I've used an A8 for around 6 years. Although it's an older machine, and has its quirks, it also can record amazingly clean and lifelike tracks. The built in Dolby B noise reduction is transparent--no pumping or hissing or loss of high-end ambience. The tape runs at 15 ips with no audible wow or flutter. Make sure you get the wired remote with it; you can't find them anywhere (I looked all over North America--I finally found a schematic which my electronics wiz neighbor built (cost me a case of beer)). Without it you always need to sit close to the machine, and it runs a little noisy (i.e. mechanical, not electronic noise). I built a case for it with a glass door to solve that problem. The trick to making it work--hit the tape hard. You can get pretty high into the reds on the VUs before you clip, and the result is a powerful, clean signal even running at -10 db. I love this machine and will keep it running as long as I can. One quirk--now and then the belt slips loose and you have to replace it. You need skinny fingers and patience, but it is doable. If the VU lights are burnt out, leave them alone. You'll have to rip the thing down to the hull to get new ones in, and two weeks later they'll start to go again. What else...oh yeah, make sure you get the right tape--I use Quantegy (formerly known as Ampex) 457 which is correctly biased for this machine. You'll need RCA to 1/4" phono cables to plug it into your mixer. One other thing--if it has twelve rather than sixteen RCA jacks at the back, you are not losing your mind. If it's this model (like mine) you can only record four tracks at one time; then press the group switch to record the other four. So you still get 8 tracks. Just make sure you give it a good test before you buy it. If you find a good one--I'd go for it!
