The Revox B215 is a cassette deck manufactured by Studer from 1985 until around 1990. A professional version with different control layout and audio path electronics was manufactured concurrently as the Studer A721. A later improved version was marketed as the Revox B215S. Because it was expensive compared to other consumer models and had exceptionally good mechanical performance and durability, the B215 was used primarily by professional customers—radio stations, recording studios and real-time cassette duplicators. The B215 used a proven, reliable four-motor tape transport derived from the earlier B710 model. The B215 differed from the B710 and competing decks of the period in having an unusual, computer-like control panel and elaborate automation performed by three Philips microcontrollers. The deck was equipped with automatic tape calibration, microcontroller-assisted setting of recording levels, and non-volatile memory. Objective, independently measured and verified specifications of the Revox matched or surpassed those of the best competing decks; comparative tests placed the B215 on the same level as the Nakamichi Dragon and above the flagship models by ASC, Harman Kardon, Tandberg or TEAC. Reviewers praised the Revox for its exemplary mechanical quality and the expected durability of its tape transport, but criticized it for lower-than-expected dynamic range and shortcomings in usability.
Development and production Studer AG, a privately owned Swiss manufacturer of professional audio equipment, began development of high fidelity cassette recorders in late 1970s. Willi Studer was reluctant to diversify into the highly competitive cassette deck market; for most of the decade, the company's experience in cassette technology was limited to reliable but low-fidelity classroom equipment. However, the decline of reel-to-reel recorder sales, the commercial success of Nakamichi and "designer models" by Bang & Olufsen, coupled with pressure from within the company, persuaded Studer to invest in the cassette format. Marino Ludwig, designer of the Revox B77 reel-to-reel recorder, examined the best cassette decks on the market and advised Studer on a course of action. Studer agreed with the proposal and appointed Ludwig chief of the cassette project, on the condition that the reputation of Studer and Revox brands would not be compromised in any way.
In September 1980, Studer AG presented its first cassette deck, the Revox B710; in 1981 it was supplanted by the nearly identical Revox B710 MKII, which added Dolby C noise reduction. In 1982, the company introduced a professional version, the Studer A710, equipped with balanced inputs and outputs. In the United States, the B710 MKII was priced at $1995, more than the rival Nakamichi ZX7 ($1250) but below the flagship Nakamichi 1000ZXL ($3800 for the base version, or $6000 for the "limited" edition.) The three-head B710 was designed and built to the standards of professional reel-to-reel decks; even its faceplate and controls were borrowed from the B77 recorder. The B710 stood apart from the competition in having a true, four-motor direct-drive tape transport: each of the two capstans and the two reels were driven by their own electric motor without any intermediate belts, gears or idlers. There were no brake pads, belts, pulleys or cogwheels in the whole transport; even the tape counter was driven by an optoelectronic encoder on the reel motors. Mechanically separate recording and replay heads were each adjustable, however there was no user-accessible azimuth control. The B710 was mechanically sound but lacked functionality; most importantly, the deck lacked user-accessible tape calibration controls. Overall, the design was highly conservative. Marino Ludwig wrote that the development coincided with a flood of new features (German: der Flut von Neuheiten) introduced by the Japanese, and only a few, like automatic tape type recognition, could be implemented within the deadline. Untested novelties that could compromise the product, like dynamic biasing, were rejected from the start. In 1984 Ludwig and Meinrad Liebert designed a successor to B710, the B215. The first pre-production batch was assembled at the end of 1984; the first production decks were shipped to dealers in the beginning of 1985. A professional derivative, the Studer A721, was very similar to the B215 but was equipped with balanced inputs and outputs, and traditional rotary volume controls in place of up-down buttons. The press placed the B215 on a par with the best competing decks, rating its sound quality as high, or almost as high as that of the new reference deck—the Nakamichi Dragon. In the United States, the B215 was initially priced at "only" $1390, lower than either the B710, or the Dragon. "Affordable" pricing and rugged transport made the B215 the deck of choice for real-time cassette duplicators; for example, by April 1986 Vermont-based Revolution Audio operated a fleet of 200 B215s, 24 hours a day, five days a week, and planned to purchase another 200. German Audio magazine used a stack of ten B215's to duplicate its own test cassettes. Ludwig wrote that the price decrease reflected cost savings achieved through the use of larger printed circuit boards and automated assembly. The introduction of the B215 also coincided with a record low Swiss franc exchange rate with the U.S. dollar, which hit an all-time low in February and March 1985. Subsequently, the Swiss currency exchange rate increased consistently, and so did Revox prices in North America. In 1989, the B215 was priced at $2400, and in 1991, $2600. The improved, cosmetically redesigned B215S, introduced in 1989, was priced at $2800–$2900—more than the Dragon, and three to four times more than contemporary flagship decks by Onkyo, Pioneer or Sony. By this time Willy Studer had retired; in 1990 he sold the company and in 1994 it became a subsidiary of Harman International. New Revox-branded cassette decks sold under Harman management, the consumer H11 and the professional C115, were in fact rebadged Philips FC-60 / Marantz SD-60 models, and had nothing in common with the Revoxes of the past. Classic flagship decks of the 1980s like the B215, the Dragon or the Tandberg 3014 were discontinued without replacement. Further improvements in cassette sound, if possible at all, required substantial investment in research, but corporate resources were already committed to digital.
Design and operation
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