January 2018 SAC Meeting
For our January club meeting, we are very pleased to have club member Joseph Dillon and Peter Mony of Nagravox present some Revox reel to reel machines playing some mastered tapes. Peter Mony of Nagravox (http://www.nagravox.com.au/home/) is a leading authority on these decks. He has helped Joseph to rebuild these machines (they are owned by Joseph). Peter will give a brief overview of reel-to-reel machines, after which Joseph will present about 30 minutes of music. After that, club member Neville Kapadia will play a few tracks from his master tapes.
Details of the system….
Reel to Reel Machines:
Revox PR99 Mark III: Tape Speeds 7.5 & 15 inches/second 2 Track NAB EQ
Revox PR99 Mark III: Tape Speeds 7.5 & 15 inches/second 2 Track IEC EQ
More info at: http://www.reeltoreel.de/worldwide/PR99.htm and https://en.audiofanzine.com/analog-multitrack/revox/pr99-mkii/user_reviews/ and
https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.studerundrevox.de/revox/tonbandgeraete/revox-pr99/&prev=search
Revox G36: All valve hard wired, 4 Track NAB EQ 3.75 and 7.5 inches/second
More info at: http://www.reeltoreel.de/worldwide/G36.htm and https://www.stereophile.com/content/revox-g-36-open-reel-tape-recorder
PreAmp: Custom design all valve with built in phono stage
Amplifiers: EAR 549 200W all valve mono blocks
More info at: http://www.audioreview.com/cat/amplification/amplifiers/ear-yoshino-ltd/549-mono-power-amplifier/prd_401541_1583crx.aspx
Speakers: KLIPSCH FORTE II
Refer to http://www.klipsch.com.au/products/forte-ii-floorstanding-speaker
CD/SACD Player: Marantz SC8400
Turntable: Goldring Lenco GL75 with Micro Benz high output MC cartridge
The second half of the music sessions will be our popular BYO. Members and guests are welcome to offer music to share with us all. So bring along your favourite music on CD/SACD, vinyl and of course reel to reel tapes. (Please note the supported tape types above, and if you do bring a tape then please ensure it is positioned to the start of the track you wish to play.) All we ask is that the music and recordings be interesting. We'll ask you to tell us a little about the artist/recording before it is played. Tracks over 6 minutes will be faded out, to give everyone a fair go.
Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, you will have the opportunity to listen, learn and share your experiences with others. Feel free to come and hear the capabilities of the system, or to just share the experience with like-minded music lovers in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Guests are welcome – we are a very friendly club so you don't need to know anyone to join us for an afternoon of fine music and sound.
Venue: Epping Creative Centre, Dence Park
Address: 26 Stanley Road, Epping
When: Sunday 21st January 2018
Doors open 1pm
Meeting starts at 2pm
Best regards,
Tom Waters
President
Sydney Audio Club
W: www.sydneyaudioclub.org.au
FB: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyaudioclub
E: [email protected]
Follow-Up Report
Our January club meeting turned out much better than we’d hoped. It sometimes has lower attendance due to the holiday season… people are still away, still tied up in family things, still tripping in Tahiti (ha, I wish!). We were expecting maybe 25-30 people to attend – instead we had 45+ people attend our first half. That’s the most number of people ever in a January meeting. It was a great outcome.
We had lots of guests too which is always good. And we had one fellow attend that had been on our mailing list since February 2012 and finally got to his first club meeting. He said he thoroughly enjoyed it and planned to be back.
Peter Mony of Nagravox opened the meeting with an enjoyable educational talk of reel-to-reel technology, and showed and explained a number of key components within the machines. He also had some repair kits on display to replace the key components that are likely to wear the most and cause the most trouble. I expected these kits to be super expensive but were actually reasonably priced (IMO) for what they contained. If you have a well-loved Revox, Studer, Nagra, etc. R2R that you’d like to get running again, Peter is your go-to man. (http://www.nagravox.com.au/home/)
So… why all the interest in our club meeting? Well, from what people said, they really love reel-to-reel. Yes, in today’s digital world its old-school technology but it’s always been excellent technology. And like vinyl, it’s always had its dedicated followers even through the dark ages when CD threatened to tear all asunder. And you could hear why it has survived the barrage of new technology – it just sounds good.
