[Kartofel]

Recently, I acquired an old reel to reel player, but I have been unable to find any information on it. It's a Saba Stereo TK 220-US. I've been unsuccessful in finding any information on it using Google, the forums here, or eBay so I was wondering if anybody might know anything about this guy. More specifically, I was hoping to find out if it was a high end model at the time or an economy model. The only things I've found from my detective work is a little bit about Saba and that the player was most likely made in the sixties. I'd like to fix it, but if it didn't sound that good in the first place and parts are hard to come by I'd be better off harvesting it for parts.

I'd appreciate any information or advice on this old reel to reel. Thanks!

 

[Nemo de Monet]

From what I can tell, yes, it's a reasonably high-end consumer machine from the sixties, very much worth saving if it's in reasonably good condition - hasn't been exposed to water, et cetera.

Service manuals (in German, alas) appear to be available on eBay; they should at least contain reasonable clear schematics. Finding belts and other special parts might be an issue, however...

 

[LFF]

Does it look like this?

Regardless of what it looks like, it sounds like it is indeed a deck from the 60's, probably one of the early stereo decks and most likely a high-end consumer machine. Why? Consider that most commercial reel-to-reel tapes cost about $25 back then. Adjust for inflation and you'll get the point.

As for restoring it - it totally depends on you. There are better known and better sounding decks available with replacement parts also readily available. Replacement parts for lesser known machines like this are hard to come by and expensive.

Personally, I would clean it up and keep it as a show piece and invest my money in a better deck.

EDIT: These decks also go by "Sabafon".

 

[Kartofel]

That's what it looks like. I understand the limited practicality and usability of restoring this machine, but I was thinking that experience gained from restoring it would be valuable. I also find the intricate mechanical parts to be fascinating.

I'll take your advice into consideration, as I wasn't intending on collecting the reels, but more interested into getting it back in working order.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kartofel /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's what it looks like. I understand the limited practicality and usability of restoring this machine, but I was thinking that experience gained from restoring it would be valuable. I also find the intricate mechanical parts to be fascinating. I'll take your advice into consideration, as I wasn't intending on collecting the reels, but more interested into getting it back in working order.

Then by all means go for it!

You'll be surprised how good some of these can sound. If you're going to be doing it all yourself then it's totally worth repairing. I just wouldn't shell out a ton of cash to repair it since there are better alternatives to spend money on. Going the DIY route does save a lot of $$$.

 

[bhjazz]

Kartofel, Welcome.

Restoring these machines is quite the trend now. Check out the Tape Project. These things are even popping up at CES. Read up on Dan Schmalle's DIY stuff, he's a great guy. You might even consider building a tape preamp which works much like a phono preamp. Certainly lots to do. My only advice is, don't get overwhelmed. There's going to be lots to do. Just enjoy the journey!

 

[Paul J.]

Is that an old tube machine? If so, the whole might be worth less than the sum of its parts, especially if there are a pair of little Saba fullrange speakers in there somewhere. I just tore down a pair of amps from the highly regarded Akai M8 deck, and they are becoming something entirely different (12B4 pre feeding an RH84 amp). I've recently shelled out a couple of Sony TC500A's for parts (rumored Tamura transformers in addition to a pair of some of the finest little fullrange speakers ever built). The Sony's OPT's, BTW, have 600 ohm taps, which I suspect might be a useful thing from some Head-Fi'ers.

I'm not always a fan of wrecking nice vintage gear. But, when you add up the cost of recapping the old units, the tab can be completely unreasonable. And, if you want good tape performance, some of the newer decks might be better performers. I've got a working 70's solid state Akai should I ever decide to get into tape. Look inside and think about the cost of replacement parts, the worth of the major components (speakers, transformers), and the value of your time.

Paul