The Conn 8d is a great horn! I tired a Yamaha 667 and a Farkas Holton. The horns are close in ease of playing, but after switching back and forth between the three, I chose the 8d for its sound and feel. It's a pleasure to play, soft or loud! Just an added recommendation. If you REALLY want this horn to come alive and do a happy dance, go for a Denis Wick heavy top 5N mouthpiece! This mouthpiece puts all the air to the bell, so whatever sound or feeling you want at the moment, the horn is right there with you! Awesome!

It is my favorite horn yet.I am. Only in highschool but m sound quality and tone have improved darstically m mom is very advanced sounds ten times better on his horn I had a newer conn from school but it wasn't even close on the quality. Mine is on great shape and is one of those horns that someone kept in a closet. I did however cost about three thousand more hen any of the other horns we were looking at but I will never need another horn again not at I would choose to anyway

The Elkhart Conn has been used a lot in Los Angeles and in the studio. I think the Conn ranks superior up with the Alexander 103 (depending on what your playing). The newer Conn's (basically NOT the Elkhart, M, or 900,000 series) are no where in match to the older ones unfortunately. If you are a serious horn player and would like to buy a horn, the older Conn is definItely worth the trouble to find.

Elkhart Conn 8d's are very free-blowing, a quality that makes them easy to play. They naturally have a dark tone, but can play with a bright tone when it is necessary. This is a wonderful instrument for anyone to play. I've tried other brands, old an new, but none can match my perfectly free blowing Elkhart Conn 8d.

I'm in High School and I just switched to an old, beat-up 8D with holes in the bell but I love it. It definitely beats out my old Holton H178 in volume and it's much easier to play than my 6D. It's a great all-around horn and I would definitely recommend it, even if it has been dropped by dozens of high school kids over the decades.

Just about any time you hear a french horn on television, you are listening to a vintage Elkhart 8D. All of Hollywood orchestral music scores were played on this amazing instrument. Think of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, ET and many many other movies that the horn was celebrated. You are listening to an 8D. It's definitely not for a beginner though. It takes skill and air to fill it properly. In the hands of a pro, there's nothing like it.