Not all the 4 channel reels are prohibitively expense - the program selections are limited, there are more classical, easy listening, sunshine pop, etc tapes than stuff like Deep Purple, Tull, and Sabbath (which wont go cheap).
Granted, the most affordable reels are going to have program material like the 1000th arrangement of "MacArthur Park" or "The Godfather Theme" by curious string and brass ensembles or sappy, happy tunes embellished with touches of Moog synthesizer that attack your ears from various speakers. (which I happen to like!)
But the same holds true for the Quad 8-tracks, there are just more of those out there. With reels your paying for the higher fidelity of 7.5 ips and scarcity when it comes to the hard rock groups.
Your position on vinyl is wise though as at this point the best r2r recorders are getting harder to find in excellent mechanical condition and more buyers are looking for them it seems so the prices have risen over time. Though I manged to acquire quite a stable of them there are still some machines Ive got my eye on because I'll never outgrow the thrill of getting new audio toys!
