L@@king to purchase RTR machine , need some help please

[ecandle]

The RTR units that have my attention are all Pioneer however the three models I see RT 707, 701, 909 look very similar , I see the 909 has digital readouts and is more money , I'm partial to the way the 707 701 look , does anyone have any experince with any of the three as far as operations & sound quality or if I should be looking elsewhere. I will greatly appreciate any input , Im looking to spend 'around 500, hopefully less..:smoke:

[Yamaha Nutz]

Several good manufacturers of RTR's, and I will only comment on the TEAC's. I've had mine NEW since 1978, and only (1) service for head alignment issues.
TASCAM were also good products, but I am not familiar w/Pioneer's.

Good luck on your search and selection! Are you looking for a 1/2 track or 1/4 track machine?
7" or 10.5" reels? What options?

[goldear]

The pioneers are sonically about equal. Absolutely gorgeous to look at, but IMO are only average when it comes to sound quality.

I'm not clear what your goal is though: Great sound, or Great looks, or best parts availability. In the first category, its hard to get any better than the Pioneers, although some of the big Sonys are very attractive too. In the second category there are a number of machines that will outperform these by manufactures such as Revox, Tandberg and Sony. In the third category you are pretty much limted to either Teac, or Revox, as these are the only manufactures left which still have parts available.

[SaSi]

The 701 and 707 are both 7" (small) reel decks. The 707 offers auto reverse.

The 909 is a 10.5" reel deck with auto reverse and souped-up looks. There is (I think) a 901 without the auto reverse, but it seems to be very rare, so it would be expensive for no reason. I agree they look great. I was looking for one of those 909 but they are both expensive and fragile (or so I read). Parts for them is a problem.

I decided a Teac would be better than a Pioneer, and they don't look bad either.

Revox machines are in the "repairman's paradise". Parts are available to fix a deck, no matter what fault it has, and parts are dirt cheap sometimes (e.g. $5 for a complete PSU unit, including transformer, PCB and cabling). They sound pretty good also, provided they are well calibrated and aligned and their heads aren't worn.

But for looks (and I know it's a personal matter) to me the best looking decks are the Technics RS1506/1500/1520/1700 (written in order from affordable to really pricey ($350 --> 1800).

[arrow 68]

I saw a Sony 250 the other day for $10.

[blubino]

I own and use all the time, 2 Pioneer Rt-909s, Akai 630D, and a Teac A2340SX. While I love my Pioneers, the best as far as I'm concerned is my AKAI, followed by the TEAC. The Akai and Teac are virtual tanks. The AKAI has the famous glass heads that do not wear out. I have never owned a Technics, but they are my favorite for looks. Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.

[KentTeffeteller]

Hi,

Major issues you should know about Pioneer machines. The RT 701/707 are direct drive and the tape counter belt is the only belt. The 707 has automatic reverse on playback only. The RT 901/909 are dual capstan and belt drive for the capstan. The RT 909 is automatic reverse on playback only. The RT 901/909 are less than ideal mechanically. They are also 10 1/2" reel capable I say get the 707 for mechanical reliability reasons. It also has better heads and is less likely to have severe issues. The Akais are superb in the head department and are a PITA to repair the electronics on. Technics 1500 machines are superb but major money used due to being 3 speeds and having 1/4 and 1/2 track play heads.

[stereofisher]

Would love a Pioneer RT 707 but they are costly and over my meager budget. I also prefer TEAC's as I serviced them in the '70s and have a working knowledge on these.

What are you wanting in a deck? Cost? Auto Reverse? 7 inch reels? A 10 1/2 inch reel deck? How often will you use it? Is it for looks or will it be used? Are you handy and can work on them yourself?

Heres my take:

TEAC 1230, the one on my Avatar. Got for $37 after selling my 2300. Dirty, slightly damaged. Cleaned it up,oiled it,freed up a sticky pinch roller and fixed the cabinet. They are bullet proof. Put out a good sound. Make my Christmas CDs from LPs and CDS onto a tape then to a master CD. Always sounds good.Had this one 4 years now. Teac made a auto reverse model the 1250.
Cheap to get. Loads on Ebay.

