"Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is the form of magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording medium is held on a reel ...
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that is not permanently mounted in an enclosed cassette. In use, the supply reel (feed reel) containing the tape is placed on a spindle or hub; the end of the tape is manually pulled out of the reel, threaded through mechanical guides and a tape head assembly, and attached by friction to the hub of the second, initially empty takeup reel.
Reel-to-reel systems use tape that is 1⁄4, 1⁄2, 1, or 2 inches (6.35, 12.70, 25.40, or 50.80 mm) wide, which normally moves at 3+3⁄4, 7+1⁄2, 15 or 30 inches per second (9.5, 19.1, 38.1 or 76.2 cm/s). All standard tape speeds are derived as a binary submultiple of 30 inches per second. The tape in a compact cassette is 0.15 inches (3.8 mm) wide and normally moves at 1+7⁄8 inches per second (4.8 cm/s). By writing the same audio signal across more tape, reel-to-reel systems give much greater fidelity, at the cost of much larger tapes. In spite of the larger tapes, less convenience, and generally more expensive media, reel-to-reel systems, which first started in the early 1940s, remained popular in audiophile settings into the 1980s, and have reestablished a specialist niche in the 21st century." - (en.wikipedia.org 07.06.2021)
