I’m one of the few people I know who still has a reel-to-reel machine (a Teac X-1000M, speeds 7½ and 15 ips.) I bought it years ago (the 80s) when I was working at CFTR. Still works, too.

But anyone who would pay that much for a few reels of tape would have to be either really rich and really crazy. Or both!
 
I hope I’m not the latter. But I’m certainly not the former!
 

I think it is fairly cool that Rhino is doing this although I couldn’t afford them, still, for an audiophile who needs a new R2R tape to listen to, there’s a market, niche, but still a market! They picked two decent albums to release here, I still have them both on vinyl, Electric Warrior, a glam classic!

RadioActive wrote:

You can do half or full tracks, depending on the settings.

Hmmm ... I wonder how they manage the width of head gaps to accomplish that.  A quarter-track machine would be more like a cassette machine, except staggered head layout, no?  Anyone who can chime in on that?  I recall a pure half-track open-reel machine would have wider head gaps for each track.
 

A few years ago, I needed to get a belt repaired inside the thing. So I lugged it down the stairs, nearly getting a hernia in the process (the machine weighs a ton) and took it to a place out in Brampton, apparently one of the few in Canada where they still have the parts needed to repair them. 

It took weeks and a big bill, but I got it back upstairs. The guy at the repair place told me that there are huge demands for reel-to-reels because they don't exist anymore and nobody's making new ones. He predicted I could get as much as $15,000 for it on eBay if I wanted to put it up there. 

I never tested his theory and still have it to this day. But looking at eBay today, there are dozens of them up there for an average price of between $500 and $1,000 and some for a lot less than that. I guess they're not as rare as he thought. (And by the way, you can still buy audio tape on Amazon if you need any.)

I come by all this honestly. My father bought a reel-to-reel machine before I was born and would record the kids on it. It was from a company called Wilcox-Gay and featured speeds of 3 3/4 and 7 1/2. I still have it, but I don't think it works anymore. 

Jody Thornton wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

You can do half or full tracks, depending on the settings.

Hmmm ... I wonder how they manage the width of head gaps to accomplish that.  A quarter-track machine would be more like a cassette machine, except staggered head layout, no?  Anyone who can chime in on that?  I recall a pure half-track open-reel machine would have wider head gaps for each track.
 

I only have and use 4 track machines but I do have a few tapes that sound like they were recorded on a two track and side two of those is always blank or the first side backwards. That's why the quality is better. One is using more tape to record less than with a four track on which you can record on side two. A bit confusing for those that are not familiar with reel to reel.
 

Last edited by Fitz (October 12, 2025 3:27 pm)

Fitz wrote:

A bit confusing for those that are not familiar with reel to reel. 

Oh I get it .  I just always thought that on half-track, the track widths were always half of the tape wide (so 1/8").  I only had a 7" quarter-track Sony machine at home, which I sold years ago, and then used half-track Revox machines at work.  I never interchanged tapes.
 

Shorty Wave wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

A few years ago, I needed to get a belt repaired inside the thing. So I lugged it down the stairs, nearly getting a hernia in the process (the machine weighs a ton) and took it to a place out in Brampton, apparently one of the few in Canada where they still have the parts needed to repair them. 

It took weeks and a big bill, but I got it back upstairs. The guy at the repair place told me that there are huge demands for reel-to-reels because they don't exist anymore and nobody's making new ones. He predicted I could get as much as $15,000 for it on eBay if I wanted to put it up there. 

I never tested his theory and still have it to this day. But looking at eBay today, there are dozens of them up there for an average price of between $500 and $1,000 and some for a lot less than that. I guess they're not as rare as he thought. (And by the way, you can still buy audio tape on Amazon if you need any.)

I come by all this honestly. My father bought a reel-to-reel machine before I was born and would record the kids on it. It was from a company called Wilcox-Gay and featured speeds of 3 3/4 and 7 1/2. I still have it, but I don't think it works anymore. 

