PS Audio - Surround Sound not more popular with Audiophiles?

[barfle]

To me it's all about options. I like having options.

That is why I have two turntables. That is why I have a universal disc player. That’s why there are ten speakers in my room and why my TV can show 3-D.

At one time, I could play and record reel-to reel, cassettes and 8-tracks (given up on tape, though).

 

[himey]

I have two turntables.

And a microphone?
Where it's at.

 

[barfle]

And a microphone?
Where it's at.

I have one in my phone.

 

[esimms86]

That is why I have two turntables. That is why I have a universal disc player. That’s why there are ten speakers in my room and why my TV can show 3-D.

At one time, I could play and record reel-to reel, cassettes and 8-tracks (given up on tape, though).

Revox has updated one of their best reel-to-reek decks with the release of the B77 MkIII (yes, it's currently in production). It's plays 2 track, 1/4 inch tape at 15 and 7.5 ips. The price is just a shade under $16,000. They have also jumped into the prerecorded tape business with 15 ips tapes for around $500 each. No, I'm not buying the machine nor the tapes.

https://reeltoreelhaven.com/products/new-revox-b77-mkiii-tape-recorder

https://reeltoreelhaven.com/pages/revox-master-tape-copy-collection

Edit: I have no personal or financial connection to Revox or Reel-To_Reel Haven. I just found it interesting that a company decided in 2024 to get back into consumer reel-to-reel production.

 

[mandrix]

Revox has updated one of their best reel-to-reek decks with the release of the B77 MkIII (yes, it's currently in production). It's plays 2 track, 1/4 inch tape at 15 and 7.5 ips. The price is just a shade under $16,000. They have also jumped into the prerecorded tape business with 15 ips tapes for around $500 each. No, I'm not buying the machine nor the tapes.

https://reeltoreelhaven.com/products/new-revox-b77-mkiii-tape-recorder

I've always wanted me one 'a them there reel-to-reek decks. Little pricey for me though.

 

[esimms86]

I've always wanted me one 'a them there reel-to-reek decks. Little pricey for me though.

You could get a fully refurbished reel-to-reel deck of similar quality and specs for under $6k. Then you would just to spend time and money to maintain it (and buy tapes to play).

 

[ar surround]

I've always wanted me one 'a them there reel-to-reek decks. Little pricey for me though.

You could get fully refurbished reel-to-reel deck of similar quality and specs for under $6k. Then you would just to spend time and money to maintain it (and buy tapes to play).

I had a Tandberg reel-to-reel machine in the 80s. It was a magnificent machine. Last month at a funeral,I actually ran into the fellow to whom I sold the machine. We both talked about what a wonderful beast it was.

Of course, RtR was half the convenience at twice the price of other formats.

 

[mrcond]

And a microphone?
Where it's at.

Now THAT would be a great album in surround.

 

[esimms86]

I had a Tandberg reel-to-reel machine in the 80s. It was a magnificent machine. Last month at a funeral,I actually ran into the fellow to whom I sold the machine. We both talked about what a wonderful beast it was.

Of course, RtR was half the convenience at twice the price of other formats.

Agreed, but no other media sounds quite like tape saturation. And, if that's what you absolutely need to hear then you better have the means and also be ready and willing to open up your wallet.

Aside from the cost and inconvenience of rtr, another big issue is the limited amount ofat media to play on it. If you scoured the internet for high quality prerecorded rtr tapes and had an unlimited budget to pay for them you would end up with perhaps a tape library that numbered in the dozens (and that's assuming that you were genre agnostic).

ar, how would you rate the inconvenience of vinyl relative to the inconvenience of rtr? Just asking.

 

[ar surround]

Agreed, but no other media sounds quite like tape saturation. And, if that's what you absolutely need to hear then you better have the means and also be ready and willing to open up your wallet.

I used it with a dbx encoder / decoder, which made the performance even more remarkable.

ar, how would you rate the inconvenience of vinyl relative to the inconvenience of rtr? Just asking.

That's the only other format that I had back then, so RtR was half the convenience of vinyl. IIRC, I sold the Tandberg when I got a HiFi VCR.

