Crown 700T (712C) Vintage Tube Reel to Reel Machine

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Super cool tube based classic reel to reel from the early but good days.

Well regarded and collectible. This is a two track machine perfect for the audiophile.

This example works well for play, rewind, and FF. Meters are perfect, and all controls are quiet and responsive.

*There is a set of RCA jacks on the back for output, easy to miss.

Your purchase includes the unit itself, plus two hub adapters. The pictured black take-up reels are *not* included. 

Please note this unit does not have an outer case so you will see the internals from the side and back. Kinda interesting but maybe not for everyone.

Click here to see this 700T in action from our Instagram.

Recommended Cables:

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Better

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Best

The SkyFi Testing Process for Tape Decks and Reel to Reel Machines:

First steps are performed to determine if the unit is a candidate for our full restoration process or if its just in need of a light service.

We first do a  basic functionality test to ensure proper playback fast forward and rewind.  We look for smooth operation of the motors, transport engagement and associated rolling parts.  

We then do an internal physical inspection to ensure the belts and rubber consumable parts are up to spec.  

Internal components are checked to make sure that there are no signs of heat stress or damage particularly in the power supply section.  Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect the PCBs for discoloration from resistors or transistors that may have been running hot. On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR. 

A light service will involve replacement of belts and rollers, external cleaning of heads, mechanism and boards and basic record and playback tests.  

A full restoration will often include disassembly of the drive system and replacement of all consumable and wearable parts including pinch rollers, belts, brakes, bearings.  We then clean lubricate and re-assembly the drive and perform basic mechanical alignment to ensure proper tape path and head alignment. 

Final calibration will involved adjustment of playback erase and record heads and optimization of the bias for a specific tape type.  We do this with the aid of a  Soundtech 1510A tape deck analyzer and a Nakamichi T100 unit and reference calibration tapes.  

Final listening tests are done while monitoring with our reference Grado HP1 headphones and a variety of factory and custom reference recordings.  We find that there is no better system for critical listening on tapes than the headphones specially when comparing a live feed to a recorded feed.