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New Ballfinger R2R - in the flesh

T

topoxforddoc

pfm Member
Ok, so most people aren't interested in R2R. I wasn't until 2 years ago. Now it has become my main source - albeit an expensive one, as 15 IPS master tapes don't come cheap.

Putting the cost of the music aside, the Absolute Sound compared a R2R with a USD100k + Proscenium Black Diamond TT - the R2R wiped the floor.

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/art...ew-tape-deck-and-next-gen-reel-to-reel-tapes/

Compared to the cost of the Black Diamond TT (rated as one of the best TTs in the world irrespective of cost), the Euro27k cost of the new Ballfinger R2R seems "quite reasonable". Engineered by ex Revox people, this is being produced in tiny quantities.



Revox (Horch House) had announced a R2R too, but it hasn't materialised yet. This Ballfinger though is real and it's available :)
 
It sounds glorious and easily betters vinyl.

The software is far too limited and expensive to justify the purchase.

Hopefully one day they'll get digital to work.
 
david ellwood said:
It sounds glorious and easily betters vinyl.

The software is far too limited and expensive to justify the purchase.

Hopefully one day they'll get digital to work.
Click to expand...

Lovely machine, but yes the lack of software will make even the very well healed think twice.

Better to buy and restore an old Revox (among others) which will still wipe the floor with vinyl if you fancy a dabble wth open reel at relatively sensible money.
 
Their PS 2 TT looks interesting too.

Turntable_PS2_Front.jpg


Turntable_PS2_Persp_Front-1024x683-2.jpg
 
This is a perfect example of how irrelevant and almost entirely nostalgia driven high end audio hobbyism has become. Both the R2R machine and the TT it was compared to are hopelessly inaccurate distortion generators compared to any entry level cdp, for instance.

Small wonder then, that high end audio is in its death spiral towards oblivion.
 
Wow, Charlie, what is the back story of that tape? I'm trying to figure out the track listing as it obviously isn't Ziggy as in either side of the LP. What is it?
 
It certainly is a beautiful machine and a milestone for Audio that some one has actually produced a new R2R in 2017 :)
Hopefully Revox will bring their planned machine out this year as well

Alan
 
I'd imagine there's a decent handful of German buyers looking to add this luxury r2r to their set-up.
 
Simon,

I doubt that this is a "luxury" R2R, although it comes with a high price tag for mere mortals. The engineering inside a tape deck exceeds vastly that required for a turntable. A fully specced new LP12 is almost £19000 and something exotic like a Walker is north of £100,000.

As you know, from building the Paradise phonos, good electronics cost in design, labour and high quality parts. If you were to charge a commercial rate with marketing and distribution, the cost of your Paradise would be far in excess of £1500.

Last year, I calculated the 2016 new cost of my tape decks adjusting solely for inflation and nothing else. The new list price for my Studer A807/II was USD 12,500 in 1981 and my Sony APR5003 USD12,000 in 1988. Allowing for inflation only, the 2016 equivalent price is £36,000 for the Studer and £25,000 for the Sony.

The Studer A820 was approaching £50,000, when it was released in 1986. That would be £135,000 in 2016 allowing for inflation. Small production volumes would make these even more expensive.

Compared to a high end swiss watch, there is more engineering in one of these :)
 
The playback only main module for the new Revox slated for this year is rumoured to be 4000 Euro at release with other modules inc record and monitoring bridge being extras.

The Ballfinger is a pro studio machine with 3 speeds (7.5/15 and 30 IPS), electronic memory for tape set up, easy servicing (swing out front and back plates) and CCIR/NAB replay (but CCIR only for record). Easy controls for tape set up and bias. The chassis and main plates are all CNC machined (not pressed steel).

With all that, it isn't too outrageously priced, if you want a brand new studio machine.
 
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