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As the market for reel-to-reel tape continues to steadily gather pace, there’s been quite a lot of talk over the past couple of years of various companies developing new reel-to-reel machines to meet the growing interest in the format.
So far, however, none has yet made it to market and so those of us who crave the incomparable sound of tape have no choice but to seek out vintage models, whether reconditioned or in various states of disrepair.
But all that could be about to change. In early February, I (David Denyer, UK-based hi-fi PR and self-confessed reel-to-reel devotee) hopped on a plane to Germany to visit the Hamburg Hi-Fi Show (Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage / Hörtest 2017), having heard that a brand new tape machine was about to be previewed.
The machine in question is the Ballfinger M-063. Highlighted in an earlier Audionirvana post.
First impressions? It’s big (definitely more ‘A820 / A80’ than ‘A807’) and it’s stunningly beautiful.
Ballfinger’s Heidi Keller and Roland Schneider with the M-063
Dusseldorf-based Roland Schneider, the man behind Ballfinger, is an industrial designer. His company was launched back in 2005 with the Ballfinger angle-poise lamp. In 2010, he moved onto include a range of wrist-watches combining Swiss movements and excellent quality design. It wasn’t until around 2012-13 that he began working on a range of hi-fi products: the PS 2 turntable, an amplifier (with integral phono stage) and the M-063 tape machine.
The design and engineering are right up there with the best. Everything looks ‘sweet as a nut’ - the buttons fit perfectly into the precisely-machined front panel cutouts, and even the back panel is a honey. To be honest, I’m struggling to think of another audio product that looks quite this good from ALL angles.
Ballfinger: not just a pretty face!
I watched closely - and with barely-concealed delight as Roland showed a customer the controls, cueing either with a large shuttle wheel at the centre of the lower fascia or alternatively by hand, simply by revolving the left hand reel. Everything did what it should - tape tensioners moved as you’d expect, everything performed so smoothly and silently. Quite something to behold!
Fit and finish are second to none.
I deliberately didn’t quiz Roland too hard about the details of the M-063’s inner workings, tempting though it was. The current specs are available but these may yet change. With production scheduled for autumn 2017, there’s still plenty of time for certain details to be further refined and I’ve learnt from experience that any audio engineer worth their salt will do just that – keep testing and perfecting right up to the limit.
In the meantime, by way of a sort of ‘pre-audition’, Ballfinger’s PS 2 turntable is due for release in a couple of months. It’s a direct drive design with a servo-controlled tangential tracking tonearm. Ergonomically it’s so sweet, but how it sounds I won’t know until I get the opportunity to try it. I doubt that it’ll challenge my current reference system but at a projected retail price of €8,800 (including 19% German sales tax) then I wouldn’t expect it to! I do, however, expect it to win many fans.
The Ballfinger PS 2 direct drive turntable complete with Schneider-designed servo-controlled tonearm.
The amplifier (with built-in phono stage) is similarly beautiful, sharing the same sleek modernist design with echoes of the minimalist charms of Braun’s 1956 SK 4 by Hans Gugelot, Dieter Rams, and Herbert Lindinger.
Dripping with 1960s-esque minimalist chic.
I couldn’t resist photographing the rear of both the ‘table and the amp since, like the M-063, the rear view reveals a great deal. They’re both totally clean, cleverly hiding all their connections underneath. Stunningly attractive and again, I look forward to hearing it.
Back to the M-063… since returning from the Hamburg show and sharing the news and photos, a few people have commented somewhat incredulously regarding the projected price. So let’s tackle that one head on. It’s €27,900 which again includes 19% German sales tax. Am I shocked? No. I guessed, purely by looking at the M-063, that it’d be at least £20k and more likely over £25k. People’s objection (for those who voiced objections, which to be fair were a minority), seemed to be based on the fact that they could buy an old Telefunken or Studer and have it fully restored for a fraction of the cost. Well I can’t argue with that, since in the absence of any new machines on the market to date, it’s exactly what I’ve done – twice. I have a Studer and a Technics, both fully restored and also modified.
But what if I’d bought that Studer, Technics or a Telefunken new? In today’s money, I’d have paid at least as much as the Ballfinger price, quite possibly more. Why? Because I’d be purchasing a brand new piece of kit, in which every high quality part was sourced at current prices, featuring the latest advances in design and engineering, and with years’ worth of R&D costs.
Show me a thirty year old machine with only six minutes’ use…
In the meantime, as demand for tape machines rises, the vintage stocks will dwindle and the prices of those few remaining serviceable models will no doubt rocket. Personally, at that point, I’d be much more likely to invest in a brand new machine with a long life of excellent service ahead of it.
Consider also the price of any piece of high-end hi-fi kit. It isn’t cheap and nor should it be. What you’re paying for – investing in, in my view, is quality. Then consider the sound quality achievable in various audio formats and compare it to that offered by reel-to-reel tape.
