Hello! I say Teac for Reel to Reel and Akai for cassette or 8 Track. I have owned all brands including the Nakamichi CR-3A and the Akai GX-M50 has a warmer sound! For Teac Reel to Reel I suggest the A1200U. If you want to go all out , I suggest the Teac-3340S! For Cassette I suggest only 2...