Still sounds very nice...clear and full. With my drift to more vintage decks this past year+ (going from the Tascam 48 and 58 to the Ampex 1" decks), as well as my memories of the sound of my first open-reel deck (the Teac 3340S) during the early 90's I think I'd almost be more inclined to the 80-8 were I looking for a 1/2" 8-track in the future, but I don't know...the 58 has such appeal with the MS-16/ATR60/ATR80 predecessor transport as well as the same amp card as the MS-16, and the 48 has such appeal with its very well laid out guts and simple to adjust and maintain tape path (and the sound of that Arcade Fire track is awesome) but still has those analog VU's and sync ability...and there is still the TSR-8 with its wide user community, sophisticated and capable transport logic and all-in-one package with the dbx onboard as well as more common serial sync interface its hard to decide...not trying to leave the 38 out of this mix either as it is probably the MOST readily available with probably the greatest use support and likely the lowest average price, but I've gotten smitten by the older stuff. I think it REALLY depends on your priorities and so much upon what is locally available and in good condition...and I would look seriously at the Otari MX-5050 MKIII-8 if one was local too...THAT is a hearty looking transport too but with vintage-vibe and unique with the tabletop console style chassis.
Back to the OT, nobody has mentioned that the 80-8 was used for some of the inital tracking for Boston's first album...I think maybe some of the guitar tracing was done on an 80-8 and then transferred to another format? I think that was the deal...