Audiophile vinyl

It's a great thing to see young audiophiles grab hold of vintage analog gear. I've heard from many who vow to make vinyl their staple for accurate sound reproduction. This interest shows in the vinyl reviews boasting another 12 percentage increase in sales this past year and a considerable decline in CD sales. SACD's (super audio compact discs) however saw a marginal increase. All of this screams one thing. Sound quality matters again to consumers. With all the shortcuts and circuit wizardry that are employed into todays build's it's not surprising that the difference is SO vast between yesterdays somewhat uninhibited signal paths and the amplification designs of today.

We can't leave out analog tape and it's wonderful sound and properties. With some new studios producing tape again from 2" masters it will likely see some resurgence in the next few years as well. There are some purists who pledge great allegiance to their tape and the quality of their decks.
The progression of the audiophile travels usually from bitstream to needle. It just takes some longer than others to get there. :).

Revox A77 - Mk IV Reel to Reel

Just arrived is this Mint Condition Studer Revox A77 Deck. Built between 1974-78 these are precision audiophile units that are engineered to the highest specifications in the industry at that time. Called the most "delicate" of recorders they incorporated a load resistance for intital start-up reels which were much heavier and required more motor torque to spin. Thus decreasing as tape wound to the pick-up reel and also greatly reducing any slippage or flutter through the heads. Precise!!! A three head system for 4 track stereo recording set this deck high on the audiophiles radar.

This one is super clean and did not see a lot of action through it's years in play. It needs the meter bulbs replaced but other than that its a spectacular sounding piece of Vintage Sound History. All of these early Reel to Reels came with a dustcover. Acrylic similar to turntables although many will not have them with the units. They were put aside and in most cases lost or broken. I dont think you could find a better A77. A True Vintage Beauty!