I agree with Tim regarding this tape deck. I got mine new in 1987, and it has worked flawlessly ever since. Just yesterday I played a tape after not using the deck for some time, and was amazed at the sound - it would be difficult to tell the difference between the sound of this deck and a CD, at least for casual listening, and if my experience is typical, you can't beat this kind of reliability. If you need a tape deck and you find one of these, buy it! Especially at $100 or so.

Quality of Recordings, 3-head/3-Motor Design, Elegance of design, Accu-bias feature

None that I can identify

An outstanding piece of stereo gear. I picked this piece up at a pawn shop in nearly mint condition for $35. Yes thirty five dollars. The owner of the shop even had the original owner's manual. My beloved Tandberg was showing increasing signs of being near its final useful days (wouldn't rewind or fast forward anymore), so I gave it to a friend who just had to have it. Tapes were useless to me at this point, since my wife's car has a cd player and my primary transport was a motorcycle. That all changed when I sprung for a Honda Accord EX with a cassette player. I got one of those adapters to play my Discman through it, but found the whole ordeal a royal pain. So while visiting the local thrift store, I picked up a used Sony deck that worked flawlessly. Problem with the Sony, was that I was used to the Tandberg sound. Their was no comparison to the sound of the tapes I had made on the Tandberg. So while visiting a local pawn shop, looking for vintage musical instruments and hifi gear, I spotted the Onkyo. I knew nothing about the Onkyo, but was intrigued by the elegance of the design and features. I new that a 3-head/3-motor deck was no entry level machine. A test at the shop showed all functions to work flawlessly. It played back perfectly, although I couldn't test its record function. When I asked what the owner's best price was on the machine, he asked me what I was willing to pay. I told him $35, and he shocked me by accepting it. He further shocked me by presenting me with the owner's manual.
I hooked it up to my extra Rotel CD player as soon as I got home and started recording. I was blown away by the record quality of this deck. I no longer miss my Tandberg. I think the Onkyo is a superior machine. The sound is at least equal to the sound of the Tandberg, and this machine has many features that the Tandberg lacked. I would stack the Onkyo up against any of my previous machines, including the Naks. Actually, I preferred the Tandberg to my Naks. This Onkyo appears to be rock solidly built. They don't make them like this anymore. This is a quality machine. Highly recommended. Buy one if you can find one.

Similar Products Used:

Various Nakamichis, Akais, Technics, Pioneers, Tandberg 3034