7652]

Weird, I'm watching this for the first time on new year's eve and the stereo demo was the sound of new year's eve. Perfect timing!

[@fusion-music]

Yes, there's one thing about getting back into this, is that if you are ''getting back into it,'' you are already getting on & so your hearing won't be as good. I used many of these in the 70's and the Valve ones were fantastic for drums. Forgotten what brand it was. 4 Track TEAC was good at 15ips. Interesting that the sample tape you bought had Peter Erskine's playing drums on it. I saw him in 1978 with Weather Report. In the digital world, many engineers are using ''plug-in'' instead of hardware. These emulate famous bits of studio gear. Many brands offer a ''Tape'' plug-in to get back that little bit of difference analogue tape makes. Interesting topic and video.

[@ivanj.conway9919]

21:48 - You know, I don't know what "technically," outstanding is supposed to be, but I'm listening to this on my laptop, with very, cheap, dollar store, headphones, and I assure you, it sounds ABSOLUTELY, OUTSTANDING! It never ceases to amaze me, because it's as if I'm right there, in the room, with my headphones plugged right into the stereo system itself. Awesome. Utterly, awesome. My Best. Out.

[@yeudoi66]

funy hahaha to the bank

[@taitheguy85]

$1800?! In 1980? New Ford Mustang was like $5k

[@wolfyklip]

Some were even more!!

[@chieftenbets2114]

I bet this deck still performs 100%. The 1980 Mustang ? well.............??? Let's just say it was scrap metal by 2000 lol

[@777jones]

My dad used to buy stuff like this reel to reel, 1970s Nikon cameras and early computers with his extra money. I guess you could say Tech Moan is my dad.

[@finaltransconfigurat]

@ZZ UP you probably live in an area without road salt.

[@finaltransconfigurat]

@ZZ UP ive seen 2011s with rust

[@carlosdlc1664]

Very informative, I also have a Pioneer RT-909. Thank you.

[@johnvdl]

I made a lot of remixes in the late seventies and eighties, most of it on the Teac X2000M a beast but I also used a Revox ... I really loved these machines!!! ❤️😍🤟 Thanks again for another high-quality video and all the memories that came with it😍🤟

[@fakshen1973]

Before you run out and buy a used analog tape machine, you have to know what you're buying. Tape physically runs across a tape head. So they wear out. The alignment of the head is CRITICAL. It can be misaligned in three axis in every possible way as well. There is also the business of playback and record levels. Different tape configurations can handle different absolute volume levels. Generally, the hotter you record to the tape the higher your signal to noise ratio is (along with other downside factors too long for this post). As far as audiophile playback goes, you have to match the exact specs of the record machine with the playback machine. In pro-audio, we would print test tones to the beginning of the tape so the machine could be set-up again in the exact (hopefully) specs... or if the tape had to travel to another studio. I love tape. In a world where budget and time were of no concerns... just so, so yummy. But boy is it a pain in the arse to do RIGHT.

[@davek5968]

well unless you were mucking with it heads were aligned by the manufacturer from a calibration tape and hopefully recording deck was also calibrated and material recorded at proper levels. But recording/playback levels - usually analog playback amp can handle quite a bit of overload so its not so critical as lets say head azimuth. all you can do is to get calibration tape, multimeter and adjust high frequencies for best gain :-) and hope recording machine was calibrated as well. And lets not forger head demagnetization (even though that matters for recordings mainly)

[@terryofford4977]

Demagnetizing is a good idea, I usually do this task every 20 hours of playing, , if top quality tapes are used everytime, there's not likely to to be much of a problem. When I worked at AWA Electronics in the seventies, we had every item of test gear known to man and were able cross check the cross checking gear. only THEN did we check on a random basis for faults in what was then expensive Stereo Gear for the consumer, I'm speakingof AWA New Zealand betweent 1965 to 1973, when AWA, sadly closed down in NZ. As did our competitors Phillips.Not sufficient business in NZ for Quality products those days.

[@terryofford4977]

Fakshen 1972. You are correct on many issues there; as ex Radio Broadcaster for forty plus years and also playing in LIVE Bands (i.e without all the electronic enhancements which appear to be required today) sound is an individual thing, like Motor cars, Pay a lot, get a lot, buy s/h at ten bucks a boxful, you cannot reasonably expect to hear GOOD sound. After reaching 21, ALL Humans loose varying frequencies of their hearing, dependent in many cases to what did they do for a living, e.g. Riveters are almost totally deaf after thirty years in a Shipyard, one must remember that COST is a prime factor which concerns all Good Quality sound gear and frankly, GREED also comes into the formula. I have seen and listened to say, a Set Of Speakers costing Ten Thousand Dollars, I was impressed not with the price but rather the quality of sound from a pair of B & O's as somewhat less of a price...hence cost flew out the window however, a close aquaintance felt the Bang and Olufson's were 'Flat'and he preferred a pair of what I heard as 'Squawky 'high top, uncompensated Mid range' jobs at twice the price. he was one of those guys who was impressed greatly at the cost, rather than what he heard.....or was he. ALL humans may have a similar hearing range at set spatial difference however,hearing is a personal thing and therefore the whole discussion is pointless really.

