The best ones seemed to use direct drive motors. In my opinion, the "god-tier" would be Revox B215 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revox_B215 https://en.wikiped

The best ones seemed to use direct drive motors. In my opinion, the "god-tier" would be Revox B215 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revox_B215 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revox_B215) and the Nakamichi Dragon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakamichi_Dragon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakamichi_Dragon). I've personally used the Revox in the late 80's and early 90's as a DJ in a college radio station. It was super durable (it had to be, in a punk environment). I don't have any experience with the Dragon but it looks cool and I see it has good performance. I think anyone who adopts a tape deck these days had better be ready for getting it serviced. Aside from the mechanical stuff that just wears out, the electronics are likely to need work after 30+ years. Capacitors, mainly.