TEAC 2300. Newer version of above. Bullet proof great sound. TEAC made many versions of this deck. All decent. Sold mine to help pay for ski boots. Missed the thing so much I bought the 1230. Had a 2300SD which is a Dolby version. TEAC built an auto reverse model too and a 4 channel 2340. All good.

TEAC 4010. Tons of these out there. Tanks, well made and heavy Many variations. This is where they get big. Nice to look at. Still fairly reasonable

Big Decks:

TEAC 6010 and 7010. Big and beautiful. The later a 10 1/2 in model. Prices go up here.

TEAC 3340. Fixed this for a friend along with a X 1000. Both 10 1/2 machines. He got them free. Put a lot of time into the X 1000. They go for a lot of money. Big,great sounding. Had to "go to school" to learn how to fix this one up. Look up Vintage TX's post on this unit. A must read post!! The owner wont sell me his 3340 yet he hasnt pressured me to give it back. Nice deck and you can run it in stereo. I just want this one because the Beatles used one. The X-1000 and X 2000 as well as the smaller X-7 were built in the 80's The big ones are nice (X-1000 and X-2000) but they go for big bucks!

All these decks have reel motors (2) and a capstan motor. Solenoid controls. If you want a single motor deck I had Sony's. Due to no money in the 70s I had a 250 and a 252. Ran them constantly. Wore the heads out. The Sony TC 377 had better Ferrite heads. A favorite of Vintage TX. You might cheack his site. He sells decks. Good luck. Sorry for the long post. RTR is a great format!

Eric:music:

[Brent71]

Otari MX5050BII

[mhardy6647]

If you're serious about an R2R, think ReVox, TASCAM, Otari. Fostex...

The Pioneers are good decks, but they are strictly consumer-grade. The earlier Pioneers (RT-1022, etc.) are more serious hardware IMNSHO.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/mhardy6647/P1030096.jpg

[goldear]

The fact that he was asking about Pioneers implies that he is looking for a consumer format machine. It's generally only us true die-hard nuts who get into the Pro units.

If would be nice to get some more input from the thread starter so that we can give advice that is talored better to his needs.

[Panotaker]

The RT-707 also has pitch control.

[mhardy6647]

So does the TASCAM 22-4 and the RT-909.

[6thumbs]

Teac A-6300,,Auto Reverse,,10.5 reels,,, Big VUs,,, Great sound ,,Great looks,,built like Abrams tank

[ecandle]

The pioneers are sonically about equal. Absolutely gorgeous to look at, but IMO are only average when it comes to sound quality.

I'm not clear what your goal is though: Great sound, or Great looks, or best parts availability. In the first category, its hard to get any better than the Pioneers, although some of the big Sonys are very attractive too. In the second category there are a number of machines that will outperform these by manufactures such as Revox, Tandberg and Sony. In the third category you are pretty much limted to either Teac, or Revox, as these are the only manufactures left which still have parts available.

sound ... but to be honest the Pioneers look trick , but would follow SQ over looks yes.

[ecandle]

The 701 and 707 are both 7" (small) reel decks. The 707 offers auto reverse.

The 909 is a 10.5" reel deck with auto reverse and souped-up looks. There is (I think) a 901 without the auto reverse, but it seems to be very rare, so it would be expensive for no reason. I agree they look great. I was looking for one of those 909 but they are both expensive and fragile (or so I read). Parts for them is a problem.

I decided a Teac would be better than a Pioneer, and they don't look bad either.

Revox machines are in the "repairman's paradise". Parts are available to fix a deck, no matter what fault it has, and parts are dirt cheap sometimes (e.g. $5 for a complete PSU unit, including transformer, PCB and cabling). They sound pretty good also, provided they are well calibrated and aligned and their heads aren't worn.