And it certainly offered some great sounds on the day. Of course some of the tapes sounded better than others, and some sounded quite stellar. Joseph and Neville played us lots of music from their tapes, and much of it resulted in enthusiastic clapping afterwards. (And that was even before I held up the “Applause” sign). Neville closed the meeting with two Ben Webster tracks. Webster was known to be somewhat testy and abrasive when drunk, but when he was between sober and “getting there” he certainly could play a touching emotional ballad. The result was more clapping!
It seems that R2R is perhaps not a hobby for everyone. The blank tapes are affordable, but buying great pre-recorded tapes can be pricey, especially for masters when you can find them. (But perhaps it’s no worse than those rare old excellent quality vinyl LPs). And of course the whole process of threading the tape to play etc. takes some dedication – certainly the push button digital world is simpler and convenient. But is it better than R2R and vinyl..? Many would argue not.
Once again, our thanks to Peter, Joseph and Neville again for the great day! We hope to get them all back for a repeat performance.
Here is some feedback lifted from our Feedback forms …
"Old school and very entertaining/engaging."
"Great effort from Joe but I'm glad we have evolved from tape."
"Excellent presentation and presenters."
"Great hear R2R - Thank you. Only problem was some distortion in left speaker."
"Great presentation/explanation at start."
"Very interesting and informative."
"Top end extraordinary and dynamic. Thank you to Joe and Neville."
"Great idea for a meeting. Tape players were brilliant."
"Very enjoyable meeting. Excellent talk from Peter."
"Coloured but too much fun. Great start to the year."
"Eye opener on how good tape is. Holy grail."
"Great start to the year. Amazing dynamics of tape."
"Very enjoyable session."
"Dated 1970s sound. Great meeting though - one of the best."
Photos to follow...
(Please excuse the poor speaker stands - we were a bit caught out there and had to improvise!)
Details of the system….
Reel to Reel Machines:
Revox PR99 Mark III: Tape Speeds 7.5 & 15 inches/second 2 Track NAB EQ
Revox PR99 Mark III: Tape Speeds 7.5 & 15 inches/second 2 Track IEC EQ
More info at: http://www.reeltoreel.de/worldwide/PR99.htm and https://en.audiofanzine.com/analog-multitrack/revox/pr99-mkii/user_reviews/ and
https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.studerundrevox.de/revox/tonbandgeraete/revox-pr99/&prev=search
Revox G36: All valve hard wired, 4 Track NAB EQ 3.75 and 7.5 inches/second
More info at: http://www.reeltoreel.de/worldwide/G36.htm and https://www.stereophile.com/content/revox-g-36-open-reel-tape-recorder
PreAmp: Custom design all valve with built in phono stage
Amplifiers: EAR 549 200W all valve mono blocks
More info at: http://www.audioreview.com/cat/amplification/amplifiers/ear-yoshino-ltd/549-mono-power-amplifier/prd_401541_1583crx.aspx
Speakers: KLIPSCH FORTE II
Refer to http://www.klipsch.com.au/products/forte-ii-floorstanding-speaker
CD/SACD Player: Marantz SC8400
Turntable: Goldring Lenco GL75 with Micro Benz high output MC cartridge
The second half of the music sessions will be our popular BYO. Members and guests are welcome to offer music to share with us all. So bring along your favourite music on CD/SACD, vinyl and of course reel to reel tapes. (Please note the supported tape types above, and if you do bring a tape then please ensure it is positioned to the start of the track you wish to play.) All we ask is that the music and recordings be interesting. We'll ask you to tell us a little about the artist/recording before it is played. Tracks over 6 minutes will be faded out, to give everyone a fair go.
Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, you will have the opportunity to listen, learn and share your experiences with others. Feel free to come and hear the capabilities of the system, or to just share the experience with like-minded music lovers in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Guests are welcome – we are a very friendly club so you don't need to know anyone to join us for an afternoon of fine music and sound.
Venue: Epping Creative Centre, Dence Park
Address: 26 Stanley Road, Epping
When: Sunday 21st January 2018
Doors open 1pm
Meeting starts at 2pm
Best regards,
Tom Waters
President
Sydney Audio Club
W: www.sydneyaudioclub.org.au
FB: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyaudioclub
E: [email protected]
Follow-Up Report
Our January club meeting turned out much better than we’d hoped. It sometimes has lower attendance due to the holiday season… people are still away, still tied up in family things, still tripping in Tahiti (ha, I wish!). We were expecting maybe 25-30 people to attend – instead we had 45+ people attend our first half. That’s the most number of people ever in a January meeting. It was a great outcome.
We had lots of guests too which is always good. And we had one fellow attend that had been on our mailing list since February 2012 and finally got to his first club meeting. He said he thoroughly enjoyed it and planned to be back.
Peter Mony of Nagravox opened the meeting with an enjoyable educational talk of reel-to-reel technology, and showed and explained a number of key components within the machines. He also had some repair kits on display to replace the key components that are likely to wear the most and cause the most trouble. I expected these kits to be super expensive but were actually reasonably priced (IMO) for what they contained. If you have a well-loved Revox, Studer, Nagra, etc. R2R that you’d like to get running again, Peter is your go-to man. (http://www.nagravox.com.au/home/)
So… why all the interest in our club meeting? Well, from what people said, they really love reel-to-reel. Yes, in today’s digital world its old-school technology but it’s always been excellent technology. And like vinyl, it’s always had its dedicated followers even through the dark ages when CD threatened to tear all asunder. And you could hear why it has survived the barrage of new technology – it just sounds good.
And it certainly offered some great sounds on the day. Of course some of the tapes sounded better than others, and some sounded quite stellar. Joseph and Neville played us lots of music from their tapes, and much of it resulted in enthusiastic clapping afterwards. (And that was even before I held up the “Applause” sign). Neville closed the meeting with two Ben Webster tracks. Webster was known to be somewhat testy and abrasive when drunk, but when he was between sober and “getting there” he certainly could play a touching emotional ballad. The result was more clapping!
It seems that R2R is perhaps not a hobby for everyone. The blank tapes are affordable, but buying great pre-recorded tapes can be pricey, especially for masters when you can find them. (But perhaps it’s no worse than those rare old excellent quality vinyl LPs). And of course the whole process of threading the tape to play etc. takes some dedication – certainly the push button digital world is simpler and convenient. But is it better than R2R and vinyl..? Many would argue not.
Once again, our thanks to Peter, Joseph and Neville again for the great day! We hope to get them all back for a repeat performance.
Here is some feedback lifted from our Feedback forms …
"Old school and very entertaining/engaging."
"Great effort from Joe but I'm glad we have evolved from tape."
"Excellent presentation and presenters."
"Great hear R2R - Thank you. Only problem was some distortion in left speaker."
"Great presentation/explanation at start."
"Very interesting and informative."
"Top end extraordinary and dynamic. Thank you to Joe and Neville."
"Great idea for a meeting. Tape players were brilliant."
"Very enjoyable meeting. Excellent talk from Peter."
"Coloured but too much fun. Great start to the year."
"Eye opener on how good tape is. Holy grail."
"Great start to the year. Amazing dynamics of tape."
"Very enjoyable session."
"Dated 1970s sound. Great meeting though - one of the best."
Photos to follow...
(Please excuse the poor speaker stands - we were a bit caught out there and had to improvise!)