Ballfinger’s gorgeous reel-to-reel tape decks are a love letter to high-end analogue audio

Vinyl? Pah. For full-on analogue, you need a reel-to-reel tape deck. Fortunately, Ballfinger has four going on sale later this month, and they’re all gorgeous. The M063H1 (€9500) is the baby of the group, its precision aluminium chassis housing a ‘basic’ two-speed playback-only deck. At the other end of the range, the fatter of wallet can enjoy the M063H5 (€24,000). That unit ramps up the specs, with three-speed playback, a high-end headphone amp, an editing system via a control knob, and – in possibly the most important factor for anyone wallowing in a mix of drool and nostalgia at this point – wooden side panels. Once ubiquitous in the recording industry, reel-to-reel decks are reportedly making a comeback, and are favoured by artists like Lady Gaga. The only snag is you might need to be her to afford one.

Craig Grannell Contributor

About

I’m a regular contributor to Stuff magazine and Stuff.tv, covering apps, games, Apple kit, Android, Lego, retro gaming and other interesting oddities. I also pen opinion pieces when the editor lets me, getting all serious about accessibility and predicting when sentient AI smart cookware will take over the world, in a terrifying mix of Bake Off and Terminator.

Areas of expertise

Mobile apps and games, Macs, iOS and tvOS devices, Android, retro games, crowdfunding, design, how to fight off an enraged smart saucepan with a massive stick.