The Sixties Revolution
Almost 60 years ago, in August 1967, Revox released a tape recorder that would make history and sell more than 450,000 units worldwide over the next decade.
At the time, the Revox A77 was a revolutionary recorder that upset the market and established a new benchmark. Its performance was only matched by professional machines used in recording studios.
In fact, the A77 found its way into many top-end facilities. For example, tweaked Revox A77s were employed at the Abbey Road Studios in London and other (in)famous venues such as the Krautrock Studios in Wolperath, near Köln, and at Swedish Proprius Records. Pink Floyd used an A77 for tape loops on the iconic Dark Side of the Moon record and Led Zeppelin employed the A77 for effects.
In all over 100 versions of the A77 were produced; from standard speed (9.5&19cm/sec) 4-track stereo machines for home use to high speed (19&38cm/sec) full-track and 2-track recorders for professional use. Low speed logging recorders; Dolby B equipped recorders; professional machines with transformers balance ins and outs; A77s activated by signal, etc. Broadcasters and studios often ordered custom machines built to their exacting standards and specifications. The Revox A77 is nearly ubiquitous: present in all continents and all countries.
Survivability
Thanks to its exceptionally rugged construction most A77s have survived the ages. While its reliability and performance are legendary, the recorder is now sometimes looked down on by audiophiles who seem put off by the A77’s understated looks. Though Revox was (arguably) never beaten on performance and reliability, eye candy was sorely lacking.
Since its corporate beginnings, Revox prioritised substance over style. The company’s products famously lack frills and bling. Revox founder Willy Studer was in the business of designing and manufacturing great tape machines; not fashion statements or room decorations.
The polished over-the-top fascia adorning models imported from the Far East – with their expansive VU meters, silky-smooth knobs, and novel tape paths – proved irresistible to many audiophiles. Now years later, many of those flashy recorders have either kicked the proverbial bucket or are nearly impossible to properly maintain due to a lack of spares or missing service manuals, schematics, etc.
The B77
However, a few concessions to looks were made with the Revox B77 which went on sale in July 1977 and stayed in production for some 20 years. The B77 sold well over 220,000 units. It recently underwent a rebirth of sorts when Revox resumed production at its plant in Villingen, Germany.
The hand-crafted Revox B77mkIII now retails for €15,950. In 1977, the first B77s were sold for about DM2,000 or €3,100 after adjusting for inflation. Thus, it is worthwhile to keep your B77 going: A fully restored/renovated one will not be outperformed by a brand new one.
The B77 was conceived as a refinement of the A77 with streamlined electronics and a tape transport using solid-state logic rather than electro-mechanical relays. The machine also received larger VU meters and took modular construction to new heights, facilitating maintenance.
That said, there should be no differences in audio quality between a mechanically well-adjusted and electronically properly aligned A77 and its successor B77. I’d even argue that the lowly A77 can hold its own against the Revox PR99 professional studio recorder which is essentially a beefed-up B77.
The Economics
On the second-hand market the Revox A77 sells from as low as a few hundred euros for a tired and neglected machine to well over €2,000 for a meticulously restored recorder with relapped ‘butterfly’ heads. High speed models (19&38cm/s) fetch considerably more as do special versions such as the one made for Austrian public broadcaster ORF.