Anybody familiar with the Tandberg TD 310 Cassette

Actually back in the late 70`s, this was a very good deck- a step below the Naki but probably close in SQ. If I wanted it & KNEW it was in good shape, I wouldn`t hesitate.

I had this exact deck from the late 70s to late 80s. The sound was quite good but it became fussy to maintain speed and with more time, the unit's auto-stop would constantly kick in. I suspected the life of the motor(s) was coming to an end. To have this repaired would have ended up costing more than the less expensive Nakamichi that replaced it.

These units go way back and if the one you seek has anything more than just an occassional use, I would be careful at how much you spend. Anything beyond $100 or so these days for such an old deck really makes little sense. Just my 2 cents.

John

Thanks for the input. The deck is selling for $75 which seems ok. The seller says it only needs a general cleaning plus having the belts refreshed and cleaned (not sure what that means). Maybe I should go for a Nak instead?

I have a Tandberg 440A, I think that is a better choice in terms of quality and reliability.

However, IMO NAKs are hard to beat. I have had several and still own a 550, 480, and 680ZX.

Well I think I'll probably hold off on this Tandberg and keep looking. Thanks again for the comments.

Now I'm looking at a Harman Kardon CD491- anyone know about it?

Get a NAK and be done with it. Everything else is second rate.

Nakamichi decks have one problem: tapes recorded on them will have rolled-off high frequencies when played on other decks, and you may have some dynamic range compression. When played on Nakamichi decks, however, they will be excellent. If you are recording for others, or for your car, or if you don't want to be dependent on always having a Nak, then buy something else.

The Tandberg TCD series are all excellent, and they were for the most part much more robust transports than all Naks other than the 700 and 1000. Until the 420/440, they didn't have quite the high frequency extension of the Nakamichis, but close.

A Harmon Kardon CD491 is a very fine sounding recorder, but in general you can expect recurring electro-machanical problems.

Phil