Chime in.What's the Best Cassette Recorder ever ?

Sometimes, when a lot of people a recommending Nakamichi decks over Tandbergs the best, I wonder how many of them ever heard the TCD 910 (400 build) or the TCD 911 (35-40 build) to reject those decks?

Sometimes I also wonder under what conditions people audition tape decks to make their decisions?

Anyway, when it comes to noise reduction systems, I recommend only to use the double ended ones when tape formulation is low quality and generating unbearable hiss.

Double ended noise reduction systems are e.g. Dolby B, C, S and dbx I, II.

Single ended Noise Reduction Systems such as DNL or HX-Pro (many would define some of them Headroom Expanders) are great in use on all tape formulations and all machines on which they appear. Never make a recording without them.

What you compromise, using Double ended NR systems, such as Dolby B, C or dbx I, II, are parameters like microdynamics, attack, room definition, air around instruments and precision.
These parameters are some of the same you compromise in the digital encoding process to acchieve the "black background" AKA noise free.
This is the reason for liking the analog tape.

In the best Tandberg machines were used technologies such as Dyneq and Actilinear.

Dyneq is dynamic equalization.
HX-Pro was a technology based on Dynamic Bias.
Both systems expand the headroom but as a side effect the better the dynamic range and the S/N ratio.

The Actilinear system is a technique ensuring constant power to the recording head. Circuities ensuring the constant power is not depending on frequencies, a kind of constant power generator where the output power is proportional with the input voltage and where the frequency correction is isolated in another circuit.
It gives better Slew Rate, less Intermodulation, less interferrans with the oscillator for the deleting head and up to 20dB better ability to saturate compared to the tape formulations ever produced.

All in all these were technologies that really had huge influence on the quality of recording.

"dolph"

Let's not forget the peak-reading meters that respond to the post-equalized signal, and a great innovation on the open-reel decks . . . the Cross-Field system, whereby the bias was injected by a separate head on the back side of the tape. The Tandberg approach to tape recording was unique and very innovative . . .

. . . but their pullers were the fussiest things under the sun, and it really is a shame. For the cassette decks, all of those brilliant electronic innovations were at the mercy of the little brushes and commutator in the takeup motor . . . if they weren't in tip-top condition then variations in takeup torque produce so much wow & flutter that who cares how much headroom you have?

But still, I have great admiration for Vebjorn Tandberg . . . whom I understand from those who met him and worked for him, was a brilliant, compassionate, and gracious persion . . . it's a shame that his life ended the way it did (a la James Lansing). May he rest in peace.

Pullers on a close loop double capstan tape transport will not affect wow & Flutter.

At worst it will show up jamming the tape.

If Tandberg machines are used regularly, there will be no maintenance issues.

"dolph"

I worked in a high end shop in SoCal in the mid-'70s. We carried tape decks by Nakamichi, Revox, Teac, Sony, Tandberg. I worked at another shop a little later that carried Hitachi and Dokorder. In-store we had a Nak 1000 (precursor to the Dragon), the 700, the 550, and some of the Tandberg cassette decks (TCD 310?). Tandberg is definitely my first choice. Their decks always had more body to the sound. As I remember things, Nakamichis always sounded like cassette decks; the Tandbergs didn't.

My re-collection of the sound of the Tandbergs is similar to Johhnyb53's. The Tandbergs sounded more full and robust, the least like cassette decks in general.

Aiwa also used to make pretty decent cassette decks back in the 70's. I couldnt afford the Tandberg and settled for the Aiwa for years until it finally died 10 years later. I replaced it with a mid-line Yamaha that I still have and use on rare occasion. It does fine for what I use it for which is on occasion playing old material I still have on cassette and occasionally re-record to CD when needed.