Reel to reel

I was just remembering back to when I got started in all of this HiFi stuff. Reel to reel tape was the big deal. Not even high-end cassettes had been popularized yet. (For reference, there were no home computers yet and all communications were either by letters or phones). Working with Giorgio Moroder in his Munich, Musicland studios, I first got my hands on a 16-track Studer reel to reel machine that used 2-inch tape. What a treat. I still have several reels of the work we did. For the most part, it was 1/4 inch tape that we mere mortals used and the machine to own back then was a Revox A700. Oh, how I wanted that reel to reel. The A700 was first launched in 1973, just about the time when Terri and I left Europe to begin our lives in California. It would be another year before Stan and I started PS Audio. Here's a picture of the A700. The original A700 went for $1,800—a princely sum in 1973, more than I could afford. Today, you'd be lucky finding one anywhere south of $5,000. The reason I never wound up with an A700 was twofold: I didn't have the money and even if I did I had no idea what I would do with it. (my original notion was to be able to play master tapes but....I didn't have any of those either). My desire for that gorgeous reel to reel was nothing more than classic lust. I still think it's gorgeous (and still don't know what I'd do with it).