Why Not Bring Back Analog, Reel to Reel Tape

.....or as my dad says about Walmart: "If they ain't got it, I don't need it......."

Enjoy,

TIC

reel to reel was fringe even during its heydey.

Mag tape is inherently expensive to duplicate. You have to draw the tape past a record head so that the music is recorded note-by-note. Perhaps speeded up a bit, but that hurts quality. A vinyl LP is stamped out so that all the music is copied at the same time. (It is a "parallel" process whereas tape is "serial") CDs are also stamped out like LPs.

Mike Lavigne, who has invested in some good machines as well as a subscription to the Tape Project, seems to be unconvinced as to the superiority of, at least these tapes, if we are to accept his comments on Audio Asylum. Mike has a purpose built sound room as well as a Rockport record player and very high end gear.

As others have pointed out, the master tapes may have deteriorated in the decades since they were recorded, so no current reissue, in any hi-rez format, may be able to compare to the original LPs, or there may be other factors at play.

Attempting to answer these types of questions one dimensionally is usually fraught with problems.

I still collect RR tapes to play on my Akai 747DBX..and most of the tapes in 7.5ips..and they sound very very good. Many of them were made in the 60s, 70s and still sound absolutely great with very little tape hiss.

By the way, arent most (if not all) vinyl reissues were re-mastered from "original master tape"?