Bel Canto 2-track test - REVISITED!

Here's the first of the lot of 2-track tapes I got (pics of the MESS will be forthcoming), and also the first tape to be played back on the Revox A77 that I dug out of the shed. It is a MkII 4-track machine with the dual 8-watt audio amps inside, and a nice machine, even if the hub brakes are non-existent. Yes, it makes rewinding tapes on 10-inch NAB reels an ADVENTURE! If I don't stop the reels by hand, I have a nice pile of shredded tape to deal with. I have a service manual around here somewhere... plus I think the heads are in need of alignment, but I have a couple more test reels to run through it first.

So, my dilema is this: what deck to I do transfers with, the Revox or the Teac 4300? Well, I will let YOU decide! I have taken this tape, made a recording in WAV format from BOTH decks, set both to 85% peak levels, and put them up here for you to download. The file names should be self-explanatory.

I'll have these up in proper hi-bitrate MP3s after your decision!

The tape is an old Bel Canto 2-track stereo recording of the Warsaw Concerto and Rhapsody in Blue, as performed by the "Hamburg Philharmonia Orchestra". No solo credits for piano as far as I can see, but I have, as usual, included full size scans of the box for you. The front, and the back of the box, and also a scan off the reel label, such as it is.

You be the judge, let me know what deck does the better job, and I'll post the MP3 files based on that recording!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well, by now you know that I picked up an Otari 2-track deck, and, now, of course, I HAVE to make the ultimate comparison. I ran this tape through the Otari, and did the same setting to 85% peak levels as the other two files, and posted it in the DID folder. Now, see what you think comparing this file to the Teac and the Revox. Granted, it may be a stacked comparison, a true 2-track deck against a pair of (very quality) 4-track decks, but it is still interesting to see (and hear) just what a true 2-track deck can do with 2-track tapes.

I have a bunch more 2-track tapes, and I think I'll use the Otari to share them with you, it'll be worth it!

A note on some of the feedback I got... yes, there is a little 'wandering' of the piano and the orchestra on the Warsaw Concerto, I suspect that was something during the recording process... there seems to be a place in there where 2 takes were spliced together in the master. I'm not sure, but suddenly, the piano moved from full-left to somewhere near center, then moved back... maybe an 'oopsie' on the recording engineer's part, I don't know. That's what makes these things so much fun :)