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[ARSCLIST] Technics 1500 was: Re: [ARSCLIST] Ampex ATR-102 opinion (was MD5 Hash Generators
I think Tim de Paravicini has some special electronics coming out for
the 1500 series. If so, that would be the cat's meow (and the bee's
knees too). Tim is a first class engineer, not some copier of archaic
Western Electric circuits (or the Radiotron Designer's Handbook). I
would bet that the 1500, with Tim's electronics and custom heads, would
blow the doors off of most stock professional machines.
Phillip
carlstephen koto wrote:
On Jan 22, 2008, at 2:16 PM, phillip holmes wrote:
The Technics (the one Tom mentions) is the way to go. For better
sound, keep the Technics and use nicer/better electronics and maybe
custom heads. That Technics transport is super gentle and it's got
good looks. Also, the Technics turntables are still state-of-the-art
when combined with a good plinth and tonearm. Matsushita put way
more money/time/engineering into those products than any high-end
audio garage outfit will be able to do (or Ampex for that matter).
I'm not saying there aren't other great tape decks and turntables (or
that Ampex engineers sucked). What I am saying is that if you want a
great machine for your home, the Technics is the way to go.
I've had a Technics RS1500US for a number of years. It's one of
several decks that I own and while I have very limited experience with
ATR 100s, MR70s, Studer A80-812-820s, it still doesn't prevent me from
lusting after one. That said, there's very little that I haven't
modified on my 1500. The major one has been wiring the heads directly
to output and using a custom, tube playback amp..I have Greg Orton
from Fux Magnetics, building a pair of custom heads( 1/2 track 15ips
and 1/4 track 7.5ips) that he'll be installing in my headblock in a
couple of weeks. Personally, I'd love to get an A80 and give it this
same sort of treatment. But until I feel satisfied that I've wrung
every last bit of performance out of the Technics, I'll wait. The only
way that I can "know" that every adjustment or modification is "spot
on" is if I do it myself (it certainly helps that I enjoy this kind of
self torture). The combination of my deck and the Tape Projects
master dubs would be pretty hard to beat. I have a couple of friends
that have what would currently be considered among the best sounding
digital playback front-ends (EMM Labs transports/Dac) and they are
shocked how much better my tapes sound than their SACDs. These
comparisons are done with their systems.
BTW Bruce, I was glad to see your name here. I still miss your
newsletter.