8-track player/recorder- toss, or keep?

[thedelihaus]

8-track player/recorder- toss, or keep?

I've got an 8-track player. I used to collect 8-tracks.

But I just don't like the sound quality, or the format, with it's fragility, failings, and other design inherent problems.

My reason for holding on to the player/recorder?

Every once in a while, you come across a jem- a rare, unobtainable recording on 8-track that's impossible to find on record, cd or cassette, or if it is, costs a fortune.

But is it worth it?

I'm having my doubts.

 

[jonman]

I tossed mine a couple weeks ago. I found I wasn't using it for years at a time. I tried to donate it to the Big Brothers and Sisters thrift store, but they refused it, so I tossed it out when I got home

 

[goldear]

There are some people on this forum who actually like these, for reasons that completely escape me. :headscrat I'm sorry, but simply I can't think of anything positive to say about this particular format.

 

[eljr]

8-track player/recorder- toss, or keep?





Every once in a while, you come across a jem- a rare, unobtainable recording on 8-track that's impossible to find on record, cd or cassette,

But is it worth it?

I'm having my doubts.

Keep it for the reason you stated. :yes:

 

[thedelihaus]

There are some people on this forum who actually like these, for reasons that completely escape me. :headscrat I'm sorry, but simply I can't think of anything positive to say about this particular format.

Some people love 'em, and some people can make them really "sing", so to speak.

I'm not one of them.

But, more power to the fella that can.:thmbsp:

 

[retrokeeper]

Well...as one of the few "8-track advocates" here on AK,I admit I take in stray 8-tracks(players/recorders,tapes,portables)and give them the proper care,loving attention,etc.,etc.,to listen to...some slightly high wow & flutter than we all are more than used to,a freq. response of about...say 60-12000hz,a signal-to-noise of about 45,sometimes 50,and a growing older format that has it's miss-coming and breaks when the the track changes(in more ways the one!!)...so that being said...Yes,I still listen to them and will for who knows how long...probably forever.So just to let everyone here know,Yes..8-Track is proudly spoken/listened to here.:yes::thmbsp: Rob

 

[mhardy6647]

If it's one of the very few good 8 track record/play decks (the 'big' Wollensak, or a couple of the R/S, Panasonic, or Akai models that were actually fairly decent), I'd keep it.
Otherwise...

I do have identically one 8-track player (A Panasonic component hifi found you-know-where) that doesn't actually work (even though the belt is intact). My plan's always been to donate to AK founder Tim (Kamakiri)... my karma tells me it would be happier with him than with me.

 

[jleon92f]

8 track player/recorders..

Hi Music format fans,

I have ALL different formats, and 8 track is on I enjoy from time to time. There are quite a few 8 tracks still out there ready to be played, my last batch included Liberace in concert! Classic collectable sounds.

I have a few 8tracks hooked up now for general use.

Music lover...
John.

 

[OLIRC]

This 8-track to my knowledge newer were a hit in Sweden but as i started my Hi-Fi career 1979 it's probably before my time?

However i did my misstake with DAT eventhough i regret i tossed my deck but as i was in thye middle of a divorce back then i didn't had the strength to save it and sell it on Ebay I even throw away a Technics 310MC cart that had a bent cantilever but other then that was in working condition so a new needle and stylus could have saved that cart .

 

[thedelihaus]

If it's one of the very few good 8 track record/play decks (the 'big' Wollensak, or a couple of the R/S, Panasonic, or Akai models that were actually fairly decent), I'd keep it...

It's a Radio Shack one- exactly like the one Markus owns. Exactly.:scratch2:

Well...as one of the few "8-track advocates" here on AK,I admit I take in stray 8-tracks...

rob, if I ever locate my box of 'em, I'll be sooprise shipping you a big box in the mail as an early Christmas present.:thmbsp:

 

[mhardy6647]

I let all my old 8-tracks go when we cleaned out my father's house in the early spring. All gone.

The R/S with Dolby is a decent machine (for an 8-track deck).

 

[Greg B.]

I have 2 recorder/players, a R/S with Dolby, and a Pioneer H-R 100, also with Dolby. Both work well, and I use them to record tapes for my '68 Cutlass that has a factory 8-track player. I was just playing a Heart Greatest Hits Live cart last night on the Pioneer and it sounded amazing, to be honest. Not CD quality, but very nice for what it is.

 

[Jack Lord]

I never did 8 Tracks back in their heyday, but I was obviously exposed to them. I decided to add an 8 track player/recorder to my present system in order to be able to play all formats and for a bit of nostalgia.

My wife's aunt gave me her collection and I have some pretty decent titles. I have also picked up a few here and there at a pittance. I was just listening to John Lee Hooker on 8 track and since I eliminated the ground loop, it sounds ok.

Soon I am going to attempt to record a few of my own. I figure make a Nirvana or Pearl Jam 8 Track. Kind of funny.

I say keep the player and have a modest 8 track presence in yours system and music library. They are a part of history and some of us have to keep playing them, at least a little, or they will become like the Edison wax cylinders.

 

[rikmeister]

keep it and get some leisure suits and your all set

 

[mhardy6647]

... now there's a mental image.

 

[Arkay]

The Akai tape deck with the 8-track built into the side -1800, if I remember the number correctly-- isn't bad-sounding, for an 8-track.

I was offered two 8-track machines in the past week for cheap prices, both of them with dual decks: one was a complete Karaoke system (looked a bit like a cross between a guitar amp and a ghetto blaster) with "voice changing system". The other was a pretty cool-looking vintage receiver-like component [8-track casseiver?] that also had a dual "needle" tuning dial in the middle: as you turned the tuning knob, the needles on either side went up and down vertically (but hinged, just like big analog meters turned sideways/vertically) - both needles operated by one knob. Cool-looking design! It was built for recording and dubbing: one of the 8-tracks was for playing and the other for recording. Despite the fact that I could have got these (still could) for dirt-cheap prices, I passed on them. Too few usable tapes around, and too much gear at home already.

 

[bre's dad]

I've got an old Centrex (by Pioneer) deck I picked up in high school that was a quantum leap over the old Zeinith deck I had (sigh). It sat is a closet for 2 years until one day I decided to get it out and see if it even worked. I went to the barn to break out the old ABBA 8-tracks (no leisure suits here) only to find that someone had broken into the barn and took my old 8-tracks & a bunch of old reels I had recorded about 10 years earlier.

Now it just sits on the shelf as a monument to audio past with the Tanberg reel to reel & the control box from an old Sebring juke box.

 

[Starrider1]

I have about 100 8 track tapes and a stand alone Decc 115 player. My wife and I like to think back when we used to play the tapes in our cars. It is fun to have even though the sound is not as good as our LP's and Cassettes. I would never throw out the 8 tracks, too many people like to collect them and one day we will too old to keep them and our children will not care about them.