![]() (In my SuperDeck review, Greg explained why he chose the Tascam as his base model: First, it is a recent design from the mid-to-late 1990s, for which replacement parts are still available directly from Tascam second, because of parts availability, it is a safer bet to warranty for two years-as every one of Greg’s decks are-than a rebuilt 50-to-60-year-old studio machine from Ampex or Studer third, it has all DC motors, which are more reliable and speed-stable than the very large AC motors in studio decks, and a very efficient tape transport with full-logic control and fourth, it is compact compared to giant studio machines, fits on the average audiophile rack, and looks like a part of the system rather than a huge outlier.) By the time you buy it, however, the entire deck has been refurbished-all electronic parts, connectors, tape heads, and transport mechanisms rebuilt or replaced, all playback circuits updated, EQ precisely dialed in to the IEC standard, and the chassis itself refashioned in sturdy, mu-metal-shielded billet-aluminum. Like the Ultima4 that preceded it (and like the SuperDeck, for that matter), the $34,500 Ultima5 (add another $6500 for the outboard OPS-DC power supply) starts life as a Tascam BR-20. At $90k for the playback-only unit ($106k for the record/playback version), it was also very expensive and with three chassis (not counting the stand) fairly sizable, to boot.Ĭomes now the latest version of Greg’s “standard” machine-the single-chassis, 15ips, playback-only Ultima Series tape deck, iterations of which Beron has been perfecting for over a decade. Loaded with bespoke parts (including ultra-expensive, custom-made resistors, capacitors, and gold-plated copper circuit boards) and equipped with a separate outboard EQ box (a first for Greg), separate power supply, and an optional, gel-damped, billet-aluminum stand to lower vibration to a minim, it was a front-end masterpiece. At the time, it was the most realistic playback device I’d heard. A bit less than two years ago, Greg Beron came out with a statement tape machine, the United Home Audio SuperDeck, which I reviewed in the September 2021 issue of TAS. ![]()
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