On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:04:42 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
David Looser wrote:
I think you might have difficulty in convincing people on this side of
the world, particularly audio professionals who know the Studer
C37 and J37, that your assertion is true


I've noticed a definite tendancy in articles written by Americans to
wildly over-state the importance of Ampex in the development of the
tape recorder. One piece I read recently stated that Ampex had
"perfected" the tape recorder with it's 200 series, despite the fact
that the 200 series was pretty much a direct copy of "liberated" German
magnetophones.

Indeed. Domestic Ampex machines - or rather those which were available in
the UK - were also very down market compared to Revox, but with a similar
price.

The same applied to TV broadcast cameras. Those in the US never saw beyond
RCA - yet they simply didn't compete in any way on the international
market.

Ampex were market leaders in pro VRTs for many a year - but rested on
their laurels and didn't develop a decent cassette based system. And had
to go to Nagra to make a field recorder.

They did make the VPR20 before the VPR5 (Nagra) which was a sort of
field recorder - I have used one in a field!