[@jana1934]

fakshen1973 ¿

[@fakiirification]

Alot of the reason for the loss of dynamic range is how audio is mixed these days. Blame the sound engineers, not digital hardware/software.

[@Solitaire001]

I strongly agree. No matter how good a format is, the final result is only as good as the process that goes into it. As an example, the Loudness War has resulted in many bad sounding CDs. Its not a fault of the CD format but of the process that went into making the CD.

[@phazonlord0098]

Indeed, the loudness war pretty much destroyed the reputation of the CD and Digital Audio in general, even tough many CDs from the late 80's before this loudness trend sound absolutely fantastic with full dinamic range.

[@unfa00]

Yeah, that's a huge pity. I hate that I can't really find decent electronic dance music that isn't stupidly smashed against a limiter. I'm a producer myself and my last album "Suppressed" measured -14 LUFS integrated after mastering. I wish Noisia and other electronic acts would give their sounds more transients - it's such a loss that all the audio they publish looks like a sausage - and also sounds restrained to me because of that. I've heard an argument however that the dynamic mixes and masters don't work too well on club and stage sound systems - but I cannot confirm this myself. I also think that clubs and venues just play the music way too loud for it to be pleasant. I can't really go to any concerts without stoppers, as it's just painful to stand there - which is again - a huge loss.

[@GraveUypo]

i actually hate overly wide dynamic ranges. specially in movies. in one scene you're turning up the volume because you can't hear the goddamn characters whispering, the next BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM a helicopter explodes in the screen and takes your roof with it. that said i also hate overly compressed dynamic ranges. moderation in everything.

[@FloridaManRacer]

It's the format they choose. MP3 goes through tons and tons of compression to fit the consumer grade output devices. Lossless audio formats would full up a terabyte hard drive in just a few songs. It's not really feasible for consumer grade audio to be in a lossless audi oformat which thins out the sound no matter how good the audio mix is done in the studio.

[@dough3063]

At the start I wasn't sure I had the attention span for this vid. Once I got into it, I wanted more. Something teachable here. I'm listening to this KZbin vid on my PC with some ok PC-grade Harmon Kardon speakers. Everything sounds fine. When he plays his tape samples, again through KZbin and through my PC, those samples are jaw dropping in their velvety analog way. (I am a long-time audio hobbyist caught up in higher end audio in mid to late 70s.) These samples took me back in time to the days of the Sheffield Labs records and such. His source made my modest setup sound exquisite. I must learn more. Thanks for the post.

[@andrewluchsinger]

I still use and own a reel to reel. I have used them for over 35 years now since I have worked in radio and audio production. Now with all the computer editing programs out there. Reel to reel is looked at by many of the younger crowd in broadcasting as too old school and will never come back. Now I just use my reel to reel to play old tapes and to turn all the audio in MP3 files or into other formats. I have been very surprised to see how many people out there still have some old reels. The fun part is I can still cut and tape.

[@hanswichmann5047]

Pioneer RT 707 STILL sounds awesome with my Sansui components... 40 yr old recordings from Germany (US Army) still rock me today..

[@andrewluchsinger]

@@hanswichmann5047 Great to hear your enjoying your R 2 R as well as I am.

[@meemee1357]

I have a reel to reel player and I actually like somewhat worn-out tapes, the slight warping and background noise. there is something I just love about changing the reels too.

[@skibob6]

That was the classiest KZbin plug I've ever seen, props!

[@TheVisionGreen]

Thanks for the excellent information. I also have this machine Pioneer RT-909, which I use with dbx II noise reduction which gives astonishing sound quality.

[@brianmorris8045]

Our community radio station (FM) used to use Otari 600 D's. Was a great reel to reel, never let anyone down in the studio. Hit the button on the desk, and off it went. But years of hard work day in day out recording programs...we had two of them actually in each studio, they eventually wore out. Nowadays they use digital to record programs and sponsorship messages...I was there in the 80's, we hadn't got to the stage of CD's then...they were new tech.

