Telefunken M15A vs Studer A807 vs Tascam BR20

[Tom F]

Hello tape guys,
Im recording to daw/ logic through ssl alphalink, mixing with my
d&r orion console.
To give my mixes more depth/ dimensions/ glue (and tape compression if needed) I would like to mix to tape.
Mixing through a buss comp+ eq doesnt give me this sound Im looking for.

Which option would you choose soundwise:

Telefunken M15A/ Studer A807/ Tascam BR20?

Thanks a lot for your help and time
Tom

[Tom F]

...after searching the web I tend to choose the M15...,
but some statements from experienced tapemachine users who know the sound of these machines would be very helpful...

[Studer_A80]

Hi

since servicing of analog Studer maschines is our main business we know these maschines inside out. questions like yours is one of the most frequent asked question in our business.

so when you talk about choosing one of those maschines I guess you talk about Sound issues first. One thing you shouldn’t forget is that the recording medium’s characteristics have an impact on other aspects of the recording process. Recording to tape will inherently impose a certain sonic character (however subtle), which will change the way you work compared with DAW recordings and mixes

Choosing between STUDER A807 and a Telefunken M15 (A) is a matter of Taste, both are very fine maschines (assuming that both machines are serviced and freshly aligned to factory specs).

technicaly speaking they are very different in (age and construction, logic, tapedrive, electronics.....

Since we have both maschines ready to use in our demo-room, you can listen and try them if you want too (free of charge).

for all further questions don't hesitate to call us during office time.

Andreas Kuhn

analog-audio kuhn
professionelle Tonbandtechnik
Seestrasse 41; CH-3700 Spiez
Tel/Fax: ++41 (0) 33 654 93 22

E-Mail: info@analog-audio.ch
Website: www.analog-audio.ch

[Outlaw Hans]

You can't go wrong with either Telefunken or Studer.

[Tom F]

Thanks Andreas and Hans.
Switzerland is a little bit far away to listen A/B, but thanks for the invitation Andreas.
I read somewhere that the M15 (A) has preamps with more headroom so you can get tapesaturation easy without distorting the preamps...
Is this right?
I would like to use the tapesaturation during recording too
(f.e. recording guitar through reprohead so I can hear the saturation effect).
Does somebody know about the latency if monitoring through the outputs of the tapemachine?

Thanks for your advice
Tom

[Futiboho]

In case you set on the Telefunken, I have one for sale right now, in great condition. Email me at mastertapesoundlab@yahoo.com if ineterested.

[Capstan Cappy]

it's been a while correct me if i'm worng but modern tape saturates at about 2350nW ?? don't you mean tape compression?
i've got an M15 and can't be happier, also had a studer , very good but i prefer the M15 sonically, but depends on wich model studer too ofcourse..