Analog Tape

The Audio Chain: Reel to Reel Tape

The Audio Chain: Reel to Reel Tape

An old idiom states, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”. As audiophiles, we are constantly striving to improve the fidelity of our playback systems by identifying the weakest links in our systems [...]

Fidelity vs. Sound: Which Is Better?

Fidelity vs. Sound: Which Is Better?

During the recent T.H.E. Show I told several attendees that I intended to write a post comparing fidelity vs. sound. They are not the same thing. The background for this post comes from a variety of [...]

The Analog Tape Adventure

The Analog Tape Adventure

I’ve very aware of the work that Paul Stubblebine and his partners are doing at The Tape Project but I hadn’t actually seen or held any of their products. Well, I did on Saturday in the [...]

$4999 for Reel-To-Reel Analog Tape

$4999 for Reel-To-Reel Analog Tape

You may have already read about some craziness going on at eBay. I’ve talked about $1000 glass CDs but $4999.99 or even $7999.99 for a reel-to-reel analog tape copy of Pink Floyd or Queen? Is anyone [...]

A Strange Path To A Rating of “10”

A Strange Path To A Rating of “10”

The production of an album can be accomplished using a lot of different approaches and techniques. The purist approach involves getting the artist/band to perform their set in the studio and a recording engineer capturing a [...]

Everyone Wants In The Club: Analog Tape II

Everyone Wants In The Club: Analog Tape II

This is the second part of a series of posts about the challenges that confront designers of analog tape machines. What is thought by a select few of passionate “reel to reelophiles” to be the ultimate [...]

Analog Tape As High-Resolution? No Way.

Analog Tape As High-Resolution? No Way.

I’ve been working with analog tape a lot over the past month. My Nagra and Ampex 440C 1/4″ machines have been put back into action after many idle years. The Ampex was parked upstairs for over [...]

An Analog Tape vs. PCM Comparison

An Analog Tape vs. PCM Comparison

I know I’ve been dwelling on the session that I just finished but I feel justified because it was a very unusual production. All morning I’ve been slicing analog tape, inserting leader tape and using my [...]

Making Copies…Analog Style Part I

Making Copies…Analog Style Part I

I’ve tried in several previous posts to establish that analog tape is NOT capable of delivering “the highest quality reproduction possible”. If by “highest reproduction possible” supporters of analog tape mean a format that can handle [...]

15 ips Analog Tape

15 ips Analog Tape

Since when did a 50-year-old analog format become the standard bearer for state-of-the-art music recording and reproduction? I’m reading the reel-to-reel groups, attending the DSD presentations at the Newport Show and am well aware of The [...]