Tape recorder (Reel to Reel) with integrated 8 track player

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by The Freedom Man, Oct 24, 2020.

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  1. The Freedom Man

    The Freedom Man The Freedom Man Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rotterdam
    Lately I seem to have interest in getting myself a Taperecorder.I think they are pure art and would like great next to my turntable

    I saw one, Akai x-1800 SD. This one has a build in 8 track player. That got me interested. What I want most is a tape recorder from the 70’s. So I saw the Akai with the 8 track and was wondering if there are other types/brands that have a build in 8 track player.
    Anyone knows? Thanks in advance
     
  2. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Innocent Bystander

    I can't recall any other manufacturers doing this, although the Akai was also available under the Roberts brand name until 1971, when Akai took over marketing in the USA.

    If you're looking for "pure art", the X-1800 will suffice. It's not all that great a reel-to-reel, however.
     
  3. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    Akai also made a combo R2R & Cassette deck. All of these combo machines were low quality though. I would personally stay away.
     
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  4. regore beltomes

    regore beltomes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Helenville, WI
    I bought one new in the late 60s. It worked like a champ and had excellent fidelity on 7.5 ips.
    The 8 track recordings sounded on par with pre recorded tapes.
    Once cassettes came out I sold it for a profit. I kept my Akai M8 though. Still is in the system !
    If you're handy with mechanics and basic maintenance Akai machines do stand the test of time !
     
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  5. The Freedom Man

    The Freedom Man The Freedom Man Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rotterdam
    I am a newbie when it comes to taperecorders but the always appealed to me.The reason why I like the Akai x-1800sd is because of the 8 track player.I don’t know if one actually uses a taperecorder much because of the lack of reels. At least that is what I think. I read most of the 70’s ones got sticky and hard to play, although that can be fixed. I still have a small pile of 8 tracks so I could play those again. I sold my Weltron 2005 so can’t play them anymore.
    So for me it’s a combination of Art and listening to the old 8 track tapes again.
     
  6. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Innocent Bystander

    They even sold one that was a triple threat: R2R, 8T and cassette! How'd you like to have to service one of those?:wtf:
     
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  7. The Freedom Man

    The Freedom Man The Freedom Man Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rotterdam
    Also, is it possible to connect my Marantz 2226 reciever to an Akai x-1800sd taperecorder so I can hear the music over my speakers?
     
  8. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Akai is it. But I do not recommend Akai machines if you want reliable or durable. And Akai machines tend to be PITA to repair. Only worse Japanese tape machine is a Dokorder. Crummy parts availability too. And big issue with the Akai single motor transports, the pot metal cam which is the transport control. A Pioneer or a Panasonic/Technics deck is a far superior choice for 8 track. On open reel, an A series Teac is a much better option once sorted, or better yet, a nice Pioneer RT 707 for a 1/4 track machine.
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2020
  9. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    Yes you can. But you could hardly make a worse choice of machines to buy. There are lots of high-quality R2R machines out there which are worthy of restoration. This isn't one of them.

    @McLover's advice above is excellent.
     
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  10. Wayne Nielson

    Wayne Nielson Forum Resident

    Location:
    My House
    Roberts made a high quality reel to reel with 8 track recorder/player.
     
  11. The Freedom Man

    The Freedom Man The Freedom Man Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rotterdam
    I looked up panasonic, technics and teac.I wouldn’t mind having one machine per brand! There are some nice looking ones which makes it hard to choose. I am not planning to restore one or even want to record with it.When i saw there was one with an 8 track player, I thought this is cool! But seeing other taperecorders make me realize I have a problem which one to get!! Luckily it’s also fun to search and look them up online and read/learn about them
     
  12. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    There were tons of manufacturers back in the 70s.

    Panasonic is the parent company of Technics. But Panasonic never made any really good R2Rs. However Technics made some superb models.

    Teac made some great machines as well, but only the A series were built like tanks.

    Pioneer made some terrific machines as well, but the RT707 is the stand out for just being bullet proof.

    Sony is more somewhat more controversial, but I'm personally very fond of their high-end 3 Motor 3 Head 10.5" machines..

    Akai has not withstood the test of time nearly as well as have many others.

    Revox made some excellent performers and were build like tanks, but I dislike their transports.

