Pioneer 8 track tape player8/27/2023 ![]() I don't know what the best deck is, but I absolutely love my Centrex RH-65 and Realistic TR-803. Not my exact deck - this is a Quadraflex 288 photo obtained online. No Dolby and I don't care, but has every other feature. Not common at all in Canada but the model 288 I found for $2 needed absolutely nothing and has seen the most use since I got it three years ago. I have had good luck with Akai and own several but can say the same for Toyo. ![]() There are quite a number of decks worth having in my opinion and It would not be prudent to ignore something just because of a brand name. Playback on that Pioneer quit so I relegated it to a mule for fast forwarding the tapes I was reconditioned but then the motor packed it in. It did need a tape counter as I learned later but one I scavenged from dead Pioneer HR-100 was a perfect fit - exactly the same counter. Even though I already had one, and other decks to boot, it was in such nice condition, I picked it up. Not long ago, I happened upon another for the princely sum of $8. Yes, it's a lightweight compared to decks like an Akai CR-81D but it works well and sounds more than half decent. It has every possible feature an 8 track deck can have, including Dolby and it's silky smooth in operation. Seven years ago my first 8 track deck was a Realistic TR-803. As for recording, you can make some pretty cool sounding 8-tracks with Dolby, almost no hiss when played back on the Wollensak that recorded it, and the often welcome boost in highs that the cheaper decks could benefit from. However, I virtually NEVER listen to any of them with Dolby on (the Wollensak 8075A has Dolby). The majority of Dolby encoded 8-tracks are Columbia's TC8s. Many prerecorded 8-track tapes were Dolby B encoded. International H-R99s have a little red record light above the record level controls, and have a voltage selector on the back.Īlso, looking at the factory specifications for the H-R99 and H-R100, the H-R99 has a specified frequency response of 30 ~ 12kHz while the H-R100 has a specified frequency response of 30 ~ 15kHz. It should also be noted that the international model H-R99 also has meters that light up and move in playback. One noticeable difference with the H-R100 is the VU meters light up and move on during playback, whereas the meters on the H-R99 only light up and move in record mode. I'd really have to have a H-R100 here to compare with my H-R99, and I'd have to look the schematics over (don't have time for that right now), but I do believe that there is a little more different with the H-R100 than just a Dolby circuit. There are many other makes and models out there, many that don't get the publicity that they really deserve. The 8055 operated just fine with its original motor for quite some time after I got it, and motor issues happened rather suddenly. My 8075A is still running fine with its original motor, however my 8055 needed it's motor replaced. The motors may run just fine when first used, but after 20+ minutes, may begin to slow down and in some cases come to a complete stop. The later, more refined decks such as the 8075 use a DC motor. The earliest Wollensak decks used AC motors (my 1971 Wollensak 8050 has an AC motor) which doesn't suffer from these issues. The biggest issue is with their DC motors failing. I would be cautious before spending hundreds of dollars on one however.Īs for the Wollensak decks, I think they are some of the nicest sounding 8-track decks I've ever come across. If you can confirm that the deck is still operating correctly, they are worth picking up. Barry (from Barry's 8-Track Repair) has also covered this issue on his site and in some videos. I have a Roberts 808D, the motor has seemingly lost much of its torque, being very easy to load down. Where you need to be careful is with their motors losing torque, head windings opening, and problems with early unobtainium ICs. The Akai/Roberts units (except for the CR-83D) are probably the most well built, having a separate erase head, massive AC motor and heavy flywheel. ![]() Necessary for transferring old home recorded tapes. My H-R99 gets a lot of use for transferring 8-tracks to digital as adjusting the head height is very easily done by turning a little locking nut and motor speed is easily adjustable. The head turned out to be fairly common, used in many other recorder models. My deck was pretty abused when I got it, having physical damage to its head and some issues with the solid state auto-stop circuitry. I have an H-R99 (still looking for an H-R100) and it is a overall decent sounding deck. The Pioneer H-R99 and H-R100 are probably the safest to buy when compared to the Akai and Wollensak units. ![]()
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