[@TazioN]

The Revox B77’s main home was in theatres for sound for shows. I still have three in my theatre I can’t bear to get rid of. Though having seen the prices they go for I’m tempted. When preparing the sound designs for shows very often you would have different speed machines for different effects. For example music and very specific effects on 15ips, background atmosphere that may run under entire scenes on 7 1/2 ips. Amazing to think we stopped using them as Minidisc was cheaper and faster to work with. Now we use Apple computers with QLab software that means we can easily do things that would have required multiple Revox playback machines and geniuses to operate them.

[@E3kHatena]

The “Intro to Stereo”’s packaging was pretty modern-looking with the gradient shapes and its lowercase font. Crazy we came around to that again.

[@carrollshelby8690]

In case you haven't noticed, the world's been on a retro binge since at least 2000.

[@Daijyobanai]

@@carrollshelby8690 It's a simulated universe that became abandonware, the dev team got reduced to a skeleton crew, then in 1999 the simulation was hacked and now we're stuck in a universe with corrupted files. It's why they made a new Matrix film for 2021.

[@jobygrantlandsnvrwntrmusic]

Multitrack can be analogue or digital. Multitracking is the process of recording each instrument in a song to its own individual track so when you have all the instruments recorded you can then adjust each track independent of the others, adjust meaning volume, effects, tone, etc. And once you have each track or you could say each instrument balanced with all the other tracks you then make a track that is all the tracks combined into one giving you a completed song which is the master track.

[@CookingFor1]

Enjoyed the video. I used to make recordings on tape in the music library at my college. I subscribed. Looking forward to seeing more from you.

[@benpratt4681]

Well. I don't see what all the fuss is about. It sounds the same as anything else on my Moto Razr flip phone from 2006. And how in blazes are you telling me it's music worth hearing if we don't have to pause for an O'Reilly Auto Parts advert every 15 minutes?? Love the channel, Mat! Keep up the excellent work!

[@johnmichaelrichards]

Perhaps rather more a case of you not hearing, rather than not seeing, what all the fuss is about. Yes, I take on board it makes no real difference if you only ever listen via a mobile phone or mobile media player, but when you're listening on a decent hi-fi, it's the difference of wearing a couple of condoms versus au-natural. If you went to listen to your favourite band playing you'd be miffed if they each used a loud-hailer rather than a PA system.

[@techstuff0918]

+John Michael Richards you completely missed the joke.

[@johnmichaelrichards]

No, I didn't; I merely used it as a means to extrapolate the core principles at hand here. Despite my love of, and preference for, high-end analogue hi-fi for serious listening, when I'm out and about, or in bed at night, I am content to sacrifice the full-blown sound of the decent stereo, for the convenience (and lack of annoyance to my neighbours, whom I've no desire to fall out with) of the compressed audio on my aging HTC One M8 or iPhone 7. However, I have dispensed with the in-ear premium Audiofly earphones in preference to the fuller sound of a forty-year-old full-bodied sounding pair of Koss Pro 4AAA Plus closed headphones - these are the 8 lighter weight version of the legendary Pro4AAA, specifically aimed at portable digital and analogue devices of the late 70s and early 80s. It's all about calculated compromise, and my not being up to lugging a hefty set of hi-separates and power source around with me on a trolley. That said though, rather than a smartphone or portable solid state digital media device, I'm still more likely use one of my high-end portable minidisc players, with source material recorded (in high-sampling rate PCM format - which almost combines the best of analogue with digital prosumer sound) on the Sony JA-30ES. When outdoors, though I still feel a divvy wearing large headphones, so here I make a trade-off and use my 17-year-old pair of trusty Bang & Olufsen A8 earphones which my wife bought for me. I was so impressed, I bought a second pair to use with other devices, but their open design dictates I won't use them on public transport, nor in bed where I'm likely to get a sharp dig in the ribs from my better half if I distract from her book-reading. :-)

[@johnmichaelrichards]

Not at all; I merely used Ben's tongue-in-cheek analogy to extrapolate the core principles - I should have thought that obvious when I mentioned a band using loud hailers.

[@johnmichaelrichards]

