Help! Tascam tsr-8 or teac 80-8

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Elepearl

New member
Hi everyone, I'm a long time lurk, first time poster. Previously, all my questions had been settled by other forum users asking questions but now I have one to solve that requires some experienced minds. I've been in the market for a tape deck for some time and I'm in contact with a fellow that restores them. He has two basically ready to go- a Tascam tsr-8 and a teac 80-8. I'm wondering what all your opinions would be on the matter? If they are both in good shape, running smoothly, which would you choose? I'm in need of something sturdy and reliable. The Tascam has a new motor and is running very smoothly with good heads, etc. The teac is also in great shape and had the added bonus of 3 heads so that I can monitor and also comes with a flight case. The Tascam is $800 and the teac $1000. Lay your wisdom on me!

-Ele
 
I've been very happy with my TSR-8, though I have no experience with the Teac so I can't say how they compare. Are the machines local so that you can see them in person and test them out?
 
They aren't local, but I'm driving out to check them out myself. I figure it's worth the drive as I plan to use the deck extensively. I've heard really good things about the tsr-8, especially for a newbie like me, but there is a lot of interesting stuff with the teac (Dbx unit, monitoring capability, flight case, etc.).
 
TSR-8 has built in noise reduction, advanced transport logic and mechanics (more gentle and precise tape handling, and features a basic onboard auto-locator), is easier to work on, would be much newer and likely to be more reliable on that alone on top of a more reliable design, and parts are likely to be more readily available...as well as better user community support because there are more in operation. Oh, and it's smaller and lighter.

Add the cost of noise reduction to the 80-8...

If you are wanting something reliable and easier to maintain I'd put my (less) money down on the TSR-8.

I think the 80-8 is a cool machine, but under your circumstances I'd steer you to the TSR-8. It's a good machine. And the 2-head aspect is really only an inconvenience with setting bias...not an every day thing. And how often do you need to monitor on the fly?
 
I have no experience with the TSR 8. But have extensive experience with it's 16 track counterpart, the MSR16. I'd go with the TSR 8. It's newer, has the built in dbx, sync capabilities, is probably easier to get parts for.
I've been very pleased with the sound of my 16, half the tracks on half inch tape would sound better, I imagine.
Im sure the older deck is great, but it seems like the newer ones have been more refined.
The two head setup has never been any issue, don't see the need for 3 heads. Plus more to go wrong, keep aligned, and wear.
I tend to like the segmented metering of the newer machines better as well.

Anyway. Just some thoughts from a newer machine user.
 
Elepearl said:
The teac is also in great shape and had the added bonus of 3 heads so that I can monitor...
Click to expand...

You'll be able to monitor just the same with the TSR-8.
The real difference is that with dedicated REC & PB heads, they can each be fine-tuned during calibration for optimal performance, whereas with a single REC/PB head you're calibration is not as flexible....but, the TSR-8 is a newer, more modern deck, as sweetbeats has explained in detail...so between the two, I also would go for the TSR-8.

That said...if my only choice was the 80-8...I wouldn't hesitate using it, especially of it's all up to spec and running properly.
 
Awesome thanks so much for all the replies! It's sounding like my initial inclinations were probably right- go for the TSR-8.
 
Yes, the TSR-8 is a very nice machine. It can also be synchronized to another deck (or a computer) with the right equipment, which the TEAC cannot do. I still use the TSR-8 for most of my songs because the automatic punch-in is so useful. I can record the tricky parts of the song which need a lot of retakes on the TSR-8, and then copy them to the 24-track when I'm happy with it.
 
I used to own a TRS-8 and loved it. The reels started to get woobly over time and make a swooshing noise. I'm not sure why, and that gets to my main point: you will have to learn maintenance to own an analog machine or it gets expensive fast. The tape isn't cheep, either. The TSR-8 gives a warm, "mid-fi" sound by nature. It will take very strong engineering skills to make it hi-fi sounding. Don't go into this thinking b/c it's analog it will sound better is all I'm saying.
 
Why is he asking $200 more for the 80-8? Typically the 80-8 would sell for less than the TRS-8, though I would personally choose an 80-8 over a TSR-8.
 
Thanks for all the helpful info! I think he's asking more for the 80-8 because it's in great shape, had the flight case and Dbx unit. Overall he was saying that the 80-8 is a more sturdy built machine but not necessarily more reliable?
 
Elepearl said:
Thanks for all the helpful info! I think he's asking more for the 80-8 because it's in great shape, had the flight case and Dbx unit. Overall he was saying that the 80-8 is a more sturdy built machine but not necessarily more reliable?
Click to expand...

I think if you're going for "vintage vibe" and a more brute-force machine, the 80-8 would be better. If you want a cleaner, more "modern" analog sound, the TRS-8 might be a better option.
 
Yeah it's sort of hard to say! It sounds like the 80-8 is basically in brand new condition. The seller says that frequency response is perfect to 20khz on all channels. I'm going to check them out today, one way or the other I'll be buying my first deck today!
 
Something that might be interesting to know is if the 80-8 has the original fixed-speed motor, or whether it's had the varispeed mod added. That's particularly important if the machine is ever going to move between 50/60hz territories, since the stock 80-8 has the capstan speed locked to the mains frequency.
 
Right. The 80-8 has an AC hysteresis sync captan motor vs a DC servo capstan.

But wait...was the Vari-speed option a DC capstan conversion?
 
sweetbeats said:
Right. The 80-8 has an AC hysteresis sync captan motor vs a DC servo capstan.
But wait...was the Vari-speed option a DC capstan conversion?
Click to expand...

From what I've read, yes. The synchronous capstan motor is replaced with a DC motor, and there's a remote to set the speed. I remember this because someone mentioned that the AC motor was easier to rebuild than the DC one...
 
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