And no, it’s not Jonathan Valin, the magazine’s usual champion of all things R2R. Andre Jennings is the reviewer this time.
The original ReVox B77 was launched in 1977, as the successor to the A77, which in turn began life in 1970 and ran for 7 years (there’s a lot of 7s here). The MkII version of the B77 then lasted until 1998 – but, for reasons we’re all too aware of, it took until 2024 for the MkIII edition to launch.
Manufactured in Villingen, Germany, it’s being produced at a rate of 20+ units per month (that’s a heart-warming statistic – suggesting a decent amount of demand without over-production) and comes with a 3-year warranty.
I’m feeling a whole heap of envy scanning the published list of Andre Jennings’ reference system… there are around 10 tape decks (10!!) on the list and they’re all crackers – an Otari, two Studers, a couple of Revoxes, a Stellavox, Nagra, Sony, Uher, Ampex… Wowzer. Seems the B77 MkIII has a hell of a lot to live up to here…
If you’re in the market for one, Jennings runs through the spec and overall presentation in quite some detail, before diving into his listening tests.
Initial set-up of the deck is straightforward, he reports and after living with the deck for some time, he finds it pretty easy to use for both listening and recording “once the owner gets the hang of it” (not sure what that means exactly) and adds “especially when compared to one or two of the more recent and significantly more costly decks on the market”. I can take an educated guess as to which ones he means…!
“Music playback is very good with satisfying performance,” he reports – but there’s obviously more specific detail in his track-by-track listening notes.
One big advantage to note – the ReVox “fits easily in the home listening environment and does so while sitting on top of a standard equipment shelf or entertainment cabinet.” Unlike my duo of Studers which, alongside the rest of my hi-fi kit, pretty much dominate the whole room!
While my Studers are going nowhere, I’d love to try out the ReVox too – I’ve only ever heard any of the new decks at hi-fi shows, so it’d be great to give one a proper audition by, as Jennings says, ‘living with it for a while’.
And another plus – if you’re after a new deck rather than a refurbished vintage model, “it won’t break the bank” relative to some of the other new offerings out there. (It’s currently retailing at £16,999 here in the UK).
You’ll find the full review in the July/August issue of The Absolute Sound.
There’s also a reassuring amount of detail about the deck on the Revox website: https://revox.com/us/audio-systems/tape-recorder/285/b77-mk-iii-stereo-tape-recorder
Dave Denyer: The Reel-to-Reel Rambler 