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In Reply to: RE: If I am reading this correctly these are digital rips from commercial reel to reel tapes posted by Analog Scott on September 24, 2022 at 04:03:56
Compared to the usual early-to-mid 1960s LP, it was AMAZING. Compared to a Shure cartridge on a Garrard idler-wheel turntable.
Even better sound: Roger Williams, "More than a Miracle." That was released on the Kapp label, which, like Westminster, had at least audiophile aspiration.
I also remember (from the 1970s) small ads in the back of Stereo Review (small ads, not classified ads) for high-quality RTR tapes from Barclay-Crocker which were dubbed at 4X and not 16X.
jm
Follow Ups:
As with any product, there was some variability in the various offerings, but, at their best, there was nothing finer commercially available at that time IMHO. I sold them all to the buyer of my RTR machine in the 80's. (And seeing how digital has developed - in the classical world at least - I have not regretted that decision.)
I am very strict about not arguing preferences. what people like is inarguable. Heck, I prefer vinyl.
But.... I think a lot of audiophiles don't really know the objective realities about many things in audio including reel to reel tape.
No doubt 4X speed is much more accurate to the source signal that 16X speed. But either way they are at best, AT BEST, 3rd generation analog tape high speed dupes. In the objective real world they are not even remotely as accurate as a hi res rip from an original master tape.
Prefernces are subjective and inarguable. Accuracy is objective and not a matter of opinion.
I am focusing on one comparison... way back when.
Back then, "hi-res rips from the original master tapes" were as yet undreamt of.
Compared to the LP, the RTR of the Roger Williams album was amazing.
Back then, please remember, there was a constant struggle in the record biz between the aspirations of the artists and the engineers, and the iron-fisted control of the bean counters.
Labels such as Westminster started out as audiophile labels with thick pressings and deluxe jackets. Then, they got popular enough to be worth acquiring by another company, and then the bean counters went about "de-flavorizing" the product.
Remember "Dynagroove"? A thin cheap pressing with a fancy name and lots of BS.
Brad Miller began doing half-speed mastering and Japanese pressings because he was so disappointed in the Philips LP pressings of his "Mystic Moods Orchestra" LPs. And the 1973 war in the Mideast and the Arab Oil Embrago only made things worse. NB, the first three MFSL LP titles were INDEED, "Mystic Moods Orchestra" LPs.
Today, different story. There are half a dozen reissue firms making world-class pressings, and the choice among hi-res streams and downloads is mind-boggling.
Back in the 1960s, things were different.
Now, if you buy a Time Machine and load it up with a $25,000 SME turntable and a $5,000 cartridge of your choice, and go visit the younger me and set up said turntable, it will blow away my Shure/Garrard setup, and perhaps the open-reel tapes will not sound so amazing.
amb,
john
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