STUDER A820 2-Channel Master Recorder from the ATAE Special Collection

You can own a collectible Swiss watch and keep time. Or you can own a collectible Studer tape machine and make music.

Among the things a fine Swiss watch and a top-of-the-line Studer have in common is time-base accuracy. It's very audible in music recording and reproduction.

Finding a one-owner Studer A820 with low hours and faultless original cosmetics has been next to impossible for many years. As we close the ATAE Special Collection in 2016 we’re offering what might be the finest original Studer A820 surviving today. It’s in the striking factory-optional black trim. We saved the best for last. $55,000 in quarter-inch, or $62,000 in half-inch as pictured above. User training at ATAE in Northern California and an ATAE-designed shipping crate are included.

A Studer A80 or A820 can be had for a small fraction of what we ask for a Special Collection machine, if you don’t care about provenance or condition. Knowing the provenance of a Studer means knowing the machine’s service history. Anyone suggesting that you can make your Swiss-crafted Studer like new again simply by exchanging all the bearings and electrolytic capacitors and sending out the motors and headblock for local rebuilding is badly misinformed. How would an expert value a Rolex that has been taken apart and reassembled by an unqualified person?

Once you begin to understand ATAE’s dedication to tape machine perfection, the value of our Studer Special Collection offerings becomes clear. An explanation of precision guidance in tape machines, insights into how we approach rebuilding Studers (including how we source our replacement bearings) are on the web at:

http://www.ataudioeng.com/classic-a80-reproducer/

The more you know about the Studer A820, the more you will appreciate the value of buying yours from ATAE. Contact Lauren at the Special Collection for more information.