The original format for magnetic tape sound reproduction was the reel-to-reel tape recorder, first available in the US in the late 1940s, but too expensive and bulky to be practical for amateur home use until well into the 1950s. A later quadraphonic version of the format was announced by RCA in April 1970 and first known as Quad-8, then later changed to just Q8. It was a further development of the similar Stereo-Pak four-track cartridge introduced by Earl "Madman" Muntz, which was adapted by Muntz from the Fidelipac cartridge developed by George Eash. Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear of Lear Jet Corporation, along with Ampex, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Motorola, and RCA Victor Records (RCA). The format is regarded as an obsolete technology, and was relatively unknown outside the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Japan. The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8 commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound-recording technology that was popular in the United States from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s, when the Compact Cassette format took over. ( November 2010) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Script error: No such module "Find sources". Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Zero nostalgia factor here except for the pride of once owning what was likely the best of the breed.This article needs additional citations for verification. I chunked all of my 8-track tapes and no amount of good will carried over I'd say. Pioneer's SuperTuner car cassette units (among others) proved the cassette could sound better at half the speed of the clunky 8-track tapes. In a few years I switched to the cassette medium as I watched the market shift too. I gave up and lived with the quick though still abrupt track changes simply recording through them. I slowly decided I was wrong though, Making tapes was a chore if you wanted to plan around track switches. I thought with the Dolby B unit and SA tape I could live with the sound limitations. TDK's SA tape was the tape of choice for me. At home it helped with the hiss problem and in the car it made the highs just a little clearer. It still had too much tape hiss so I added a Teac AN-40 outboard noise reduction unit. The good: for a deeply flawed high-fidelity audio format Wollensak by 3M probably made the best one with a better transport and a nice industrial design. I was getting ready to drive and it seemed logical as Phillips Compact Cassette hadn't really hit big in cars yet. I think I was 14 when I got for Christmas a Wollensak 8-Track recorder. Hey, what did you expect for $399?įor more information on the CR-83D and other vintage audio gear, visit. Boy are we glad this format came and went - especially in cars!” Sound quality is passable so you should be able to recognize the song :-). More to the point, Skyfi writes: “Please note this is by no means a top performing format - so don't expect to hook it up to your hi-fi and be blown away. “We did not test the recording feature(s) as we did not have access to any blank 8-track tapes, and even if we found them we doubt they would function correctly at 40+ years of age.” Skyfi has serviced the deck, lubricating all of its moving parts and replacing belts, but will only qualify it as “mostly working,” unable to guarantee its long-term reliability “since most 8-track players were cheaply made.” Too bad it represents the worst format in the history of audio. The “elapsed time counter” and backlit VU meters give the Akai CR-83D a distinctively nostalgic, even impressive look. Skyfi is quick to label the 1976 piece a novelty item “for someone looking to experience an 8-track tape deck for the first time or an experienced user looking for a nostalgic rush.”Īnd what a rush - assuming, of course, you can even find an 8-track tape at your local flea market. New Jersey-based vintage audio specialist Skyfi Audio has something special for AV collectors: a vintage Akai 8-track player/recorder.
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