RTR – Did I make a mistake?

not digital. All analog, circa late 1970s/early 1980s. I never cared for the sound of dbx processing; I was a big fan of Dolby S and Dolby SR, which I think cause a lot less damage to the signal.

I suspect there’s a tape biasing problem that’s causing the hiss to be over-emphasized. I’m assuming you’re recording at 7-1/2″ ips. In truth, the Pioneers were OK but were never champs in terms of sound quality. I’d put the Revoxes and the Technics over them in most ways, and the Otaris higher still.

If archiving old records is your goal, I honestly don’t think that analog is the way to do it. To me, what you wind up with is a bunch of scratchy records with vinyl artifacts and analog tape artifacts, recorded on extremely expensive blank 1/4″ tape stock. At least if you transfer them to digital on a computer, you have the benefit of being able to clean them up, eliminate the worst of the clicks and pops, and enjoy them on portable devices and servers. To me, this is infinitely more convenient than open reel… and I’ve owned probably 10-15 open reel decks over the past 30 years. (Still have two left!)

Sid is a very wise man.

dbx I and dbx II are. All analog, circa late 1970s/early 1980s. I never cared for the sound of dbx processing; I was a big fan of Dolby S and Dolby SR, which I think cause a lot less damage to the signal.I suspect there’s a tape biasing problem that’s causing the hiss to be over-emphasized. I’m assuming you’re recording at 7-1/2″ ips. In truth, the Pioneers were OK but were never champs in terms of sound quality. I’d put the Revoxes and the Technics over them in most ways, and the Otaris higher still.If archiving old records is your goal, I honestly don’t think that analog is the way to do it. To me, what you wind up with is a bunch of scratchy records with vinyl artifactsanalog tape artifacts, recorded on extremely expensive blank 1/4″ tape stock. At least if you transfer them to digital on a computer, you have the benefit of being able to clean them up, eliminate the worst of the clicks and pops, and enjoy them on portable devices and servers. To me, this is infinitely more convenient than open reel… and I’ve owned probably 10-15 open reel decks over the past 30 years. (Still have two left!)Sid is a very wise man.