Welcome to Hell, here's your 8-Track

P.S. Yes 4 tracks came before 8 tracks.

@nonoise 

When I first read the header of this thread, I thought it was going to be something along the lines of what we audiophiles are in store for when we do get to hell.

I think hell will be worse. We'll be trapped in discussions exclusively focused on speaker bracing, DAC chip comparisons, isolation materials, and whether the crappy electrical wires in our walls make all power cords a waste of money.

Can't wait....😄

8 track was an advancement at the time in the early 70s mostly in regards to how easy it was to pop an 8 track into a player which could cost as little as less than $30 in the day for a small portable device. Could be at home or portable on the road or in the car. Compare that to playing a record or reel to reel tape. The first recordings I bought with my own money were 8 tracks, though I quickly moved on. Sound quality was as good as most anything else comparable most people actually had. Then the much more versatile but also far more delicate cassette tape took over. So it was an advancement but one whose time came and went quickly.

That makes me think that most people might consider talking hifi with a die hard audiophile a form of hell on earth. It can even drive me somewhat bonkers sometimes.