Ballfinger made open reel tape machine M 063 H6 that every audiofan should have in their collection. Period.
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In order to meet a broad range of applications, the Ballfinger M 063 H6 taper reel machine chassis has been developed for professional applications and consists of high-strength aluminium. In addition, the wearing surfaces of the base platter are finely milled on both sides, ensuring that the angles and height of the mechanical elements of the tape transport are precise and lasting. The reel motors, capstan motor, power supply and audio unit components are so positioned as to keep the signal flows short, while failure-critical components are spatially separated from each other. This enables substantial measures to electromagnetically shield the components, particularly the motors and tape heads – to be avoided from the outset.
All components and circuit boards are equipped with high-quality plug-in connectors on both sides. Longer cables and signal lines are grouped in a sealed cable harness with magnetic shielding. This allows servicing of all components to be performed with the minimum of delay, without having to change the position of adjacent cables or components. The state-of-the-art audio electronics is based on the amplifier technology of the new M 051 master recorder and has electronically balanced in- and outputs. It consists of a plug-in board system with separate boards for both channels with very short signal paths.
Playback and recording electronics as well as the erase oscillator are powered by separate precision power supplies. As is usual with studio equipment, the playback level, treble and bass can be calibrated separately for each speed via low-distortion conductive plastik trimmers. The same applies to the recording section: Here, too, the recording level and frequency response can be adjust separately. For all three speeds, 19 cm/s and 38 cm/s and 76 cm/s, CCIR and NAB equalizations are available on the playback section, which can be switched on the control panel and are shown on the display.
The front panel can be move along with the audio unit. Thus, work, such as measuring on other types of tape or replacing individual amplifier cards, can be carried out from both sides. In addition, the adjustment controls on the amplifier cards are arranged in such a way that they are both accessible from the front, as well as from the rear. If the machine is mounted in a rack or console, it does not need to be removed for calibration. It is sufficient to remove the front panel. ■