glyell
Member
I have been reading a lot of reviews on the original Drake R8, and I thought I would post my review since I just got one about 4 months ago.
First off, let me say I really like the R8 radio. The ergonomics does not bother me at all since I have a few stations I like to listen to and I don't tune up and down for hours. I had my R8 serviced and fully restored to like new, so... here we go.
There is nothing bad I can say about my R8. I really like the silky smooth optical encoder and medal tuning knob. The syc detector locks and stays locked every time even on faint signals. I really like the large display, it gives me all the information I need. The AGC works wonderfully on mine, as well as the Passband and all other functions. The audio is suburb ( I have mine hooked up to 2 six inch speakers). Adjacent channel interference, selectivity is very very good. It is a quiet receiver as well, I can pull in stations just above the noise level. Sensitivity is outstanding!! The R8 is still a top notch classic performing radio after all these years.
There have been a lot of reviews over the years about the mode and bandwidth buttons, the construction and others. I feel that is the opinion of the person who is using it. It's performance under the cover that matters when you get down to it. The R8 does not disappoint in that area. Like I said, as for me, none of the ergonomics matters at all. I do use mine with the remote control that was offered at the time. It makes everything easy to tune from across the room.
My R8 is operationally solid. It works like brand new. It's almost in mint condition cosmetically as well. I used to own a R8A back in the late 90s, but had to sell it when I moved. Got a real good deal on my R8 and I don't feel like I downgraded at all. In fact, I prefer the R8 now that I have used one. If you can find a R8 in good working order, I would not hesitate to buy it. You won't be sorry.
First off, let me say I really like the R8 radio. The ergonomics does not bother me at all since I have a few stations I like to listen to and I don't tune up and down for hours. I had my R8 serviced and fully restored to like new, so... here we go.
There is nothing bad I can say about my R8. I really like the silky smooth optical encoder and medal tuning knob. The syc detector locks and stays locked every time even on faint signals. I really like the large display, it gives me all the information I need. The AGC works wonderfully on mine, as well as the Passband and all other functions. The audio is suburb ( I have mine hooked up to 2 six inch speakers). Adjacent channel interference, selectivity is very very good. It is a quiet receiver as well, I can pull in stations just above the noise level. Sensitivity is outstanding!! The R8 is still a top notch classic performing radio after all these years.
There have been a lot of reviews over the years about the mode and bandwidth buttons, the construction and others. I feel that is the opinion of the person who is using it. It's performance under the cover that matters when you get down to it. The R8 does not disappoint in that area. Like I said, as for me, none of the ergonomics matters at all. I do use mine with the remote control that was offered at the time. It makes everything easy to tune from across the room.
My R8 is operationally solid. It works like brand new. It's almost in mint condition cosmetically as well. I used to own a R8A back in the late 90s, but had to sell it when I moved. Got a real good deal on my R8 and I don't feel like I downgraded at all. In fact, I prefer the R8 now that I have used one. If you can find a R8 in good working order, I would not hesitate to buy it. You won't be sorry.