Magnetic recording tape was never designed as a long-term storage medium. The deteriorating condition of most of the magnetic audio tape recording holdings in America and around the world is primarily attributable to a single issue: proper storage and handling. Tape is not physically remarkable. Tape -- in and of itself -- makes no sound, provides no picture, and to the casual observer appears unchanged over time. But as with many other older storage technologies, magnetic tape decays when exposed to harmful environments.
Moisture can be absorbed directly from the air. This causes a chemical reaction called binder hydrolysis. Molecules in the recording and backing layers interact with ambient moisture and break down, leaving a sticky residue. Eventually the tape becomes too sticky to use. This recorder is a masterpiece of electronic and mechanical engineering. The electronic function and motor control system certainly sets a new standard in deck design and performance which, coupled with the really high fidelity electronic performance, puts this new range of REVOX recorders in the connoisseur class.

The terabyte race for consumer desktop hard drives has been on for a long time, now the first generation of drives is here. On April 25th, Hitachi announced that it would begin shipping the Deskstar 7K1000, their latest series of consumer hard drives, weighting in at 750GB and a monstrous 1000GB (1TB). The 1TB version which we are reviewing today is slated. a serious price tag for this colossal amount of storage. The Deskstar 7K1000 represents a milestone for Hitachi and for the hard drive industry as a whole, as it is the first drive to offer a 1 terabyte capacity. Honestly, I expected that it would be Seagate who would deliver the first 1TB hard drive since they were the first to reach the 500GB mark. However, Hitachi has not simply grabbed five 200GB platters and stuck them together to create a 1TB hard drive. Rather, there is much more to the Deskstar 7K1000, such as its Serial ATA II interface and the massive 32MB memory buffer. This is also the first desktop Hitachi drive to feature PMR technology (Perpendicular Magnetic Recording).