This mixer is probably Yamaha's last venture in 8-buss analog recording consoles. The RM800, introduced in 1996, was never a very big success because Yamaha felt it couldn't compete with Mackie in the analog 8-buss market, and had already shifted their interest towards digital consoles. As a result, the RM800 consoles never were largely promoted and dealers had a hard time selling them.

Despite all of this, the RM800 is a very clean sounding console; I have used other mixing consoles such as the Tascam M-3500, Studiomaster P7, Mackie 24*8, Behringer Eurodesk, etc., and although the RM800 may not be the prettiest of this bunch, it certainly held its own and is indeed one of the quietest consoles I've ever used (the specs say -127dB with 70dB crosstalk separation). I have heard a lot of bad things said about the RM800 both before and after I bought mine, but most of what is said is generally nonsense coming from individuals who have never used one to any considerable extent. For project studio owners who need a console with a lot of inputs and a good degree of flexibility the RM800 is an excellent choice, especially if you are budget conscious; this console currently can be had for less than just about any 4-buss mixer and can do twice as much.