 

[mandrix]

You could get a fully refurbished reel-to-reel deck of similar quality and specs for under $6k. Then you would just to spend time and money to maintain it (and buy tapes to play).

Hard pass!

 

[esimms86]

I used it with a dbx encoder / decoder, which made the performance even more remarkable.



That's the only other format that I had back then, so RtR was half the convenience of vinyl. IIRC, I sold the Tandberg when I got a HiFi VCR.

I had an Ampex 7” rtr that I replaced with a Revox A77. I also had an dbx encoder/decoder. For some reason, it told me to drink Ovaltine.

 

[esimms86]

I had an Ampex 7” rtr that I replaced with a Revox A77. I also had an dbx encoder/decoder. For some reason, it told me to drink Ovaltine.

I bought the Revox A77 (used) shortly after seeing a picture of Chris Squire with one on the insert that came with Fragile.

 

[MathieuW]

My father had a Revox A77. Bought it new, probably at the end of the 60’s when he bought all his expensive audio gear (before he married). He seldom used it. I only remember him playing it on his birthday parties late in the evening. He made mix tapes, also in the 60’s, and had all the contents on index cards. He sold it all 5 years ago when they moved to a smaller house.

Even though I only heard it a few times, it is quite present in my memory as it stood clearly visible in the living room behind a glass door on a shelf for all those years. It was also quite large, hard to miss.

 

[barfle]

Revox has updated one of their best reel-to-reek decks with the release of the B77 MkIII (yes, it's currently in production). It's plays 2 track, 1/4 inch tape at 15 and 7.5 ips. The price is just a shade under $16,000. They have also jumped into the prerecorded tape business with 15 ips tapes for around $500 each. No, I'm not buying the machine nor the tapes.

https://reeltoreelhaven.com/products/new-revox-b77-mkiii-tape-recorder

https://reeltoreelhaven.com/pages/revox-master-tape-copy-collection

Edit: I have no personal or financial connection to Revox or Reel-To_Reel Haven. I just found it interesting that a company decided in 2024 to get back into consumer reel-to-reel production.

I thought my R2R deck was the highest fi piece of gear I owned, and of course it’s cool watching those reels going around as the tape plays. But I couldn’t afford to keep mine running, and the prices of new decks were also out of reach. I had a H-K cassette deck as well, but again, reliability issues made the whole tape idea something I just gave up on.

I did the VHS and S-VHS (hi-fi) routine for longer than was reasonable. The only tapes I have now are some VHS recordings I want to digitize, but no deck and no time for the project.

 

[esimms86]

I thought my R2R deck was the highest fi piece of gear I owned, and of course it’s cool watching those reels going around as the tape plays. But I couldn’t afford to keep mine running, and the prices of new decks were also out of reach. I had a H-K cassette deck as well, but again, reliability issues made the whole tape idea something I just gave up on.

I did the VHS and S-VHS (hi-fi) routine for longer than was reasonable. The only tapes I have now are some VHS recordings I want to digitize, but no deck and no time for the project.

Makes perfect sense to me. I also think back to the days when engineers used razor blades to edit tapes. Today it sounds primitive relative to what a hobbyist can do with software like GarageBand.

 

[4-earredwonder]

FAST FORWARD to the PRESENT! After ALL my dalliances with all things analogue [expensive Turntables/vacuum pumps, exotic tonearms, cartridges, and OPEN REEL DECKS [Revox A77/AMPEX/TEAC] and of course those Nakamichi cassette decks [Dolby C, exotic tape formulations, et alia], I am happy to report that I'm now living in the DIGITAL AGE with my all relatively NEW [to ME] Meridian sound system.

And I've NEVER been happier. With the current plethora of digital media pouring out of the world wide internet mostly from 15 ips Master Tapes in high resolution formats [ATMOS, DTS~HD MA 5.1 and even LPCM STEREO] why even look back?