 
Not that this is audio related but I love the Wilcox-Gay logo! As far as repairs to older audio electronics, I have used Ring Audio in the past, they seem to have a decent stockpile of obsolete parts and their prices were pretty good.

Ring Audio does excellent work. I have a radio dating back to the late 1920's that my grandfather used while working in his tailor shop. They were able to get parts and get it working. I will try to find the make and model.

RadioActive wrote:

Unfortunately, it doesn't look Ring would be able to help me if I run into trouble.

This is on their website:

"We no longer handle speaker, cassette or open-reel tape repairs."
 

That's too bad bc in the past they at least looked at my reel to reel player and tried to do a minor repair. Also they did some repair on my Pioneer 8 Track player/recorder - can't remember what that was. Plus they fixed an antenna problem on a Sony FM and AM stereo receiver. I used to go to them mainly bc they had a fairly sizable collection of reel to reel tapes and I'm pretty sure that I found at least three long air checks from those tapes.

RadioActive wrote:

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Ring would be able to help me if I run into trouble.

This is on their website:

"We no longer handle speaker, cassette or open-reel tape repairs."
 

 
That’s unfortunate as I was planning on taking my cassette deck in, might need new capstans I think. Thanks for the update RA.

RA: I have the X1000-R, bought in 1985. I didn't know until reading this that there even was an 'M' version, but the two models look close to identical. When I looked up your version, it seems it is rare so you may get a good price for it.

As for today's pre-recorded reel to reel tapes, they are incredibly expensive and likely originate from digital masters. My suggestion would be to buy and download a Hi-Res digital copy and record it on to your deck using a quality tape and D/A (ie. outboard soundcard). The recording will be optimal in terms of track alignment as it's done on your machine and not another. 

https://www.sony.ca/en/electronics/best-music-download-sites-hi-res-audio
 

Evuguy wrote:

RA: I have the X1000-R, bought in 1985. I didn't know until reading this that there even was an 'M' version, but the two models look close to identical. When I looked up your version, it seems it is rare so you may get a good price for it.

As for today's pre-recorded reel to reel tapes, they are incredibly expensive and likely originate from digital masters. My suggestion would be to buy and download a Hi-Res digital copy and record it on to your deck using a quality tape and D/A (ie. outboard soundcard). The recording will be optimal in terms of track alignment as it's done on your machine and not another. 

https://www.sony.ca/en/electronics/best-music-download-sites-hi-res-audio
 

Have to admit I was never quite sure what the "M" stood for! If what you say is true, it might be "Money!"

Fitz wrote:

When I saw that it was Rhino I thought maybe it was a consumer level high quality 7.5 IPS recording at a reasonable price like in the old days.

Below is a picture of some of my my old reel to reels. Notice the Beach Boys cost me 2.95. That was at a time in the early 70's when the Capitol  LP of the same was deleted and I bought it used as it was the only way I could get the album. Even counting for inflation that's not a bad price. The same today on eBay is going for above $ 150.00. The Magical Mystery Tour is also in the same range. The Jefferson Airplane is the only one available under 70.00. I checked eBay today for Sunflower by the Beach Boys and it's going for 491.00 CDN at only 3.75 IPS. Am glad I got these when I did.

Edit - James Taylor is below 30.00 but shipping is above 25.00

Sunflower eBay

I'd say those tapes are collectable more from a scarcity PoV as unlike vinyl, they never really took off and thus were not manufactured for any length of time. Ultimately, I think the 8 Track took their place as the alternative format to vinyl, then later, the compact cassette. Also, recording some of these reels at 3 3/4 speed limited fidelity and thus audiophiles would have likely chosen the vinyl offering. The 7 1/2 ips offerings would be worthwhile. One good thing at least is most of these were manufactured before tape formulations changed in the 1970's and begat the dreaded "sticky shed" syndrome. This is where the tape sticks to itself over time while wound on the spool and sheds when unspooled, dumping oxide all over your tape heads. I have lost some of my R-R tapes to this. There is a baking process to reformulate the lubricant but it's only temporary. I've not tried it myself.

