A serious question -- Is there a magic to 1" 8 track?
If so, I would think it's because this was the first real "large format" recorder (double the previous number of tracks). So there is some nostalgia as those machines made a huge difference in recording technique and mixing possibilities.
But we quickly went to 16 and 24 so there must not be too much magic... Sixteen still had essentially the same track width, S/N and crosstalk. Twenty-four tracks is where we took a hit in quality.
I once owned a Scully 280 four track because that is what I could afford. I would have loved to have an 8 track, which I probably would have sold for a 16.
Barry