Why do knowledgeable professionals insist on an ATAE precision reproducer?

1. To reveal how good an analog master recording actually sounds A master tape might have astonishing sound quality, but playback on even the finest vintage studio recorder will add audible distortion masking the recording’s true fidelity. Prized tapes deserve the highest quality playback available only from an optimized platform.

2. To prevent damage to irreplaceable tapes Most professional recorder-reproducers from the analog era incorporated tape transport designs now known to be tape-damaging. Because many tapes have undergone chemical degradation making them fragile, any three-head recorder-reproducer used for for playback will subject the tape to damaging high tensions, frictional stresses and oxide layer abrasion while being pulled through the transport and headblock. Today’s informed conservation practice dictates that only a carefully engineered modern platform be used for the playback of surviving high-value tapes.

Not many have access to priceless analog master tapes. We build playback machines for those few who do.

Interested in the science behind our state-of-the-art, Studer A80 and A820 based magnetic tape reproducers? Ask for our list of technical briefs. We’re in California, USA

Learn about the effort to preserve heritage master tapes at: recordedmusicpreservation.org