 

Evuguy wrote:

Fitz wrote:

When I saw that it was Rhino I thought maybe it was a consumer level high quality 7.5 IPS recording at a reasonable price like in the old days.

Below is a picture of some of my my old reel to reels. Notice the Beach Boys cost me 2.95. That was at a time in the early 70's when the Capitol  LP of the same was deleted and I bought it used as it was the only way I could get the album. Even counting for inflation that's not a bad price. The same today on eBay is going for above $ 150.00. The Magical Mystery Tour is also in the same range. The Jefferson Airplane is the only one available under 70.00. I checked eBay today for Sunflower by the Beach Boys and it's going for 491.00 CDN at only 3.75 IPS. Am glad I got these when I did.

Edit - James Taylor is below 30.00 but shipping is above 25.00

Sunflower eBay

I'd say those tapes are collectable more from a scarcity PoV as unlike vinyl, they never really took off and thus were not manufactured for any length of time. Ultimately, I think the 8 Track took their place as the alternative format to vinyl, then later, the compact cassette. Also, recording some of these reels at 3 3/4 speed limited fidelity and thus audiophiles would have likely chosen the vinyl offering. The 7 1/2 ips offerings would be worthwhile. One good thing at least is most of these were manufactured before tape formulations changed in the 1970's and begat the dreaded "sticky shed" syndrome. This is where the tape sticks to itself over time while wound on the spool and sheds when unspooled, dumping oxide all over your tape heads. I have lost some of my R-R tapes to this. There is a baking process to reformulate the lubricant but it's only temporary. I've not tried it myself.

 

Yes most of my prerecorded factory R2R's are from the late 60's to mid 70's and thankfully none suffer from the Sticky Shed Syndrome. I have had a few tapes with the problem including at least two good air checks from the late 70's and early 80's. I have not tried baking either. Seems too much trouble. 

I have some  prerecorded R2R's at 7.5 IPS but also many at 3.75 and surprisingly some have held up  well even at the lower speed.

Here's a demo. 3 clips below.. First is Dylan from a 7.5 IPS R2R, Second Magical Mystery Tour R2R at 3.75 IPS and finally MMT original mono vinyl ( that's been with the family since late 1967). Even on the stereo R2R some songs on side two such as Penny Lane are not in true stereo as they were not mixed as such at the time. You will clearly hear that over time the low speed R2R has the last laugh on the vinyl. The tape format both at 7.5 and 3.75 IPS has held up surprisingly well all these years and use. I should also add that although I don't have any Hi Res downloads for me at least analog beats digital CD sound.

Dylan 7.5 IPS

MMT 3.75 IPS

MMT Vinyl Mono

Last edited by Fitz (October 16, 2025 6:47 am)

Fitz, I downloaded and took a listen to your 16 bit, 44.1kHz PCM captures. This is the same standard that the audio CD format uses.

Along comes Mary: The first segment I thought had very good sound quality. The second segment, aside from being 6dB lower in volume, seemed to have a loss of treble on the left channel.

MMT from R-R (stereo) vs vinyl (mono): The R-R capture was free of surface noise when compared to the vinyl pressing that has been damaged. Removing the surface noise factor, I would say the high frequencies are a bit better on the vinyl. Outside of scope but worth mentioning is the CD version that I have, which is significantly better than both of your captures.

Dylan: Sounded good, though I didn't have anything to compare it to.

I couldn't hear much if any tape hiss on your captures. I couldn't detect any print-through as the captures started and ended exactly with the beginning and end of the music. I don't think there were any tape NR systems in use until the later 70's.

The only pre-recorded R-R I have is Sinatra '65 (inherited). It's 4 track 7.5ips recording. I do hear print-through before tracks start as well as a small amount of tape hiss. I hear some distortions with vocals and kettle drums that I think goes back to the mastering process, as VU meters are still in the safe zone. Otherwise, the tape still plays perfectly after almost 60 years.

I'm not so sure about the claim that they're worth "thousands" but there's certainly the possibility of gold in these old tech gadgets. 

7 Retro Electronics That Are Selling for Thousands Online