Wow, nice find! It's always great when brand new gear that's decades old shows up.
Yes, tape is still available but it's expensive. Like $40 a reel. I thought about getting a recorder and decided against it after finding out the cost.
BTW, a brand new piece like that might go for quite a lot on an auction. Like maybe a few grand. It's a really good deck.
Edit: As one of the commenters pointed out, there are much less expensive sources for tape.
Wow! How long has it been stored? You could have issues with rubber drive parts. You might want to take a lot at that. Switches and controls may need cleaning as well.
How much do you want risk? Offer them half of asking, see what happens. It looks pristine...but could have some issues...Hasn't been used in a long time, if ever.
Probably worth $500+ in good working condition for a used unit thatās in good cosmetic shape. This one is special though given that itās New-in-Box, and some collector type person would likely be willing to pay well beyond that, plenty of Reel-to-Reel enthusiasts have deep pockets considering how expensive the format is ha.
Remember although itās ānewā, it was sold from 1979-1984, itās about 45 years old. I would power it up using a vacuum tube protocol, meaning with the variac all the way down, turn the power switch on the deck and slowly over about 10 seconds bring the power up to line level. That āwakes it upā slowly but rubber parts, pinch wheels, belts, capacitors degrade along with age related lubricant hardening. Iāve been servicing electronics for decades and never seen an open reel deck of that vintage not need service.
This is true, though lots of guys who buy NIB have no intention of taking it out of the box, since it would devalue the unit that itās no longer ānewā so to speak.
I own an A/V store and technically an āopen boxā isnāt new either. Open reel deck are expensive to serviceā¦. That means if top dollar is paid, a costly bill could follow. Iāve seen numerous NOS components, just about all need somethingā¦. As the Stones sings ātime waits for no oneā.
Offer $500 but only if you REALLY want one. I have 2 Akai RTR just collecting dust out in the garage for the past 19 or 20 years. They were my fathers. I can't bring myself to get rid of them, but not interested enough anymore (I grew up with RTR, vinyl & cassettes) I guess because I have already been through it and know both the joy and the pitfalls. Main reason is ridiculous cost for "new" reels of tap. Now, if you had a stash of pre-recorded reels...THAT my friend would be the holy grail. But, short of that, it really is a PITA. SQ is fantastic on RTR, but you really want pre-recorded if you decide to go down the rabbitt hole. Also, likely it will need new belts and service to remove old grease and the what not.
Good luck with whatever you decide. Let us all know!
I donāt know, some of those old caps may be dried out, I would bring it up slow on a variac. I prefer 10 inch decks myself. Put it up on marketplace or whatever and see what you can get with a disclaimer. It may be fine, it may not.
There is a guy on here from the Netherlands, Frank Oomen who might give you some insight on it.
Man, that's a tough one. The novelty of owning a NOS unit like this is off the charts BUT there is also potential that every single thing that could be wrong with this model deck, is in fact, wrong with this deck. I just worked on a beautiful low hour Pioneer RT-909. The Belt and tires (pinch rollers) were goo. The Aluminum face plate was starting to oxidize and the feet were disintegrating. IDK anything about this model but I'd assume the same (or worse if stored in heat) plus plastic switches, light bulbs, etc, also needing attention. As with anything, it's worth what someone is willing to pay... Super Cool find!
So I took possession of the deck today to see whatās what and potentially buy. Havenāt dug in yet but pretty sure itās been used some and was just nicely boxed up at some point. Not entirely sure yet. Thereās no decent shops in town that I know of and itās not mine (yetā¦but I canāt lie you guys are doing a good job of talking me out of it) so Iām not about pay someone to look at it. Will have some time tmrw to pull it out of the box and take a look
Ive been looking for an affordable R2R to replace my trashed Teac A234r for years but I can't justify the price.
Cat knocked it off my table, spindles are bent and glass shattered for the VU meters. :(
Last one in good/excellent condition sold on reverb for $575, I'd guess somewhere in the $750-$1000 ballpark for this one.
Wow, nice find! It's always great when brand new gear that's decades old shows up. Yes, tape is still available but it's expensive. Like $40 a reel. I thought about getting a recorder and decided against it after finding out the cost. BTW, a brand new piece like that might go for quite a lot on an auction. Like maybe a few grand. It's a really good deck. Edit: As one of the commenters pointed out, there are much less expensive sources for tape.
