Ballfinger M 063 H6

 

After five years of production, it was time for a revision of the iconic M 063 H5. While outside almost everything remained the same, there is a whole series of innovations inside.  The most significant changes are:

Changed reel motors with software update

New tape transport electronics with software update

New tape tension scales mechanically more damped

New stabilizing rollers left and right. The weight of the rollers was increased and the rubber surface could be omitted so that the smoothness could be improved still slightly.

New VU meters with software update: The response time of the level meters could be shortened and the return time for active peak hold is now 3 sec. to -20 dB. The LED peak indicators now react at 0 dB in the first stage and at + 3 dB in the second stage.

The audio electronics have been completely redesigned with new mainboards and new amplifiers. Each channel now has its own board and is according studio standard now. Erase and bias frequency has been lowered from 155 kHz to 132 kHz.

New power supply with improved electromagnetic shielding.

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Merrill Audio Master Tape Head Preamplifier

 

$16000

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Analog Audio Design TR-1000

Here is the final design of the customer version of the TR-1000.

Now production of the pre-series, we are approaching the goal.

Analog Audio Design TR-1000

Here are explanations of the functions of the touch screen:

1) speed of rewind.

2) selection of the diameter of the reel hub: by calculate the length of the band from the diameter of the reel, the TR-1000 slows the speed towards the end (beginning) of the band in order not to damage the tape by putting it at high speed.

3) of speed: Band speed in inches per second.

4) timers / Locators: settings and use area of timers / locators.

5) " Rew + play ", when you buy a recorded tape, it is stored " already read ", which reduces the (Pre-Echoes) printing effects. Before Reading, you have to wrap the tape on an empty reel. This "Rew + play" does it automatically, the TR-1000 rewind the tape, slows down before the beginning, detect the band starts and launches the reading.

" all repeat when reading, when the end of the reel is reached (detection of the band starts), the TR-1000 rewind at the beginning and rereads the tape.

" tape tension automatically activate the tension of the tape, the red light shows whether the TR-1000 is ready for reading or functions.

"Auto play": this function program the TR-1000 so that it starts reading after one of the search operations (Zero Loc, loc, etc.). ).).).).).).).

" last play the tape will be set at the last reading or recording position.

" zero lộc the band will be positioned at location 0:00:00.0

6) Page de maintenance.

7) whether it is an internet connection with the TR-1000 is active, with external maintenance software allowing, for example, to download a new firmware.

8) Whether the remote control is active, any device capable of running an internet explorer (Android Tablet, phone, pc...) can control the TR-1000, no installation software needed...

9) Activate / off the detection of the trigger band, the red light shall indicate if the band is detected.

10) Equalisation NAB ou IEC.

11) High / Low Impedance Selection for each micro entry.

Thorens TM 1600

The new Thorens TM 1600 comes in a plinth very similar to that of new TD 1600 series record players in black high gloss or walnut high gloss. It’s designed as playback device for half track quarter inch tape.

Base for the new machine is the newly developed very compact tape drive from Ballfinger. Within its 50 mm height it gives a freedom of design that has not been seen before. Nevertheless it contains direct drive motors with tension controls for the reels. To keep the whole drive as compact as possible the tape path geometry was totally new designed. So the sensors are not located below the reels as normally but between them above the heads.

The tape machine is driven by three motors. The reel motors are electronically commuted disc motors that use rotor angle detection by hall sensor feedback. The capstan motor is an ironless bell-shaped rotor motor from a German manufacturer that runs a round belt.

Although very compact these motors supply an enormous torque with very small torque variation and are very silent running. Head and capstan motor could be placed far from each other to generate a very high signal to noise ratio. Additionally power supply is outsourced which reduces noise level even more and so extensive measures for magnetic shielding of the heads could be avoided.

Thorens TM 1600 handles reels up to 10.5” with 19 and 38 cm/s. CCIR equalization for most European recordings and NAB for Americas and Asia can be selected.

The tape machine comes with real time counter with hours/minutes/seconds/hundredth seconds and as common with professional studio machines there is an edit function with pre-listening for single hand operation.

Generally Thorens TM 1600 has been designed for horizontal operation. But it’s prepared for wall mounting, too.


Availability and Price of Thorens TM 1600

Thorens TM 1600 will be available from summer 2020. Plinth and dust cover are the same as on the new record players TD1600/1601.

