"J. P. Morris" wrote in message
...
Here's a question for the reel-to-reel gurus.
As far as I can see this AIWA TP1011 is an ordinary domestic 2 or 4-track.
It doesn't even appear to be valve-based:


http://cgi.ebay.com/VGC-AIWA-3-HEAD-...cm dZViewItem

..yet it has gone for $7900, which is probably about ten times its
original
price, if that. Now normally I'd say that the two zero-bidders were
shills, but the guy who made the final purchase seems to have a good
history.

And here's another one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/AIWA-3-HEAD-REEL...QQcmdZViewItem

(Although I note the apparent shills have been busy at work here too.)

Q: "WE'VE ALREADY BEEN OFFERED $3000,00. We will accept $6000,oo with free
shipping. The only other one of these just sold for 7900.00. Thanks bill."

Have they simply lost their hold on reality or are these machines valuable
in some mysterious way?

The only thing I can figure is that there are collectors out there who want
a complete set of Aiwa recorders, for reasons known but to themselves, and
this is the one that shows up the least often, so the collectors go berserk
when it appears. Like my friend whose best pal had the only Muddy Waters
record he didn't own.

Real collectors are NUTS.

Peace,
Paul