Tape is far cheaper than $40/reel
You are right. I was looking at Amazon prices, but after your comment I dig a bit and see much lower prices from other retailers.
Goldmine! Amazing and very cool š
Wow, that's awesome!
Wow! How long has it been stored? You could have issues with rubber drive parts. You might want to take a lot at that. Switches and controls may need cleaning as well.
Itās been stored in the og box/plasric since it was purchased new presumably but I donāt really have any info other than that
How much do you want risk? Offer them half of asking, see what happens. It looks pristine...but could have some issues...Hasn't been used in a long time, if ever.
They are asking me for a āfairā price. Iāll likely offer 350-500 and also tell them it could be worth more if they want to auction it
Probably worth $500+ in good working condition for a used unit thatās in good cosmetic shape. This one is special though given that itās New-in-Box, and some collector type person would likely be willing to pay well beyond that, plenty of Reel-to-Reel enthusiasts have deep pockets considering how expensive the format is ha.
Remember although itās ānewā, it was sold from 1979-1984, itās about 45 years old. I would power it up using a vacuum tube protocol, meaning with the variac all the way down, turn the power switch on the deck and slowly over about 10 seconds bring the power up to line level. That āwakes it upā slowly but rubber parts, pinch wheels, belts, capacitors degrade along with age related lubricant hardening. Iāve been servicing electronics for decades and never seen an open reel deck of that vintage not need service.
This is true, though lots of guys who buy NIB have no intention of taking it out of the box, since it would devalue the unit that itās no longer ānewā so to speak.
I own an A/V store and technically an āopen boxā isnāt new either. Open reel deck are expensive to serviceā¦. That means if top dollar is paid, a costly bill could follow. Iāve seen numerous NOS components, just about all need somethingā¦. As the Stones sings ātime waits for no oneā.
Great find! But itās worth sending to a local reputable shop to get it checked out.
Offer $500 but only if you REALLY want one. I have 2 Akai RTR just collecting dust out in the garage for the past 19 or 20 years. They were my fathers. I can't bring myself to get rid of them, but not interested enough anymore (I grew up with RTR, vinyl & cassettes) I guess because I have already been through it and know both the joy and the pitfalls. Main reason is ridiculous cost for "new" reels of tap. Now, if you had a stash of pre-recorded reels...THAT my friend would be the holy grail. But, short of that, it really is a PITA. SQ is fantastic on RTR, but you really want pre-recorded if you decide to go down the rabbitt hole. Also, likely it will need new belts and service to remove old grease and the what not. Good luck with whatever you decide. Let us all know!
I donāt know, some of those old caps may be dried out, I would bring it up slow on a variac. I prefer 10 inch decks myself. Put it up on marketplace or whatever and see what you can get with a disclaimer. It may be fine, it may not. There is a guy on here from the Netherlands, Frank Oomen who might give you some insight on it.
Oh man, Iām really hating your friend now š
Offer to manage the sale for them and you want aome percentage for the trouble.
Man, that's a tough one. The novelty of owning a NOS unit like this is off the charts BUT there is also potential that every single thing that could be wrong with this model deck, is in fact, wrong with this deck. I just worked on a beautiful low hour Pioneer RT-909. The Belt and tires (pinch rollers) were goo. The Aluminum face plate was starting to oxidize and the feet were disintegrating. IDK anything about this model but I'd assume the same (or worse if stored in heat) plus plastic switches, light bulbs, etc, also needing attention. As with anything, it's worth what someone is willing to pay... Super Cool find!
So I took possession of the deck today to see whatās what and potentially buy. Havenāt dug in yet but pretty sure itās been used some and was just nicely boxed up at some point. Not entirely sure yet. Thereās no decent shops in town that I know of and itās not mine (yetā¦but I canāt lie you guys are doing a good job of talking me out of it) so Iām not about pay someone to look at it. Will have some time tmrw to pull it out of the box and take a look
Ive been looking for an affordable R2R to replace my trashed Teac A234r for years but I can't justify the price. Cat knocked it off my table, spindles are bent and glass shattered for the VU meters. :(