Vintage Audio System - turntable cassette and open reel

[Urzhum]

With years better and better :)

[Rockstar1974lol]

hi i just wanted to ask how the dbx is... i want to buy one for my akai gx77 reeltoreel but im not sure bout exactly wat to get... im thinking bout either dolby with b+c or dbx2. i just wanted ur opinion on it and hopefully on the dolby ones if uve ever tried them. and also im planning to record with the 7.5 speed. thanks

[rspurdue]

@Rockstar1974lol IMO, DBX is superb. It's deal for reel to reel - it's not like you will play the tapes in another player - unlike cassettes. So you encode and decode DBX on the same deck. I have a SONY NR-335 Dolby unit also, which is excellent, but the DBX gives a higher signal-to-noise ratio,so it allows no 'hiss' and very dynamic recordings. My DBX 224X, like many DBX units, decodes DBX LPs (not that I have any). It adjusts for minimal compression effect, and only cost me about $80.00

[gilmour509]

nice looks like my setup! i have that ikea bookcase as well.

[bjorn2run]

Good amp choice for the quad Advents. Good classic system overall.

[rspurdue]

@bjorn2run Thanks. I am about to change out this amp for a Sansui G-22000 but I may also need to upgrade my speakers....I really like the stacked Advents for the progressive rock (60's 70's) I listen to mainly...I'd love to get some NS-1000x Yamaha's or two pairs of JBL L-100 for the new system, so will be selling off a lot of the gear you see here, but will keep the TEAC C-1 and the Ariston/SME turntable - I have since added a Thorens TD-160 with TP-16 and Nagatron cartridge.

[MarcoZ1ITA1]

How's the quality on vinyl-recorded Type II\IV cassettes? And how's reel to reel compared to that? i want to get into tape, but reel to reel kind of scares me (even if i know that it's supreme quality and very very cool), and i also have a ton of old cassettes i'd probably reuse if i had the chance...

[rspurdue]

@MarcoZ1ITA1 Type II is excellent (as is Type IV, but the tapes are scarcer and more expensive), and I am personally a fan of Maxell XLII tape, which is often found in thrift stores, as well as on EBay etc. Recorded on a good machine like the C-1 shown here, and using a good tape like the Maxell XLII, or TDK SA, you can record at quite a high level, so there is very little 'noise' from the tape (like hiss), and when you play back the tape, it sounds virtually identical to the original record....

[MarcoZ1ITA1]

@rspurdue That's awesome, as i also have a developing vinyl collection and sometimes i'm afraid i could put a bit too much strain on it; i'll see what i can find around at flea markets, ebay or similar sites and i'll probably search for a good 80s-90s tape deck, some type ii tape and i'm good. I have meh memories with tape (never jammed or broke one, but quality was meh)What about reel to reel instead? do you feel it's worth the extra trouble? how's quality compared to digital stuff or cassette?

[rspurdue]

@MarcoZ1ITA1 ...Reel to reel (RTR) is capable of even higher quality recordings, which is why so many recording studios used that format (and some still do, at least as an option), but both the tape decks and the tapes (high end ones at least) cost quite a lot more than cassette recorders/tapes. I use RGMI LPR-35 tape, which costs around $40 for a 3500 feet long pancake of tape (i.e. without the flanges that hold the tape in place, so you have to spool it onto usable reels before use)....

[rspurdue]

@MarcoZ1ITA1 ...that's enough tape at 7.5 inches per second to record maybe 3 single albums. So as you can see, it's a luxury venture. Also, you are stuck playing the RTR tapes on the main machine - with cassettes, I use them in my car, and enjoy making compilations for use on the road. Of course you can now record directly to CD or to a computer, but that misses the point of using high end vintage gear! It's a hobby that mixes a love of music with a love of cool-looking analog equipment :)

[MarcoZ1ITA1]

@rspurdue (scratch my previous answer by the way)

Indeed, seeing a reel to reel tape playing is only second to my experience of some 40 year old Super 8 films being played for the first time in 30 years, it just looks so awesome... unfortunately i no longer have a car with a tape deck (otherwise i would have had some kind of recorder already)

At the same time tho, i think RTR is a bit too much... maybe in the future, if someone gives a machine to me (unlikely, they're uncommon here)

[delodelo1]

Any reason your large Advents seem to be upside down?

[rspurdue]

@delodelo1 Yes, it's called a stacked Advent arrangement (Google it)...the lower pair are right side up, the upper pair are inverted. This places them tweeter to tweeter. The speakers are connected in parallel - so both speakers on each side get exactly the same signal - I use cables of identical length to each speaker so there is no imbalance. You would not believe how awesome stacked Advents sound compared with a single pair of Advents! If you get the chance to try it, I recommend it! Cheers!

[MauiBassPlayer1]

nice system, I used to have a Yamaha ca-800, I miss it. I had a sonab turntable with a saec arm, and a denon tuntable, a tanberg cassette, a phase linear auto correlator, a audio concepts equalizer, and played it all through my JBL L100's.

[rspurdue]

@MauiBassPlayer1 Thanks. Yamaha made some nice amps back in the day. JBL Century L100 are awesome speakers, and I am also a fan of Tandberg gear...very high quality. You have to pay very big bucks to get anything like that build quality nowadays. For me, vintage is ideal for playing the kind of music I am into (60's and 70's rock).

[rspurdue]

@MauiBassPlayer1 Ahhh...I wish I had JBL L100's!!! That's my next purchase someday - seriously good speakers. Tandberg also made fantastic tape decks, and the CA-800 is a wonderful amp, of course. I take it you no longer have the system?

[MauiBassPlayer1]

nice system, I used to have a Yamaha ca-800, I miss it. I had a sonab turntable with a sace arm, and a denon tuntable, a tanberg cassette, a phase linear auto correlator, a audio concepts equalizer, and played it all through my JBL L100's.

[BoudjeR6]

Nice Vintage audio equipment, but the music that you play from the cassette and tape

is so very good, i wat to know what music it is so i can buy it on lp or cd, i hope you will

tell me the names of the artists and albums, very good music.

[rspurdue]

@BoudjeR6 Thanks! The music played here is: 1) Eric Clapton from the LP "Slowhand" (track is "Cocaine"); 2) Cassette is The Beatles "Abbey Road" (track is "I Want You (She's So Heavy)") and reel to reel is by Free, the title track from the LP "Fire and Water."

[BoudjeR6]

@rspurdue Thank you, i have Eric Clapton Slowhand album on sacd but The number that you play from The Beatles

is unknown for me, it sounds totaly different than the known numbers of The Beatles end the number tha you play

from the reel to reel is a unknown band for me but it is very good, i like classic rock music and i always find music

I do not know yet. il like also vintage audio, specially Yamaha amplifiers and open reel taperecorders.

Thank you for the answer.