I love reel to reel tape. Even in the 1/4 track format, the sound is unsurpassed. With 1/2 track at 15ips, well that is another level all together and something I recommend all music lovers experience. As you can see by the crummy iPhone system photos, I have a lot of reel to reel decks, TEAC, Akai, ReVox, Pioneer, SONY, AMPEX, Phillips, and Crown. Crown, famous for its original high power DC-300 amplifier (very highly recommend), was originally into recording and sound reinforcement equipment. You can Google the Crown Story it’s a really good read.
I always wanted a Crown, not just any Crown, I wanted the 800 series machine in the 1/2 track format. I searched and searched and found one in New Jersey that had been pulled from a college music department during an update and remodel. Originally intended to record the college band, and stage performances by the theater department, the machine was installed in the mid seventies and basically left unused. It was easier to drop a tape into the departments Advent 201 cassette deck, set the record level and punch in record. Cassette was nearly at its peak in the mid-seventies, and plugging an Advent 201 into a sound board would give you amazing recordings. To this day, that is my favorite cassette deck. I must own 8 or 9 of them.
When I received the Crown 822, I couldn’t believe the condition. It looked incredible, nearly new. It was also regularly maintained as was all of the colleges sound equipment. The tape heads looked perfect. I couldn’t tell that a tape had ever passed over them. The Crown 822 is a three speed machine, with a mechanical push pull knob on the front to change from 7.5 its to 3.3/4 ips. To select 15ips, you would have to turn the machine around and manually move the belt to the 15ips pulley. Not high tech, but a bullet proof design to be sure.
In fact it was mentioned in Audio Magazine back in 1968, that this machine could probably survive a parachute drop. I wouldn’t doubt it. Rugged, robust, smooth running and without question the finest sounding reel to reel I have ever heard in my life. And remember, I have studio experience so I have listened to many decks. Blindingly fast rewind and fast forward speeds, breaking was done electronically through the motors which by the way NEVER needed lubrication. Tape spills just don’t happen, the machine is that well controlled. Everything about the deck screamed “I will outlast you”.
I used the machine for a few years, but ended up selling it to a collector in Vietnam. He sent me a photo after he received it. I need to search for it, when I find it I will add it here. If you have the space, (the crown is a little wide), you can’t find a better sounding, more durable machine than the Crown 822. It’s industrial appearance, something all early Crown gear possessed is in my opinion beautiful. And I am here to tell you, those large studio meters will spoil you forever. The case work, the build quality, the military grade quality of the the internal component parts along with the simple Indestructible nature of its design is something to admire. Super expensive when new and hard to come by now they are worth searching out. Crown discontinued manufacturing their line of Reel to Reel machines in late 76, or 77 if memory serves me right. But I remember calling the factory in Elkhart to see if they could still be serviced and NOS parts were still available. That’s commitment form one of the finest audio companies in the world.
Crown often gets knocked around by Audiophiles and I don’t understand why. Possibly because the left the consumer market in the late 70s to focus on their professional line of equipment for artist and recording studios. Think about the fact that they built much of the gear used in studio to record the music we love. What would make someone think that their audio line of equipment wasn’t superb sounding? Beats me, because it was and still is if you can find it. Below are a few shots of my Crown as well as some advertising material the company produced.
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