Tape Trail: REVIEW: Tandberg TCD-3014A Tapedeck by Braxus

Model:	TCD-3014A
Category:	Tapedeck
Suggested Retail Price:	$unknown
Description:	Their best cassette deck ever, and possibly THE best consumer cassette deck ever made.
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by Braxus on January 25, 2011 at 20:27:50
IP Address: 208.99.158.108 Add Your Review
for the TCD-3014A

I've had my deck for about 4 months now, though I've owned it for much longer. It was rebuilt by a Tandberg tech in the U.S.A. When I received it- it still had some issues that cropped up which meant I had to send it out for servicing a couple more times. These decks are finicky to repair it seems. I've been told these decks are not the most reliable units made, as they can be in the repair shop a lot. That said some people who own these decks don't have issues with it, so it depends on who repairs it and if your deck is a good one or not.

On to the deck itself. The sound quality I've heard from this deck is probably the best I've ever heard. The treble on this deck is so defined and sharp sounding, it makes my later deck sound slightly dull or boring. It works very well with UX-Pro tapes and metal tapes. Speaking of metals- this deck does not fully erase them. It will only erase down to a certain level. Two passes of erasure are needed to fully get rid of any signal on the tape. Im told this is common on this deck. I record my tapes with Dolby Off and the hiss isn't too intrusive on this deck. There is hiss in the playback section even when no tape is playing. I like the tape calibration features on this deck. They are easy to set and do work, though my deck still needs to get aligned so the source level is the same to what is going on to the tape. Azimuth control also works, though the meters don't move as much as I'd expect for the minute adjustments made. Its hard to know exactly where dead center is for azimuth. I tried recording type 3 tapes on this deck, and though it does record onto them- the sound isn't true to the source. So leave type 3 tapes off this deck. I found the midrange dropped out quite a bit when using type 3 tapes on this deck. The logic controls work well. The rewind and fast forward are blazingly fast on this deck. The headphone section in this deck is excellent. Its the only deck I have that will power- power hungry AKG 702 headphones. It really gets them going with some good volume and the quality of music is also excellent. Any other deck and those headphones aren't loud enough.

Back to sound quality. The subtlies in a recording do come out on this deck. I've recorded from a CD and some CDs the treble can be a bit edgy. This quality came right through to the tape even, so this Tandberg is true to the source. I'm told by quite a few people this deck will slay a Nak Dragon in sound quality, or any Nak for that matter. This is one reason many call this deck the Dragon killer. The bass from this deck is fuller then any cassette I've ever heard before. It compares to what reel to reel can do. This deck will give reel to reel a run for its money. Depth in the music is also there. Everyone that has heard this deck says it makes excellent recordings. The sound can be neutral in character, but full range for sure. Many say this deck doesn't have very good specs for the price range this deck is in. Well- its the sound quality you get from this deck that matter, and not the specs themselves. My stereo shop seller used to try and tell me specs don't matter- sound quality does. And this is where this deck shines.

So if you can put up with a finicky nature in these decks, its worth grabbing. They fetch some really good money on the used market these days. This is probably one of the best cassette decks ever made. Period.

Product Weakness:	Can be in repair shop too often. Parts are hard to get if not impossible
Product Strengths:	Excellent sound quality and high build quality. Top 3 tapes decks ever made.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Rotel RB 1070
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Rotel RC 995
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Sony 930 Minidisc as D/A converter for CD player connected to it
Speakers: AKG 702 headphones
Cables/Interconnects: Radio Shack cables
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Classical, Rock
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Rotel RB 1070
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Rotel RC 995
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Sony 930 Minidisc as D/A converter for CD player connected to it
Speakers:	AKG 702 headphones
Cables/Interconnects:	Radio Shack cables
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classical, Rock
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner