Studer B-710
A cassette deck from an open-reel house that swore it would never build one, and then built it to mastering-room standards.
Overview
Get this straight first. The machine filed on this page as the Studer B-710 is, in every period document the Archive has turned up, the Revox B-710 Mk II. The Archive lists it under Studer, but the reviews and the advertising call it Revox. High Fidelity (February 1983, p.22) ran it through its New Equipment Reports section as the Revox B-710 Mk II, and the same deck turns up in Revox's own advertising as the "lower priced" Revox version of a shared design. Treat the two names as the same machine unless a document proves otherwise. No document found so far does.
The price was $1,995 at introduction, per High Fidelity (February 1983, p.22). That is a serious sum for a cassette deck in the early 1980s, and it buys a transport engineered the way Revox engineered its reel-to-reels. Revox's own copy, carried in DB Magazine (June 1984, p.2), described a cassette transport designed to meet 2-inch mastering standards, with a headblock that locks into a solid three-point mount so azimuth stays put. That is a marketing claim, not a lab verdict.
The deck is a three-head cassette recorder with Dolby B and C, separate record and playback heads, and azimuth adjustment, all confirmed by High Fidelity (February 1983, p.22). It measures 17¾ by 5¾ inches across the front and 13 inches deep, plus clearance for the controls and the cassette holder. It is not small and it is not light. Owners describe a heft that feels like studio gear rather than consumer hi-fi.
Key Features
Four-Motor, Beltless Direct-Drive Transport
The transport is the reason this deck has a following. Revox built it around four direct-drive motors. No belts, no pulleys, no slipping clutches to degrade over time. The two capstans are quartz-synchronised for exact speed, and the spooling motors are microprocessor-controlled for constant-speed fast wind, controlled tape tension, and gentle electronic braking. The deck holds speed and doesn't chew tape. The dual-capstan, direct-drive arrangement is the single most-cited reason owners keep these running decades later.
Pivoting Headblock with Three-Point Azimuth Lock
Most cassette decks slide the headblock into the shell on a sled mechanism. Revox didn't. The B-710's headblock pivots upward on two precision conical bearings and locks into a stable three-point mount, so it returns to exactly the same position every time. That is what the advertising meant by "absolute azimuth stability." Azimuth drift is the difference between a cassette that sounds open and one that sounds dull and phasey. The separate record and playback heads, with azimuth adjustment, belong to the same idea.
Dolby B and C with Metal-Tape Capability
Dolby B and C noise reduction are both on board, and the deck handles metal-particle tape. Modern Recording (November 1982, p.63) bench-tested it with TDK MA metal tape, running MOL plots at 315 Hz and 10 kHz and a WRMS-weighted wow-and-flutter analysis. That is the kind of protocol you'd expect for a deck pitched at the professional market. The reviewer called it a sweet cassette machine that was a joy to use for both recording and playback, one that did exactly what you'd expect of a deck of that caliber.
Microprocessor Control and Automatic Tape Detection
Transport modes and audio switching are under full microprocessor control, and the deck detects tape type automatically. That means consistent, repeatable results from one session to the next.
Historical Context
High Fidelity (February 1983, p.22) opened its report by noting the deck had been a long time coming, because Revox had long said it would not offer a cassette deck at all. The design intent, as the period material frames it, was to carry the reliability and precision of the company's larger open-reel machines down into the cassette format. The Mk I ran from 1981 to 1982. The Mk II added Dolby C and is the version most reviews and listings concern.
Collectibility & Value
The B-710 Mk II has a real following, and the market reflects it. Recent listing data shows a revised Mk II with refinished side panels and lid at CHF 1,199, and a serviced, recapped Mk I at €2,000 from a specialist dealer. A Russian-market listing for a serviced Mk I sits near 497,990₽. Those are asking prices from marketplace listings, not confirmed sale prices, so treat them as directional.
Parts circulate: service manuals and technical bulletins, power cords, transformers, MCU chips, and even the plexiglass cassette-compartment cover turn up on the secondary market. A complete deck in original box with mint cosmetics is the prize, and one listing described such a unit as almost new old stock. The usual caution for a 1980s microprocessor-controlled deck applies. The electronics are serviceable but not trivial, and a properly serviced example commands a clear premium over an untested one.
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