Studer B-77
Documentation on the Studer B-77 in this archive is thin. The fact sheet contains no extracted details at all, but the period record preserves a few genuine facts. The B-77 was an open-reel stereo tape recorder from the late 1970s, sold under the Studer/ReVox name. Audio (September 1978, p.84) printed the manufacturer's specifications. Frequency response was 30 Hz to 16 kHz at 3¾ ips and 30 Hz to 20 kHz at 7½ ips. Harmonic distortion was 1% at 3¾ ips and 0.6% at 7½ ips. Signal-to-noise was 59 dBA at 3¾ ips and 62 dBA at 7½ ips. Input sensitivity was rated at 0.15 mV for low-Z mike, 2.8 mV for high-Z mike, and 40 mV for line, with a 40 dB overload margin. Line output was 1.55 V, and the headphone jack provided 5.6 V open-circuit. Wind time was 135 seconds for a 3,600-foot reel, and the deck measured 17.8 inches (45.2 cm) wide. An editing-block diagram in High Fidelity (August 1978, p.43) shows per-channel recording level controls and lockouts, a 7½/3¾ ips speed switch, tape/input monitor switching, and a headphone jack.
Studer's own advertising in High Fidelity (December 1977, p.101) and HI-Fi-Stereo-Buyers (May 1978, p.11) called the B-77 the finest audiophile recorder around. The ads cited its large professional VU meters with LED peak overload indicators, full electronic logic control of tape motion, and a built-in precision tape cutter and splicer. A reviewer at Modern Recording (November 1979, p.79) found the machine had a personality reflecting its European design. He also noted that the "radio" position on the input selector might look low-grade to American recordists, when it actually refers to a standard DIN signal level and impedance.
Beyond those fragments, almost nothing else is documented here. There are no production years, no original price and no service history.
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