All things considered, while I obviously appreciate that not all of us have €27,900 burning a hole in our pocket, even so this is an investment that’s worth every penny.
So far, however, none has yet made it to market and so those of us who crave the incomparable sound of tape have no choice but to seek out vintage models, whether reconditioned or in various states of disrepair.
But all that could be about to change. In early February, I (David Denyer, UK-based hi-fi PR and self-confessed reel-to-reel devotee) hopped on a plane to Germany to visit the Hamburg Hi-Fi Show (Norddeutsche HiFi-Tage / Hörtest 2017), having heard that a brand new tape machine was about to be previewed.
The machine in question is the Ballfinger M-063. Highlighted in an earlier Audionirvana post.
First impressions? It’s big (definitely more ‘A820 / A80’ than ‘A807’) and it’s stunningly beautiful.
Ballfinger’s Heidi Keller and Roland Schneider with the M-063
Dusseldorf-based Roland Schneider, the man behind Ballfinger, is an industrial designer. His company was launched back in 2005 with the Ballfinger angle-poise lamp. In 2010, he moved onto include a range of wrist-watches combining Swiss movements and excellent quality design. It wasn’t until around 2012-13 that he began working on a range of hi-fi products: the PS 2 turntable, an amplifier (with integral phono stage) and the M-063 tape machine.
The design and engineering are right up there with the best. Everything looks ‘sweet as a nut’ - the buttons fit perfectly into the precisely-machined front panel cutouts, and even the back panel is a honey. To be honest, I’m struggling to think of another audio product that looks quite this good from ALL angles.
Ballfinger: not just a pretty face!
I watched closely - and with barely-concealed delight as Roland showed a customer the controls, cueing either with a large shuttle wheel at the centre of the lower fascia or alternatively by hand, simply by revolving the left hand reel. Everything did what it should - tape tensioners moved as you’d expect, everything performed so smoothly and silently. Quite something to behold!
Fit and finish are second to none.
I deliberately didn’t quiz Roland too hard about the details of the M-063’s inner workings, tempting though it was. The current specs are available but these may yet change. With production scheduled for autumn 2017, there’s still plenty of time for certain details to be further refined and I’ve learnt from experience that any audio engineer worth their salt will do just that – keep testing and perfecting right up to the limit.
In the meantime, by way of a sort of ‘pre-audition’, Ballfinger’s PS 2 turntable is due for release in a couple of months. It’s a direct drive design with a servo-controlled tangential tracking tonearm. Ergonomically it’s so sweet, but how it sounds I won’t know until I get the opportunity to try it. I doubt that it’ll challenge my current reference system but at a projected retail price of €8,800 (including 19% German sales tax) then I wouldn’t expect it to! I do, however, expect it to win many fans.
The Ballfinger PS 2 direct drive turntable complete with Schneider-designed servo-controlled tonearm.
The amplifier (with built-in phono stage) is similarly beautiful, sharing the same sleek modernist design with echoes of the minimalist charms of Braun’s 1956 SK 4 by Hans Gugelot, Dieter Rams, and Herbert Lindinger.
Dripping with 1960s-esque minimalist chic.
I couldn’t resist photographing the rear of both the ‘table and the amp since, like the M-063, the rear view reveals a great deal. They’re both totally clean, cleverly hiding all their connections underneath. Stunningly attractive and again, I look forward to hearing it.
Back to the M-063… since returning from the Hamburg show and sharing the news and photos, a few people have commented somewhat incredulously regarding the projected price. So let’s tackle that one head on. It’s €27,900 which again includes 19% German sales tax. Am I shocked? No. I guessed, purely by looking at the M-063, that it’d be at least £20k and more likely over £25k. People’s objection (for those who voiced objections, which to be fair were a minority), seemed to be based on the fact that they could buy an old Telefunken or Studer and have it fully restored for a fraction of the cost. Well I can’t argue with that, since in the absence of any new machines on the market to date, it’s exactly what I’ve done – twice. I have a Studer and a Technics, both fully restored and also modified.
But what if I’d bought that Studer, Technics or a Telefunken new? In today’s money, I’d have paid at least as much as the Ballfinger price, quite possibly more. Why? Because I’d be purchasing a brand new piece of kit, in which every high quality part was sourced at current prices, featuring the latest advances in design and engineering, and with years’ worth of R&D costs.
Show me a thirty year old machine with only six minutes’ use…
In the meantime, as demand for tape machines rises, the vintage stocks will dwindle and the prices of those few remaining serviceable models will no doubt rocket. Personally, at that point, I’d be much more likely to invest in a brand new machine with a long life of excellent service ahead of it.
Consider also the price of any piece of high-end hi-fi kit. It isn’t cheap and nor should it be. What you’re paying for – investing in, in my view, is quality. Then consider the sound quality achievable in various audio formats and compare it to that offered by reel-to-reel tape.
All things considered, while I obviously appreciate that not all of us have €27,900 burning a hole in our pocket, even so this is an investment that’s worth every penny.
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