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 master tapes deserve the highest quality playback available only from a modern optimized platform.

2. To prevent damage to irreplaceable tapes. Magnetic tapes commonly undergo chemical degradation with age, often making them fragile and highly susceptible to damage. Thousands of studio-grade tape recorders from the analog era survive today, yet most incorporate tape damaging forced-guidance and fixed-pin lifters that only an uninformed person would use to play back high-value master tapes. Of course any recorder could accidentally erase or overwrite an irreplaceable recording, but subjecting important tapes to the high tensions, frictional stresses and damaging abrasive wear from being pulled through a recorder's headblock is simply irresponsible. Informed conservation practice dictates that only a carefully engineered dedicated playback platform be used.

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

Interested in the science behind our state-of-the-art magnetic tape playback machines? Ask for our list of technical briefs. We’re in California, USA

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