I'm aware of the specs for this reel-to-reel and it was easily beaten by several cassette decks from 1981 onwards if they had Dolby C. The B77 had a W&F figure of 0.08% at 7 1/2 IPS whereas 0.05% or less was already fairly common on high-end cassette decks. Signal-to-noise ratio was beaten by around 6dB (a factor of 2) by a Type I cassette tape using Dolby C, and this version of Dolby used spectral skewing to linearise the performance of Type I tape to give performance close to Type IV in terms of frequency response and significantly better than Type IV in terms of dynamic range. The B77 had its place, but not in a home environment where a high-end cassette deck could beat it on every metric.
most sold model maybe, i have one the mkII also with receiver/pre B780 and a pair of 77 B speakers also with the tangential turntable that as a rectangle you put on top of the record, all inside is Ortofion and a B215 bought later
I am not sure what I just watched. The re-record was played back at an entirely different gain to the original recording, so yes, it sounded dull. To make any accurate conclusion the original file and the recorded file from the Sony need to be put into a program such as Audacity and a difference check be made, I couldn't tell if the Revox was a half track stereo or quarter track stereo recorder. Does the recorder have the Dolby option for recording? I do know that the Revox A77 MkII that I bought in 1973 made recordings that were virtually indistinguishable when switching between the input and instant playback heads. Now over 50 years old it still makes great recordings but would benefit from a new tape pinch roller.
I fiddled with recording levels on both the Revox and the Sony recorders.to try to get the levels close. I could have done more but was under time constraints. Might I suggest that you take the recording and do your own comparisons in Audacity? The Revox is a quarter track stereo recorder i.e. you can swap the reels over to record or playback the other stereo track. I've never tried any Dolby device with the Revox and the recorder was not fitted with such a feature.
e@@hamradioop5777 The A77 had two models. One with the Dolby option built in and one without. It was just a matter of flicking a switch on mine to activate or not and did a good job at eliminating any tape hiss. You did include the raw files you used but getting the results from UA-cam is not possible due to the many manipulations that are used to save the videos. I think it would take a third device to record from both the Revox and Sony to come to any unbiased conclusion.
Compared to the original recording, the loss of dynamic range is noticeable. Signal compression. I thought it would be better... The video is very informative and interesting, thank you.
Would the tape speed affect dynamic range like it would frequency response? This looks like 7.5 inches per second. Not sure if this deck does 15 or even 30 ips, and if that would capture dynamics better.
@@leafyleafyleaf I'm not sure I understood you correctly (my native language is Russian), but tape speed affects the dynamic range. This can be easily heard on stereo VCRs, where the quality of the sound recording is comparable to CD.))
@@leafyleafyleaf Yes, this was recorded at 7.5 inches per second, which was the fastest that this particular unit was capable of. ReVox did make a 15 ips / 7.5 ips version, but maybe that wasn’t purchased by many home recordists?
It is a fine recorder. I have done some experiments with DBX noise reduction and at 7.5" per second I have experienced very little DBX "breathing" distractions.
I adore Revox & own a few of its CD & Tape players ,however , going back that far ,to build these outdated audio product & charge that kind of price to the market today , no wonder , this company disappear .Just my cents
If I had a premier league footballer's income then I wood love to have the new MKIII version, just for its aesthetics. Unfortunately I don't have the available funds.
Lovely Revox... yes we have two B77s & one A77 and use them to give this Original Analog Sound in our music production.
I'm aware of the specs for this reel-to-reel and it was easily beaten by several cassette decks from 1981 onwards if they had Dolby C. The B77 had a W&F figure of 0.08% at 7 1/2 IPS whereas 0.05% or less was already fairly common on high-end cassette decks. Signal-to-noise ratio was beaten by around 6dB (a factor of 2) by a Type I cassette tape using Dolby C, and this version of Dolby used spectral skewing to linearise the performance of Type I tape to give performance close to Type IV in terms of frequency response and significantly better than Type IV in terms of dynamic range. The B77 had its place, but not in a home environment where a high-end cassette deck could beat it on every metric.
Obviously he is in love with this equipment and wants to love it so hard.
most sold model maybe, i have one the mkII also with receiver/pre B780 and a pair of 77 B speakers also with the tangential turntable that as a rectangle you put on top of the record, all inside is Ortofion and a B215 bought later
I am not sure what I just watched. The re-record was played back at an entirely different gain to the original recording, so yes, it sounded dull. To make any accurate conclusion the original file and the recorded file from the Sony need to be put into a program such as Audacity and a difference check be made, I couldn't tell if the Revox was a half track stereo or quarter track stereo recorder. Does the recorder have the Dolby option for recording? I do know that the Revox A77 MkII that I bought in 1973 made recordings that were virtually indistinguishable when switching between the input and instant playback heads. Now over 50 years old it still makes great recordings but would benefit from a new tape pinch roller.
I fiddled with recording levels on both the Revox and the Sony recorders.to try to get the levels close. I could have done more but was under time constraints. Might I suggest that you take the recording and do your own comparisons in Audacity? The Revox is a quarter track stereo recorder i.e. you can swap the reels over to record or playback the other stereo track. I've never tried any Dolby device with the Revox and the recorder was not fitted with such a feature.
e@@hamradioop5777 The A77 had two models. One with the Dolby option built in and one without. It was just a matter of flicking a switch on mine to activate or not and did a good job at eliminating any tape hiss. You did include the raw files you used but getting the results from UA-cam is not possible due to the many manipulations that are used to save the videos. I think it would take a third device to record from both the Revox and Sony to come to any unbiased conclusion.
Compared to the original recording, the loss of dynamic range is noticeable. Signal compression. I thought it would be better... The video is very informative and interesting, thank you.
Would the tape speed affect dynamic range like it would frequency response? This looks like 7.5 inches per second. Not sure if this deck does 15 or even 30 ips, and if that would capture dynamics better.
@@leafyleafyleaf I'm not sure I understood you correctly (my native language is Russian), but tape speed affects the dynamic range. This can be easily heard on stereo VCRs, where the quality of the sound recording is comparable to CD.))
@@ЛевЗагорский-ц6кYes, you understood correctly. Thank you for the answer!
@@leafyleafyleaf :))
@@leafyleafyleaf Yes, this was recorded at 7.5 inches per second, which was the fastest that this particular unit was capable of. ReVox did make a 15 ips / 7.5 ips version, but maybe that wasn’t purchased by many home recordists?
What's the tape type?
The tape is Ampex 456. Mine are it appears to be unusually good and have not shedded as others have allegedly experienced.
@@hamradioop5777 Nice, I always like Ampex banner over 101.
the mark 3 is nowdays on the market the price 3 times a mark 2
More like 15x the price of what you can get a MkII for
"Re-vox" not "Rev-ox"
I have reel to reel "ReVox B-77"
It is a fine recorder. I have done some experiments with DBX noise reduction and at 7.5" per second I have experienced very little DBX "breathing" distractions.
I adore Revox & own a few of its CD & Tape players ,however , going back that far ,to build these outdated audio product & charge that kind of price to the market today , no wonder , this company disappear .Just my cents
If I had a premier league footballer's income then I wood love to have the new MKIII version, just for its aesthetics. Unfortunately I don't have the available funds.