That the 8-track is, and always has been, a superior medium is beyond debate. Nothing brings you closer to the music than the initial "CHUNK" of the tape clicking in, and the sweet, warm hiss of the tape. But, (and I've been saying this to anyone who will listen for a long time now), Iridium infusion is a flawed technology!!! Any one of the Lanthanide series of rare-earth elements beats the pants off of Iridium, hands down.
And let's not forget, Emotiva is using low-quality plastic capstans made in China that negate the effects of the Iridium infusion anyway.
The only way to get true, audiophile 8-track quality is to pony up and play with the big boys. It's gonna take at least 5 figures to get a real audiophile-grade player that allows the 8 track to open up and extract every last detail of music - the way the artist intended for it to be heard.
And for those of you who doubt me....well, it's probably because you've never heard 8-track on a REAL, quality, expensive system like mine!