If you are in the market for a 1/2" 8-track...

sweetbeats

Reel deep thoughts...
Check this out.

80-8 with remote, DX-8 noise reduction unit, a reel of 499, takeup reel, cables and manual for $300 +$75 fixed S&H.

Seller has 100% feedback. This is a good deal in my book if it is in said condition. I'd get pics of the heads and discuss shipping packaging in detail, but if the heads are good condition and it will be packed according to the sticky thread on packing, it is worth taking a serious look at for those of you that are in the market.
 
A couple of things concern me about this machine.

One.

The seller says the unit is running on Quantegy 499 tape. This machine was never designed to run with on +9db tape in that there isn't enough headroom in the record, repro amps to deal with those levels and the adjacent channel cross talk will further degrade with this tape to say nothing of the dbx unit which requires some fairly precise in and out levels to work discretely. The seller doesn't state if he's had the machine competently calibrated to use this tape either.

Two.

The 80-8 offers very compromised fidelity while overdubbing because the sync heads and electronics of the day did not offer full bandwidth under this design which will make comping tracks essentially impossible as your bounces on it, in sync, will be heavily degraded in range.

There is also some real basic convenience features missing on this model like RTZ which will slow down your tracking sessions hunting for cue points.

Additionally, the unit in question is showing a really odd orange looking streak on the brushed steel face-plate on the right side which looks like rust, which leads me to believe this unit was stored in some damp environment for quite some time and very possibly was sitting in water...not good. :rolleyes:

Personally, I'd take a pass on this unit.

Cheers! :)
 
Once there is a bid the BIN goes away (if the Seller chooses to do so), or the Seller changed the listing and did away with the BIN.

Ghost, thanks for drawing caution, as one always should when buying such gear without being able to do a face-to-face...Just wanting to flag it in case somebody was looking for such a machine. The fact that they are running 499 is the primary reason to get a shot of the heads...
 
It may simply be that the seller has no clue what tape should be used with that deck. I spent a fair bit of time on 80-8s, and I would wait for a later model even at that price. I have to agree totally with The Ghost of FM about the sound quality of the 80-8, the 38 has a better design and significantly better sound.

AK
 
Once there is a bid the BIN goes away (if the Seller chooses to do so), or the Seller changed the listing and did away with the BIN.

Ghost, thanks for drawing caution, as one always should when buying such gear without being able to do a face-to-face...Just wanting to flag it in case somebody was looking for such a machine. The fact that they are running 499 is the primary reason to get a shot of the heads...

Can the seller choose to have the BIN remain available after a bid is placed? How is this done? I've tried before and didn't see any way. I've always thought this was a stupid feature of ebay, but I didn't know you could set it up any other way.
 
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