Our History
ATAE has been developing state-of-the-art analog magnetic audio tape reproducers since 1987. Based on legendary Studer A80 and A820 tape transport platforms that we extensively modify with proprietary mechanical and electronic upgrades, our reproducers maximize playback accuracy while minimizing wear on often fragile historic master tapes. Our focus on playback optimization assures recovering the highest possible sonic fidelity from any tape, while also conserving irreplaceable heritage master recordings.
Lowering time domain distortion through precision engineered mechatronics. When the A80 was first demonstrated in 1970, highly experienced critical listeners from Europe's premier classical record labels were stunned by the new level of sonic clarity and purity. Many wrongly assumed that this was the result of some kind of new audio circuitry.
Studer’s A80 transport mechanism alone cost more than three times what some competing professional analog tape recorder-reproducer manufacturers spent on building their complete product. Notable is the uncommon attention paid to minimizing tape stress and wear, a design consideration that no other manufacturer then believed necessary.
An A80 has no fixed guides, no lifter-pins and does not employ forced-guidance through the head block or anywhere. Instead you’ll find straight-line all rolling element head block by-pass spooling, full servo constant-tension for all winding modes and precision guidance maintained throughout the tape path.
The A80 VU Mark IV seen in these photos represents the culmination of eighteen years of A80 production.
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Introduced in the mid-1980s to replace the flagship A80, Studer’s all-new A820 enabled direct operator control of tape tensions. ATAE saw this advancement as an opportunity to easily field-fit ATAE “SHRO” head blocks (SHRO is an initialism for single-head read-only) that can run at ONE-HALF of normal tensions, a modification that can result in nearly EIGHT TIMES less abrasive wear to tapes than seen on a conventional three-head recorder-reproducer.
It’s what's not in the tape path that matters! Following the construction philosophy of our SHRO head blocks for the A80 platform, our head blocks for the A820 2-Channel also remove all unneeded heads, replacing them with high-precision, ultra-low-friction, low-flutter rollers.
SHRO is not an ATAE invention. Following tape transport time base distortion (aka flutter) studies in the late 1960s, the single-head reproducer concept was independently developed by AEG-Telefunken in Germany, Studer in Switzerland and 3M in the USA.
Our early SHRO head blocks for the A820-2CH (shown on this page) were sold only with the “Stage One” reproducer, our popular re-manufactured A820 which we discontinued in 2012.
Today’s ATAE reproducers (either A80 or A820 based) come with our third-generation head blocks that are entirely of our own design and manufacture.
Mark Levinson’s Cello professional analog tape electronics were the unrivaled state-of-the-art forty years ago. ATAE still supports these products, even today favored by some recording industry mastering professionals.
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