Dismissed by some as the ultimate “el cheapo” prosumer reel-to-reel recorder and by others as a dull, if not ugly, aparition, the near-ubiquitous Revox A77 evokes a veritable smorgasbord of emotions.
With some 450,000 A77s built in … versions between 1967 and 197.., it was Revox’ most successful design ever with over double the sales volume of the later B77: whatever the A77 is, rare it is not. However, it is a recorder capable of astonishing audio quality, especially when properly updated and upgraded.
The one offered here by ReelTape has been fully rebuilt and is the most desirable high speed (18/38 cm/s), 2-track one in the third (mkIII) A77 iteration. As with all reel-to-reels that pass through our workshop, this machine was stripped down to its cast aluminum chassis and carefully rebuilt by hand – literally from the ground up.
All mechanical and electronic parts and components subject to wear or deterioration have been replaced. On the mechanical side this includes bearings, brake bands and linings, pinch roller, tape guides and lifters, etc. As a matter of course, all electrolytic capacitors, plus motor caps, Frakos, and Rifas, have been replaced with premium parts (e.g. Panasonic electrolytics and Piher trimmers).
The heads of this recorder have relapped by Summertone in the UK. Slide, toggle, and rotary switched were throughly cleaned with a stiff fibre glass brush and treated with DeOxIt D5.