Page 37 - Hi-Fi_News_-_December_2020 video

INVESTIGATION

REVOX A77/B77
The solid-state replacements for the G36 [below], and both
are plentiful, available in various formats and easy to service.
These are truly wonderful machines, but prices are all over the
place. I’ve seen decent ones for £300 but the market seems to
be stable at £350-£500 for clean units needing no parts, up to
£1200-£1500 for minters, and all points inbetween. Whatever
model you choose, whether you go for the A77 or the more slick
B77 [see also p129], what’s constant is that all offer two speeds.
‘Low’ means 3¾ips and 7½ips; ‘High’ gives you 7½ips and 15ips.
If, like me, you’re planning on using only vintage pre-recorded
tapes, you obviously want the low-speed ¼-track versions,
but if you’re planning on making high-quality tapes, go for the
high-speed machine in ½-track form. The A77 made it to Mk IV
status, the B77 to Mk II, and there are cults for all of the various
iterations. If you fall under the Revox spell, buy the book ReVox
Reel To Reel Tape Recorders 1949-1993 by Luca Maria Olgiati
and Paolo Bologna (ISBN no 978-1-36-659060-2). It will save
you a fortune, prevent headaches and guide you through the
selection of two of the most popular open-reel decks in history.

REVOX G36
For some, this valve unit is the best-sounding playback machine
ever made, but it runs hot, it’s full of valves and it always needs
TLC. They made plenty of them, so prices for good ones are only
£350-£750. Also available as a half-track deck and with various
speed combinations, but look for the ¼-track with 3¾/7½ips
speeds. Without repeating everything I wrote about its solid-
state replacements [above], the G36 – which reached Mk III
guise and total production of around 43,000 units of all types
– is the template for the range of A77/B77 variants, and also
begging the purchase of ReVox Reel To Reel Tape Recorders
1949-1993 before you even consider logging onto eBay.
The issue is this: because the G36 contains so many valves
– 21, I believe – and is crammed full of point-to-point wiring,
working on it is akin to ‘disassembling a sandwich’, according
to Audiophiles Clinic’s Petronel. Another consideration is that
G36s can only play in the horizontal, not the vertical, if it’s
an issue for you. That said, I will forever cherish my Tim de
Paravicini-modified G36, which I savour on special occasions.

SONY TC-377
The sloped-front-panel alternative to the Akai GX-4000D [p34],
and one of the best-selling reel-to-reel decks of all time. 7in
spools-only, feature-laden, affordable, compact – it’s hard to
choose between this and the GX-4000D. Working machines can
be found for just £80, but £250-£300 should secure a gem and
£400-£500 a mint example. It’s not just ubiquity or price that
makes this deck so appealing: it really is something special, not
least that it sounded so good for the price. One neat detail is
that its preamp signal goes straight to the transistors without a
capacitor in the way – a clever Sony invention.
It boasted ‘TMS’ – or ‘Total Mechanism Shut-Off’ – which
turned off the machine completely when tape play ended; it
worked vertically or horizontally; featured ‘Ferrite & Ferrite’
heads for long life, and offered a panoply of controls, unlike its
prosaic sibling, the TC-350 [p39]. If you prefer a rarer version,
the Sony TC-377 was an update of the TC-366, while the
Japanese market’s model was the TC-6360-A. For perspective,
when launched in the UK in 1973/4, the TC-377 sold for £105
(£1281 in 2020 pounds), or a third of the price of an A77.

DECEMBER 2020 | www.hifinews.co.uk | 37