NOT to mention all those phenomenal UHD4K remasters from the original camera negatives at prices even less expensive than music only media! Even wonderful Universal Players like the now scarce OPPO 205 which even UPSAMPLE blu ray discs in quality that FAR surpass all those archaic LD, Super VHS/BETA and DVD formats! Some even quipped at the time that they thought that the 205 was overpriced ..... but plugged into my very high end Meridian 861 v.8 pre/pro via a savvy Meridian 722 HDMI switcher and more importantly ENHANCER module the video and sonics I am now getting far surpass anything prior I've interfaced with my system!

I'm all in for nostalgia ....but NOT as it pertains to the audio/video industry. Perhaps DIGITAL is not everyones cup o' tea .... but what I'm hearing now is heavenly NIRVANA at its very finest. Even the DSP modes on my Meridian pre/pro which includes AMBISONICS, SUPER and MUSICLOGIC modes make listening in STEREO a thing of the past. I never invested in Chucky's surround master and don't regret it because these DSP modes which perform in an all digital mode [with NO analogue spaghetti interconnects] excite my fronts, rears and side speakers in a phantasmagorical explosion of discrete sonics unlike anything I've ever heard before!

And it's ONLY GETTING BETTER!

 

[esimms86]

FAST FORWARD to the PRESENT! After ALL my dalliances with all things analogue [expensive Turntables/vacuum pumps, exotic tonearms, cartridges, and OPEN REEL DECKS [Revox A77/AMPEX/TEAC] and of course those Nakamichi cassette decks [Dolby C, exotic tape formulations, et alia], I am happy to report that I'm now living in the DIGITAL AGE with my all relatively NEW [to ME] Meridian sound system.

And I've NEVER been happier. With the current plethora of digital media pouring out of the world wide internet mostly from 15 ips Master Tapes in high resolution formats [ATMOS, DTS~HD MA 5.1 and even LPCM STEREO] why even look back?

NOT to mention all those phenomenal UHD4K remasters from the original camera negatives at prices even less expensive than music only media! Even wonderful Universal Players like the now scarce OPPO 205 which even UPSAMPLE blu ray discs in quality that FAR surpass all those archaic LD, Super VHS/BETA and DVD formats! Some even quipped at the time that they thought that the 205 was overpriced ..... but plugged into my very high end Meridian 861 v.8 pre/pro via a savvy Meridian 722 HDMI switcher and more importantly ENHANCER module the video and sonics I am now getting far surpass anything prior I've interfaced with my system!

I'm all in for nostalgia ....but NOT as it pertains to the audio/video industry. Perhaps DIGITAL is not everyones cup o' tea .... but what I'm hearing now is heavenly NIRVANA at its very finest. Even the DSP modes on my Meridian pre/pro which includes AMBISONICS, SUPER and MUSICLOGIC modes make listening in STEREO a thing of the past. I never invested in Chucky's surround master and don't regret it because these DSP modes which perform in an all digital mode [with NO analogue spaghetti interconnects] excite my fronts, rears and side speakers in a phantasmagorical explosion of discrete sonics unlike anything I've ever heard before!

And it's ONY GETTING BETTER!

I have an OPPO 103D which I use almost exclusively for ripping SACD’s to .iso files. I also have a ChinOPPO which is essentially an OPPO 203 minus a drawer to insert discs. The OPPO 205 IS overpriced only if you are looking to buy one today from places like eBay, Audiogon or HifiShark. I have no doubt that you bought yours back in the day when OPPO all too briefly had them for sale.

While I never made my dream purchase of a Teac 3340, I have no regrets given that the world of digital music has provided me with the opportunity to get quad remasters from places like Dutton Vocalion and Sony Japan (and, yes, Audio Fidelity). And forgeddaboutit if you’re looking for 5.1, 7.or Dolby Atmos (or Auro 3D) music or movies from an analog chain.

Thanks to folks like Rhino, Dutton Vocalion, Sony Japan, the Zappa family, Steven Wilson, Stephen J. Tayler and numerous others, the present time is the golden age of music in surround, no doubt about it!

 

[ar surround]

I'm all in for nostalgia ....but NOT as it pertains to the audio/video industry. Perhaps DIGITAL is not everyones cup o' tea ....

There are people who love to tinker with old stuff as a hobby, and not just in our audio domain. I like to tinker with digital.