Category: R2R decks

The price of decks, Dark Side of the Moon and pirates: talking tape with Russia’s Stereo.ru

October 28, 2021

As part of my recent virtual visit to Smart Audio Recording Lab in Kirov, Russia, I also ‘met’ (virtually) with Dmitry Alexandrov who blogs for the Russian website http://www.stereo.ru. Dmitry, who in ‘normal life’ (as he puts it) is an architect, wanted to put a few R2R questions my way and of course I was … More The price of decks, Dark Side of the Moon and pirates: talking tape with Russia’s Stereo.ru

Analog Audio Design launches a brand new tape deck

August 16, 2021

Back in the pre-pandemic days (remember those?) it was mooted in various places (e.g. Stereonet, What’s Best Forum) that French company Analog Audio Design was working on a design for a new tape deck. Such announcements are always hugely exciting news – but then the world went a bit AWOL and, I’ll be honest, my … More Analog Audio Design launches a brand new tape deck

Could this be the best tape deck money can buy? The all new ‘SuperDeck’ from United Home Audio

June 9, 2021

Greg Beron at United Home Audio has launched “an all out assault on tape playback” with his brand new UHA SuperDeck. “This is the ‘ne plus ultra’ of high-fidelity playback, built from the very best of every single piece and part, cost no object,” he says. Selected highlights from the list of ingredients include: An outboard … More Could this be the best tape deck money can buy? The all new ‘SuperDeck’ from United Home Audio

Vintage hits: Hi-Fi News reviews four ‘new’ open-reel decks (new in 1978, that is!)

February 4, 2021

Each month, Hi-Fi News magazine raids its vault to bring you an article from its vast archive of features and reviews from yesteryear. The December 2020 issue ran a review from way back in June 1978, in which Martin Colloms put four ‘new’ top-quality open-reel decks to the test. Ah, those were the days eh. … More Vintage hits: Hi-Fi News reviews four ‘new’ open-reel decks (new in 1978, that is!)

Interview: Greg Beron of ‘hybrid’ R2R deck maker United Home Audio

February 26, 2020

United Home Audio (UHA) is an American high-end audio retailer based in Northern Virginia near Washington, DC. The company, which is headed by Greg Beron, also has another interesting bow to its string: for the past twelve years UHA has been ‘re-manufacturing’ reel-to-reel tape decks. Greg takes vintage Tascam decks as his starting point and … More Interview: Greg Beron of ‘hybrid’ R2R deck maker United Home Audio

Coming soon from Ballfinger: the new £10k M 002 P tape deck

January 31, 2020

The company that brought you the millenium’s first completely modern tape decks, the M 063 (in four editions), is now working on a new model, the forthcoming M 002 P. Scheduled for release in summer 2020, the M 002 P is a playback-only machine and is priced at around the £10k mark. It doesn’t include … More Coming soon from Ballfinger: the new £10k M 002 P tape deck

Hi-Fi Show Live 2019: “a pivotal moment for tape”!

November 1, 2019

Well, we did it… this Hallowe’en weekend, The Reel-to-Reel Rambler went from being an online webzine to a collaborative live event at Hi-Fi Show Live 2019 – and what a show it was! If there was any doubt about the growing interest in reel-to-reel, then this weekend must surely have put it to rest. The … More Hi-Fi Show Live 2019: “a pivotal moment for tape”!

R2R live! The Rambler will be at the UK’s Hi-Fi Show Live this October – with tape decks both vintage and brand new, tape labels, tape manufacturers, tech tape advice and more (oh and Ken Kessler!)

August 26, 2019

The Rambler has some very exciting news to announce…. this October we’re celebrating all things reel-to-reel at the UK’s biggest high-end hi-fi show and we’d love you to come along and join us! The show: Hi-Fi Show Live, Ascot, UK, 26th-27th October 2019 Hi-Fi Show Live, now in its 7thyear, is run by AVTech Media, … More R2R live! The Rambler will be at the UK’s Hi-Fi Show Live this October – with tape decks both vintage and brand new, tape labels, tape manufacturers, tech tape advice and more (oh and Ken Kessler!)