    Tandberg made arguably some of the best sounding machines of anybody, but they were not built to take any kind of abuse.

    I could go on and on, but there is no end. And I haven't even touched on any of the pro brands. But these are some of the more notable consumer names.

    But one rule of thumb which should always be followed is: you always need at least 3 heads and at least 3 motors. Anything less is a complete waste of your time an money today.
     
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  13. The Freedom Man

    The Freedom Man The Freedom Man Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rotterdam
    Thanks, great info. What exactly do you mean with “you always need at least 3 heads and at least 3 motors”? As in if one gets broken?
     
  14. The Freedom Man

    The Freedom Man The Freedom Man Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rotterdam
    Never mind, got it
     
  15. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    It's Akai under another name. Same caveats apply also. And add to the Akai list of issues, the motors on Akai decks of that vintage have not aged well, and very high risk.
     
  16. Wayne Nielson

    Wayne Nielson Forum Resident

    Location:
    My House
    I had a Revox A77 that lasted 37 years until it caught fire in the fast rewind mode. I have looked for a replacement (all reputable brands) and have decided that the day of owning an RTR has passed. They are all old and can fail at any moment with replacement parts scarce and more then likely will be used. The first time I have been without an analog recorder for maybe 5 decades.
     
  17. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    A ReVox A or B 77 is still serviceable, still has parts available. Big issue with your problem, Frako, Philips, and WIMA electrolytic capacitors. Those always have to be replaced on a ReVox machine, as they are ticking time bombs waiting to do this. This is how they fail, they give out smoke.
     
  18. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    For high quality recordings, R2R tape machines really require separate record, playback and erase heads. Very low end machines often featured just a combo record playback head, and and erase head (2 heads). Some machines with auto reverse featured more than 3 heads heads, but 3 is the bare minimum that any machine which even pretends not to be a piece of junk requires.

    Also, quality R2Rs featured separate motors for each reel and the capstan. This means at least 3 motors. If a machine has less than three motors, then this means that it must contain a complex mechanisms of belts and idlers wheels instead. These both lower the performance, but these also dramatically decrease the reliability since these will harden, crack and occasionally cease, over time. There are a very few tube R2Rs which, if one is super into tubes, one still might consider restoring with only one motor today. But generally one motor machines are best avoided altogether today. But the one motor Akais and the Roberts, with their fatally flawed pot-metal cams, are not even worth consideration IMO.

    So don't even think of buying 2 head, or one motor R2R. These are really junky machines today. Plus quality 3 motor ,3 head machines can be had for a song if you just keep your eyes open. The Akai that you started this thread with is one of the worst offenders in this regard since one motor is doing double duty for both the R2R and the 8 Track mechanism (which means even more belts and idlers to fail).
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2020
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  19. The Freedom Man

    The Freedom Man The Freedom Man Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rotterdam
    Thanks again for the info, really helpful.
    I can imagine the 70’s machine’s need more restoration than later ones. But pure for the feeling of it I like one from that period. So I probably should look for a Panasonic, Teac or Technics? A long as it has a wooden case around it
     
  20. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    Not Panasonic! They did NOT make very good machines. The Technics 1500 series machines are superb though. And don't forget Pioneer! Sony made some really nice machines too IMO, but some techs really don't like these, for reasons which I don't completely agree with.

    Also very few consumer models were still made durring the 80s. Basically only Akai, Teac, Revox and Tandberg still made R2Rs into the 80s. And while some of these are gorgeous to look at, only the Revoxes were built robustly. And everybody was cutting corners on quality in the 80s except for Revox and Tandberg.

    The Teacs which are bullet-proof are the A series machines. The later X series all used much smaller cheaper DC motors which tended to fail over time.
     
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  21. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Innocent Bystander

    Not exactly, I believe. To the best of my knowledge (and I did own one), the capstan for the R2R is shared by the 8 Track part (i.e. the reel capstan extends through to the 8T). Although, it has been more than fifty years since I had it, so I may be misremembering.:confused:
     
  22. The Freedom Man

    The Freedom Man The Freedom Man Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rotterdam
    Thanks, I see I wrote Panasonic, but I ment a Pioneer! Think it’s gonna take me a while before I finally pick one that’s in good condition and IF I can find the one I want
     
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