8 Track player

I am kicking around the idea of getting an 8 track player. Any suggestions? Any brands to avoid?
I have a second input on my phono pre amp, can I run this through it?

 

An 8 track player, like a CD player, is designed to connect to a line level input, not phono.

Decent brands: Akai, Wollensak, some Sony, most Pioneer, some Craig.

Come to think of it, here's a more extensive writeup I originally did some time back on another forum:

"As a self-proclaimed 8 track expert (collecting since the late '60s) and a buyer and seller of tapes and players for ages, here's my purely subjective opinion on the top players:

1. Akai CR80, '81. NOT the GXR-82D - the glass head has its own set of problems with increased crosstalk. And the '83 is a completely different beast, not in the same class. If you're interested in recording, the '81 is a better choice than the '80, as it has conventional pots rather than the noisy sliders. The '80, '81 and '82 all have very heavy "stump-puller" AC motors, while the '83 has the more usual DC variety. The Roberts 808 is identical to the Akai CR-80D.

2. Wollensak. Almost any of these are decent units, although they did make a change midway through the run of 8055s in the internals - I'd gladly buy any of them, however, except the very first 8050. I wrote an article years ago on 8 Track Heaven that runs down the various models.

3. Pioneer H-R99 or H-R100. Very solid, well designed units. The Centrex units aren't bad, but not up to the level of the regular line. The problem is that there are fewer and fewer decent units showing up, so the lesser ones are bringing higher prices - plus everyone on ebay thinks he's got the Holy Grail.

4. The Radio Shack 800 series - 800, 801, 802, etc. - are also well-designed, sought after units. The 880 series were leftovers from Radio Shack's ill-fated merger with Allied Radio and are OK but not exceptional.

5. There's a Montgomery Ward unit (really!) that doesn't look like much, but sounds way above average. It was built by Fujitsu/General.

6. There's a Sony recorder that's decent - TC-228 - but NOT the "briefcase" style TC8.

7. Best of the rest, in alphabetical order: Concord F-128, JVC ED-1261, some of the Lafayettes, and...um...that's about it.

You'll notice there aren't any Panasonics on the list. I've never felt much love for any of their component players or recorders, although strangely the decks built into their "integrated receivers" are fairly decent.

Keep on Trakkin'!"

Brands to avoid (besides those mentioned): Most others, unfortunately. More than most other formats, there was a great deal of junk foisted on the public. I'd be happy to comment on a specific brand or model on request.

 

My only recommendation is, don't spend a lot on it. None of them are very good, and 8-track cartridges are inconvenient to use and tend to fail.

 

Pioneer is as nice of a choice as any, sound very good, reliable (usually belt and some switch and pot contact cleaning) and the motor is a good, strong motor.

 

No, none of them are very good, but several are quite a bit better than you'd expect.

The whole point of the 8 track was convenience, especially for car use (which was what they were originally designed for). I'd argue that "they tend to fail" is a bit overgeneralizing. I have 8Ts from the late '60s that still play perfectly. Many failures arise from mistreatment...just like mistreated vinyl sounds dreadful.

 

Maybe I'm preaching to the choir, but before you even consider buying a deck, if you haven't already done it, learn the ins and outs of how 8-tracks work. Learn the common problems they experience and how to repair and tune your tapes. Never just stick a tape in and expect that it will play. It can get very messy otherwise.

 

I'm not trying to be funny, but can I ask you why you're kicking around that idea?

 

Reminder:

8 tracks don't rewind, and don't fast-forward very fast - you're mostly stuck listening to where the tape is.
8 tracks have four separate stereo audio programs, all which must be the same length. This means long pauses after a few songs, or even songs faded out so they can complete on the next track.
Pre-recorded 8 tracks are stuck at 1970-1980 music, enjoy that Gordon Lightfoot or convoy country music.
No Dolby, primitive type 1 formulations loaded in the cartridges, cassette-width audio, so sound quality easy surpassed by almost anything.
Recording your own will be tedious planning to put something useful in the tracks, and the majority of 8 tracks were just players.
There's no 8-track walkman, they are big even in a car.

More interesting is old radio station cart players, which compare to reel-to-reel decks in audio quality. They look like 8 tracks but are a bit different. Prime time to get them was 10 years ago when tons went in the trash.

 

There's 8 track machines with Dolby. My old Fisher has Dolby B. And it has frequency response on par with most cassette decks in 1974. Wow/Flutter a bit higher.

 

I've had a root canal that was better than expected. It's a low bar to clear.

That's what I meant by "none of them are very good." Wow and flutter are unpleasant to listen to, at least to my ears.

But hey, far be it from me to spoil anyone's fun! If the OP gets one, I hope he has a ball with it!

I'll just say, *** IMO *** anyone interested in hi-fi and music, not just nostalgia, would be far better served by an inexpensive CD player. I'll refrain from saying anything more in this thread.

 

There were a few portable 8-track players, like the following (considering the size of the tape it was a relatively small size):

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P. S. I'd recommend viewing some of Techmoan's videos on 8-tracks. He provides some excellent information on audio formats, equipment, and how to fix equipment.

 

Mostly nostalgic.

 

I used to have a nice Grundig one, but always lusted after the Akai. It provided me countless hours of great-sounding music, and made me discover music genres I'd never payed attention on other formats. Thing is I bought my deck in the early 80s, when the technology was already obsolete and you could buy the cartridges for pennies.

 

You described my exact timeline and experience with 8-tracks. I discovered so much great music on the cheap in the early 80s because the format was on its way out. The first time I ever heard The Sex Pistols was on a 25 cent thrift store 8-track. Ditto Love - Forever Changes and David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember my Name. I remember going into Tower Records on Sunset and digging through a huge metal trash can (a snarky means of displaying them) and finding some gems such as Talking Heads - 77 for 99 cents.

 

Sounds fun. Keep us updated.....

 

What brand are the 8-track players with the amazing looking space age design? Do they sound good? Anyone know what I mean? The ones that look like space helmets. They look like great ornaments to furnish a 60s-themed man cave.

 

You're likely referring to the Weltron, something any 8 track collector should own. (I have one, of course)

Brother also made some similar units, but Weltron were the best known.

Sound? Nothing special.

 

I never cared for 8-Tracks much during their heyday and we never owned any. In the early 80's this all changed when I got a JC Penney's 4 in 1 Stereo that included an 8-Track player for my Birthday. Not only did this coincide with the demise of the format but it was around this time Capricorn Records went under. There were tons of great titles from the label in the cutout bins. I had just begun my interest in Southern Rock and there was tons of it in the 8-Track cutout bins (as well as West Coast style country-rock). Both styles were seen as passe' at the time so I was able to really discover a lot of great music cheaply.

 

Fair enough. But as someone who remembers dealing with the sheer hell of the 8 track in its glory days, there are some memory lanes that I have no intention of strolling down...

 

My idea of an erotic dream is finding the first 3 Iron Maiden 8-tracks in the wild. Maybe then I'll finally find a player which I do want for nostalgia.

 

Still remember seeing a "Killers" cart on clearance back when a local store was phasing them out. If I only knew then...

 

I clearly remember my father in 1971...in Texas...advising my brother to buy a cassette deck rather than 8 track because he said 8 tracks were being phased out and cassettes were the newest thing.

 

That was me. Plus I like the idea of being able to pop in one of my old tapes and listen to it every now and then.

 

...love Techmoan!

Panasonic RQ-830 S "Dynamite 8"



...still sounds as "good" as it ever did.