8 Track Players

8 Track Players

The original format for magnetic tape sound reproduction was the reel-to-reel tape recorder, first available in the U.S. in the late 1940s but too expensive and bulky to be practical for amateur home use until well into the 1950s. Loading a reel of tape onto the machine and threading it through the various guides and rollers proved daunting to some casual users—certainly, it was more difficult than putting a vinyl record on a record player and flicking a switch—and because in early years each tape had to be dubbed from the master tape in real-time to maintain good sound quality, prerecorded tapes were more expensive to manufacture, and costlier to buy, than vinyl records.

8 Track Players

8 Track Players

8 Track Players

8 Track Players

8 Track Players

8 Track Players

8 Track Players

8 Track Players

8 Track Players