Pioneer RT-707 Reel to Reel

rebelsoul
rebelsoul Posts: 756
in Electronics
Is this any good? Got a chance to get at a real good price.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,786
    edited January 2020
    Yes they're pretty good consumer decks, and very attractive. Their 19" rack mount format was unique for a 7" reel deck. The auto reverse adds an essentially unnecessary level of complexity, but the single-direction RT-701 was/is very uncommon.

    They need some rehabilitation at this late date. (heh... I have an RT-909 sittin' in the basement that is just waitin' for me -- or someone -- to rehab it... it's been waiting a long time). You will want to look fairly closely at the tape heads to see how worn (or not worn) they are.

    Not sure how easy or hard parts are to get for them, but they were pretty popular (common) and seemed to hold up pretty well in general.

    I don't have one, though, and I have never owned one, so my comments are only semi-informed.
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  • soundfreak1
    soundfreak1 Posts: 3,414
    edited January 2020
    Have one un my rack right now. Very competitive deck in it price range new. Weighs a ton, solidly built. Service can be schetchy as few are alive with the experience and "tools and jigs needed to service and set up. I'm lucky I know someone in my area. However cost to "completely service and repair will run ya 3/400.00 plus cost of unit. If it haven't been done already and you cant service it I'd stay away.find ya a redbox, much better and deff worth restoration. Just bump up initial cost and service even more rare. To sum up the pioneer is a very good sounding higher quality consumer grade unit.
    Main Rig:
    Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
    Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
    Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
    MIT exp 1 ic's
    Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
    AQ kingcobra ic's
    OPPO 83 CDP
    Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
    Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
    Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
    ADS L1590/2 Biamped
    MIT exps2 speaker cable
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  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    Beautiful piece! :smile:
    xs0vw24o8no7.png
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
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  • soundfreak1
    soundfreak1 Posts: 3,414
    edited January 2020
    7qwmfi4nk3gz.jpg
    This is my old girl.
    Main Rig:
    Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
    Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
    Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
    MIT exp 1 ic's
    Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
    AQ kingcobra ic's
    OPPO 83 CDP
    Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
    Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
    Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
    ADS L1590/2 Biamped
    MIT exps2 speaker cable
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,786
    edited January 2020
    soundfreak1 wrote: »
    Have one un my rack right now. Very competitive deck in it price range new. Weighs a ton, solidly built. Service can be schetchy as few are alive with the experience and "tools and jigs needed to service and set up. I'm lucky I know someone in my area. However cost to "completely service and repair will run ya 3/400.00 plus cost of unit. If it haven't been done already and you cant service it I'd stay away.find ya a redbox, much better and deff worth restoration. Just bump up initial cost and service even more rare. To sum up the pioneer is a very good sounding higher quality consumer grade unit.

    Autocorrect did not serve you well.
    This is a redbox... ahem, ReVox. ;)


    15256338064_3bf36bba8f_b.jpgReVox WHRB Dead aircheck by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    This one's an A77 (modified to a half-track, high-speed machine, so more "pro" than "sumer" at this point). A ReVox B77 is much more modern (not as rough around the edges), but also much pricier. The ReVoxes were/are excellent decks, but cut from a different cloth than the RT-707. They are investments of money, time and/or love (sweat equity).

    Yes, they're nice but they, too, need lots of work at this late date ( and, as "prosumer" decks, they handle tape rather roughly... not a problem for someone who "does" tape all of the time, but maybe not the ideal deck for a newbie in this day and age (in terms of the potential to end up with a quarter-mile of tape strewn about the room, e.g.) ;)


    FWIW, the TEAC/TASCAM decks were/are a good middle-ground in terms of price, performance, robustness, user-friendliness, and 'serviceability' in 2020.

    10170000416_e795144959_c.jpgdubbin by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,786
    Oh, and also for the OP's (@rebelsoul's) benefit -- here's a current thread at AA that may serve to give some perspective on the deep and profound weirdness of reel to reel tape as a hobby (or lifestyle... or religion) in the year 2020...

    https://www.audioasylum.com/audio/general/messages/75/752059.html

    B)

    actually, and FWIW, there're a couple of recent threads on the RT-707 at the Tape forum at AA, too:

    https://www.audioasylum.com/forums/tape/messages/2/20961.html
    https://www.audioasylum.com/forums/tape/messages/2/20965.html
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  • soundfreak1
    soundfreak1 Posts: 3,414
    Gotta say... speakers can be a rabbit hole but RTR can make that seem like an ant hole. But....when done right they can be quite nice. Plus they look cool too.
    Main Rig:
    Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
    Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
    Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
    MIT exp 1 ic's
    Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
    AQ kingcobra ic's
    OPPO 83 CDP
    Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
    Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
    Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
    ADS L1590/2 Biamped
    MIT exps2 speaker cable
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,786
    Here's a nice place to start, courtesy of Club Polk luminary @KennethSwauger :)

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/170164/ampex-351-2-restoration-project/p1

    vinAd59Ampex351.jpg

    Oh, noticing the source of that image, here's a fun site to peruse:
    http://reel2reeltexas.com/
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  • aprazer402
    aprazer402 Posts: 3,147
    soundfreak1 wrote: »
    7qwmfi4nk3gz.jpg
    This is my old girl.

    Very nice deck! I always liked the looks of those Pioneer RTR's & their later large open cassette decks, like the CT-F1250.

    Your girl looks more like a guy. A girl's VU meters would be in the red! :)
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  • soundfreak1
    soundfreak1 Posts: 3,414
    So my "girl" is a cross dresser heh. Is that what your saying?
    Main Rig:
    Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
    Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
    Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
    MIT exp 1 ic's
    Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
    AQ kingcobra ic's
    OPPO 83 CDP
    Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
    Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
    Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
    ADS L1590/2 Biamped
    MIT exps2 speaker cable
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  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
    The 707 is an excellent consumer deck, if up-to-date. I got my deck from Jeff Jacobs at J-Corder.

    2tfs5cao8ecz.jpg

    [
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  • soundfreak1
    soundfreak1 Posts: 3,414
    What's with the finish? Painted?
    Main Rig:
    Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
    Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
    Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
    MIT exp 1 ic's
    Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
    AQ kingcobra ic's
    OPPO 83 CDP
    Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
    Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
    Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
    ADS L1590/2 Biamped
    MIT exps2 speaker cable
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  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
    Jeff Jacobs offers two finishes with his rebuilds, black or red.
    [
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  • Wardsweb
    Wardsweb Posts: 935
    If it ever turns on but the motor won't start, these have a known issue with the tensioner micro switches going bad. There is a generic replacement from Digi-Key SW765-ND that works with minor adjustment.
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