Roland TR-08

This unit, although it appears to be faithful to the original, didn't quite live up to my expectations.
In my view, it's a specialist (boutique) unit which seeks to recreate the original 808 unit and does have its (albeit limited) uses; unless you're Kanye West of course, then you can base a million-selling album on it.
It is a fun unit and has an air of nostalgia about it but if you want a simple drum machine to create beats, this isn't the one. It is more of a complementary unit to have around when you want a different intro or middle 8.
Also, I do find that you have to invest a fair amount of time getting to know the unit. This may be a deliberate nod to the original but I think the settings could have been made a bit more user-friendly as, after all, it's about the sound as opposed to the functionality of the unit that brings the appeal.
In summary, this unit is slightly complicated to navigate and is a bit of a One Trick Pony, but that makes sense as it is marketed as such. Don't expect to exercise complete control over it straight out of the box but if you invest some time getting to know it, you could be on to a winner.

I had a 808 and have both the TR-8s and Tr-08
If you search a 808 sounds + same programming the tr-08 is the best choice it looks like it and sounds amazing connected on a analog desk with a decent eq its fat ! the 08 have small potis .but they send midi cc out ..perfect for control a vst or midi samplers)
the basdrum long decay is good, , theres some good extra options to tune the kick (not possible on the real 808) and a compressor and even the tr-8s have way more posibilities, sounds & samples separate outputs .. the little 08 wins , it sounds better connected to my mixing desk, listening on adam speakers. a analog extra kick output would have been nice .but a plus is it have a trigger out.. . This boutiques are rarely used as only drumbox .. its part of a collection..

This little boutique version of the TR-808 manages to nail the sound very closely indeed. I didn't have an original to do a side-by-side comparison, but if you're interested by the unit you'll find decent critical reviews from folks like Sound on Sound have done exactly that and found that it's very close indeed. For me, it's certainly close enough to be worth spending a tenth of the price of a used 808 :-D
In terms of handling, you're somewhat at the mercy of the 808's original workflow – which is not entirely intuitive. It's taken me a few hours to get my head around the procedure for mapping out beats and then stringing them together. But the unit has the definite virtue of minimal menu-diving (it's basically only some of the more esoteric settings and effects that are hidden in menus), and the one-control-per-function vibe makes programming pretty easy once you have the hang of things.
The "manual" is an A3 sheet with the basics printed on it, which feels a bit cost-cutting (a little booklet would have been much nicer), and I wish it had a proper PSU rather than just batteries or USB power. But those minigripes aside, I'm really liking it :-)

The finest piece of a classic sound. All the familiar sounds from 808.
Technically superior it has multichannel separate outputs through USB for all its drums. Also there is an internal speaker but dont expect much of him.
Handling is slightly hard because of quiet little knobs but mostly very intuitive to use even if you did never face a drum machine at all. Full of very needed features, but lacks effects, which you can see on e.g. TR-06.

Metal body and really good moving details makes you confident in its quality.
Overall look is very nice, all the people who see it on your table experiencing a wow effect.
Also can be used as a simple sound card :)

This is my first drum machine and I have had limited experience with drum machines in the past.

The build quality of the TR-08 is fantastic and the machine itself is easy to use. The machine comes with detailed instructions on how to use it. I found the device easy to use.

The sound quality of the machine is great and it has a wide variety of sounds that can be used. The tone of each sound (bass drum, snare, hi-hats etc...) can be altered to suit your preference.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and I am having a lot of fun creating my own beats.