The Otari was the most expensive to own, in terms of cost and then service expenses. Never a mass market machine, so spares and engineering knowledge are now age related. Few engineers from the era still alive, so skill sets lost. Tascam machines were more common, spares perhaps a little easier to source, and documentation still available, but discounting the 388 limits choice. You are entering a dangerous stage for your bank account. I have 5 2 and 4 track machines. The score is the 4 track is now dead. It needs about £200 worth of work to restore operation. The 4 two track machines produce one that is as good as it can get, and I would be happy putting a brand new spool of tape on. The others either sound less good, or have a habit of damaging the tape, and one just sounds awful. If I record on my office PC, using its internal audio card, through the 3.5mm input the quality in every measurable way is better.
Your list for me would mean picking the TSR-8 because I have fond memories of the one in a studio I spent time in a very long time ago. With a supply of IPA and cotton buds, it kept going. Price wise, I could buy one if one came up, but I really cannot spend 4 grand on what sadly is already a life expired piece of really nice kit. If you have the servicing skills and test gear, I know it’s a great piece of recording history, but the pros and cons list is VERY lopsided. It’s like the guys who restore old military vehicles. They have to enjoy the months of getting dirty required for the very short annual show off period. My experience with my reel to reel collection is that they are lovely, but I cannot trust them, not even the really good one. A spool of tape is about £70 in europe for not that long, recording time wise, and pressing stop and hearing them crunch the tape up is painful!