When in bed, I opt for the compromise of using my HTC One M8 smartphone, as it both enables me to listen to a wide range of my saved music, as well as watching and listening to AV media. It's just more convenient and to ameliorate to a degree for the inherent deficit in sound quality I used a 40-year-old pair of Koss Pro4AAA Plus closed headphones - these were the lighter weight and 8 Ohms version of the legendary Koss Pro4AAA cans and were aimed in the late 70s and early 80s at the burgeoning market in portable analogue hi-fi and digital devices. They not only extract tremendous detail from the media device, but also isolate the sound so, when listening in bed, I don't elicit from my wife a sharp elbow in the ribs for disturbing her. Another compromise, when I'm out and about is to opt for the high-quality PCM sound of my high-end portable minidisc players, with sound recorded in the best degree on a Sony JA-30ES recorder. This I prefer as it overcomes the inherent wow and flutter associated with portable cassette players and because I don't always want to lug around my great-sounding, but hefty Sony WM-D6C Pro Walkman. Yes, it has limited storage capacity, especially when in the highest quality recording format, and, being electromechanical, they eat batteries much more than a solid state digital player, but this is a compromise giving best sound whilst still being portable - plus I can swap minidiscs from the in-car player too. Then another compromise; this time to save face: I still feel a complete and utter plonker if wearing a large pair of fully closed headphones when outdoors in public. So I dispense with the Koss Pro4AAA Plus and instead use a 17-year-old pair of wonderful-sounding Bang & Olufsen A8 open back earphones which my wife bought for me in 2000. In fact so impressed was I with the sound that I more recently bought a second pair for use with other devices. Great when walking in open spaces as they lend a balance of good sound, without blocking out extraneous noises which may alert me to encroaching peril and impending doom. Of course, I wouldn't use the A8s in bed where I could disturb my better half, hence the Koss headphones, but on public transport I then have another compromise in not wishing to look a complete numpty wearing large, closed-cup headphones like the Koss, against civility and politeness in not wishing to annoy fellow commuters, so the B&Os are out here given the high degree of sound bleed, so I opt for a high-end pair of Audiofly in-ear units - to me they don't sound as good as either of the aforementioned, but its better than a tube carriage full of rush hour commuters baying for my blood. It's all about convenience and compromise applicable to each listening experience. Each and every format is enjoyable in its own right.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

18:32 Which begs the question: why bother making the tapes at all? Why not just copy that digital master? Now you know why “digital” is a swearword among analog fans ... because it leads to questions that they would rather not answer.

[@rayrounds1408]

Excellent and great detail. Brought back memories. thank you

[@drboze6781]

OMG, I grew up listening to this Capitol demo tape! My dad had it when it was new. I think we had a Bell reel-to-reel machine.

[@dpjellema]

I don't think anyone could have explained this better or in a more interesting way, keep it up!

[@patrickm.4310]

"you listening to a stream digital File and the whole Idea of this thing is that it is the best analog source possible" Im listening to the snippets using my 9yr old worn out mac book speakers. I am also a studying sound engineer... I now question myself and my existence. However I love your videos and the amount of (background)knowledge you're researching. Keep on the good work!

[@shaunmcarthur3616]

In the studio, we used to bounce onto VHS tape using a stereo 'hifi' vhs recorder. Quality was surprisingly good.

[@juergenbernhard5442]

8:51 Both my father and my uncle from my father's side used to have (and use) this machine until the mid-1990s. Mostly used for high quality radio recordings and to copy some of it on cassette with a tape deck from the same company to have pace free on the reels for future recordings. The reels which still have survived cover mostly classical music and almost epic radio plays where a radio play could go for longer than 90 minutes in a row. Today, alongsde my father's cassette tapes, this is a wonderful time travel into the 1970 up to the late 1980s.

[@duaneadam]

I love analog, have spent years in studios recording analog multi track, but once it's transferred to digital, it's digital and there's zero upside to recording it back to tape unless you're using it as an effect. Those who are spending $500 for a tape of a digital masters may be the ultimate cork sniffers.

[@twistedyogert]

If digital sound is done by storing an analog waveform as a stream of numbers, but when you convert the numbers back to an analog waveform to drive a loudspeaker, do you loose some of the original waveform?

[@frydac]

@@twistedyogert yes, it introduces some noise, but it should be far below any perceivable level. If you' d digitize these tapes with proper modern gear, I'm pretty sure that 99.9% of ppl would not be able to tell the difference with the analogue original source in a proper ABX test. But don't underestimate the placebo effect, if you think it sounds better, you like the physical action of it, the anticipation when doing so, the inability to go to the next song on an impulse, it all has influence on the enjoyment/perception.. so, why not ;)

[@SkigBiggler]

@@twistedyogert depends on bitrate and format. PCM recordings store data in a way that effectively allows you to perfectly recreate the waveform back from the source. The higher your sample rate is, the bigger your files get, which is why more common formats like MP3 are not as high quality due to lossy compression and purposely cutting out wavelengths that humans generally cannot hear

[@DarksideoftheSteve]

My Dad has that same "Introduction to Stereo" demo on vinyl record. I remember it well.

[@christianmoya5268]

Hello, I just started watching your channel, and I did subscribe. I just wanted to thank you for making such great content. I really do appreciate and value the knowledge you share. I've gone to Audio Recording School, and consider myself an audiophile. i can't wait to watch more of your content. Thanks again.

[@carlcampbell6827]

I came across your page and wow, you make most audiophile geeks look like rookies. Nice work and terribly interesting!