But for looks (and I know it's a personal matter) to me the best looking decks are the Technics RS1506/1500/1520/1700 (written in order from affordable to really pricey ($350 --> 1800).

This is good input , I defo want the big reels and auto reverse for sure.:scratch2:

[ecandle]

Would love a Pioneer RT 707 but they are costly and over my meager budget. I also prefer TEAC's as I serviced them in the '70s and have a working knowledge on these.

What are you wanting in a deck? Cost? Auto Reverse? 7 inch reels? A 10 1/2 inch reel deck? How often will you use it? Is it for looks or will it be used? Are you handy and can work on them yourself?

Heres my take:

TEAC 1230, the one on my Avatar. Got for $37 after selling my 2300. Dirty, slightly damaged. Cleaned it up,oiled it,freed up a sticky pinch roller and fixed the cabinet. They are bullet proof. Put out a good sound. Make my Christmas CDs from LPs and CDS onto a tape then to a master CD. Always sounds good.Had this one 4 years now. Teac made a auto reverse model the 1250.
Cheap to get. Loads on Ebay.

TEAC 2300. Newer version of above. Bullet proof great sound. TEAC made many versions of this deck. All decent. Sold mine to help pay for ski boots. Missed the thing so much I bought the 1230. Had a 2300SD which is a Dolby version. TEAC built an auto reverse model too and a 4 channel 2340. All good.

TEAC 4010. Tons of these out there. Tanks, well made and heavy Many variations. This is where they get big. Nice to look at. Still fairly reasonable

Big Decks:

TEAC 6010 and 7010. Big and beautiful. The later a 10 1/2 in model. Prices go up here.

TEAC 3340. Fixed this for a friend along with a X 1000. Both 10 1/2 machines. He got them free. Put a lot of time into the X 1000. They go for a lot of money. Big,great sounding. Had to "go to school" to learn how to fix this one up. Look up Vintage TX's post on this unit. A must read post!! The owner wont sell me his 3340 yet he hasnt pressured me to give it back. Nice deck and you can run it in stereo. I just want this one because the Beatles used one. The X-1000 and X 2000 as well as the smaller X-7 were built in the 80's The big ones are nice (X-1000 and X-2000) but they go for big bucks!

All these decks have reel motors (2) and a capstan motor. Solenoid controls. If you want a single motor deck I had Sony's. Due to no money in the 70s I had a 250 and a 252. Ran them constantly. Wore the heads out. The Sony TC 377 had better Ferrite heads. A favorite of Vintage TX. You might cheack his site. He sells decks. Good luck. Sorry for the long post. RTR is a great format!

Eric:music:

The fact that he was asking about Pioneers implies that he is looking for a consumer format machine. It's generally only us true die-hard nuts who get into the Pro units.

If would be nice to get some more input from the thread starter so that we can give advice that is talored better to his needs.
yes you are right but you all have now changed my mind I want a seriouse RTR ( from the looks ebay poupularity ) i just assued the Pioneers were... , right now ( recently ) I have discovered that taking music from a certain type of music I listen to from digital into my tape player is night and day , I also have live perfomances I have pulled from the AUD in WAV and then moved to FLAC and from here to analog tape...
( WOW ) I want to trasfer over the whole show as it was recorded onto RTR tape and let her roll.:thmbsp:

[goldear]

If you want 10" reels, physical beauty, long lasting heads, and great sound, my bias would be towards something like a Sony TC-765.

If you want lots of features, auto-reverse, very cool looks, pretty good sound, and parts availability, then you might want to look at a Teac X-1000R, or X-2000R.

If you want bullet-proof reliability, parts availability, and great sound, but don't care about the ugly cosmetics, then a Rexox B77 is the way to go.

If you want great sound, very good looks, and don't care about the machines being a little fragile, then consider a Tandberg TD-20A.

If you want an ultra sexy appearance, Okay sound, and Auto-reverse, then the Pioneer RT-909 is for you.