The tape machine will be presented on German High End 2019 show in Munich. Later 100 pieces will be manufactured as special edition individually numbered. Price will be € 11.999,00 (RRP).
Manufacturing will take place in Duesseldorf, Germany in cooperation with Ballfinger and RecordingTheMasters, vendor of analogue tape located in Avranches, France.

With launch of TM 1600 in summer 2020 by Thorens a new long overdue chapter of analogue tape recording is written. For decades tapes were the only available medium for music production and recording that gave long playing times without need to change from side A to B. Later digital technology drove out the expensive and very complex tape machines from recording studios and private homes. But todays fantastic rebirth of vinyl and tape proves the world isn’t that simple and music cannot be reduced only to sounds – no matter how high the tonal quality is.

Metaxas T-RX Portable Reel to Reel

After 35 years of serious recording work for Broadcast Television using Swiss portable and studio machines from Stellavox [the SM8 portables & TD9 Studio machine], and over 40 years experience in the Hi End Audio industry,

Artist/Designer/Recording Engineer Kostas Metaxas has finally designed what he hopes will be the ultimate machine to capture an unrivalled realism with Analogue Tape.

Metaxas wanted to see how far the medium of tape could be pushed even though it is already considered as the absolute reference for current music recording and playback.

His research into the state of the art machines from the 60-80s showed that despite their high quality, they were still limited by the technology of the time. When the Tape machine producers all ceased operations in the late 1980's, the manufacturers of precision motors were still in their infancy. Today, motors are an order of magnitude more refined simply because of the improvement in manufacturing techniques, technology and computer-aided software controls.

Metaxas combines the absolute cutting-edge in Swiss motors and technology [Maxon] with the most inert chassis design to realize an order of magnitude improvement over past designs.

You'll be able to hear this for yourself at the world premiere during the Munich Hi End Show in May 2019.

Metaxas & Sins Studio T-RX

A Starting Point...Introducing the newest member of the Metaxas & Sins BV family...the Studio RTR T-RX.

4 x Ultra-Precision Maxon Motors with serious Controllers, all programmable, Dual Capstans, totally separate transport and audio electronics [can be offered without audio electronics]...

Metaxas & Sins Statement System

Metaxas & Sins "Statement System" [including Chaisse Lounge chair]

See you in Munich for the Hi End Show, Hall 1.0, D01 May 10-13th...

Metaxas GQT [Georges Quellet Tribute] Portable RTR

Open Reel Tape Machine built like a Swiss Watch. Metaxas & Sins GQT Portable Recording Device No.1

There is no doubt that the absolute best "source" for reproduced music is analogue tape recorded on 10" reels at 15ips. The same analogue tape reel-to-reel recorders are also the absolute best way to record and capture music [concert recording].

This is a fact not open for discussion and is responsible for the incredible resurrgence in interest in Open Reel Analogue Tape Recorders. The High End Audio industry has embraced and acknowledged this over the past 10 years.

Artist and Recording Engineer Kostas Metaxas has not only been aware of this since the mid 1980s, but in fact been using two portable heavily modified Swiss "Stellavox" portable tape recorders, manufactured in the mid 1980s to record over 300 concerts on analogue tape. He is probably the most prolific recording engineer using analogue tape of the past 20 years.

"When I purchased my Stellavox SM8 and TD9 in 1986, they cost ~ $50K - the price of a suburban house in Melbourne, Australia. The same house today is ~ $1million."

Kostas' work with Stellavox including some of his recordings on a DVD have been featured in a book on Stellavox by German writer Roland Schellin.

Fueled by this recent interest, Kostas has decided to produce an entirely new tape machine based heavily on the portable Stellavox SM8 recorder which has even received the blessing of Stellavox founder Georges Quellet.

The Metaxas & Sins "GQT" [Georges Quellet Tribute] is a portable analogue tape machine designed for ultimate location recording and playback duties. Biased for either 468 or 911 1/4" analogue tape, it will operate only at 15ips using a brushless DC motor in a pure mechanical operation. In other words, it will be built like a large Swiss mechanical watch mechanism - absolutely no logic/computer control hardware will be employed.

The circuits will also be using 100% discrete transistors and parts similar to construction from the 1960's to early 1970's before all Tape recorders started using Logic controls and 5534 op-amps.

The result will be a "kinetic art object" which will happen to record and play analogue tape.

The prototype will be displayed at the Munich High End Show in May 2018 [Hall 1.0, Stand D01a] and a very limited edition production will commence later in the year in August/September.

Sonorus Audio ATR10

$17500


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