Tandberg 3014 Cassette Deck S/N 65200426 Restored to Perfection!

The Tandberg TCD 3014 is one of the most iconic cassette decks ever made. It is often referred to as the “Dragon Slayer,” a reference to its famous contemporary, the Nakamichi Dragon. Unlike the Dragon, of which more than 30,000 units were reportedly produced, the 3014 is considerably rarer. Production estimates place the total at less than 4,000 units, making surviving examples, especially properly restored ones, extremely difficult to find. The 3014 represents the peak of Tandberg’s cassette deck engineering and Norwegian manufacturing. Its sophisticated transport, three-head design, extensive tape calibration controls, Actilinear recording circuitry, and Dyneq system made it one of the most technically ambitious cassette decks ever. Unfortunately, machines of this complexity do not age gracefully without significant attention. Many surviving examples now require extensive mechanical and electronic restoration, if you can find the parts for them. This deck was completely rebuilt in 2025 by Perry Esposito of Virginia, USA, one of the most well-respected technicians in the high-end vintage cassette decks world. The restoration included: Replacement of all electrolytic capacitors with high-quality modern components from manufacturers including Nichicon and Elna. Testing of semiconductor devices, with replacement where necessary. Complete rebuilding, servicing, lubrication, and alignment of the transport mechanism. Deep cleaning and treatment of switches, potentiometers, and controls. Full electronic calibration and alignment using precision test equipment and reference calibration tapes. The result is a 3014 in exceptional operating condition and mind-blowing sound quality. Performance following the restoration has been confirmed to exceed factory specifications. Cosmetically, the deck is in very good condition for its age, with only minor imperfections visible in the high-resolution photographs. One cosmetic defect is that the upper-right retaining clip of the head cover is damaged, so the cover does not sit fully tight against the front panel. This does not affect operation. There is also one known minor operational issue. On occasion, the internal 315 Hz calibration oscillator does not start immediately and must be re-engaged. This behavior is demonstrated in our YouTube video. It does not affect playback or normal recording operation. The oscillator is used during tape calibration, and once the deck has been calibrated for a particular tape formulation, re-calibration is generally unnecessary when using tapes with similar characteristics. All other functions operate correctly. The deck will be carefully packed, insured, and shipped for free within the continental United States. We provide a 30-day functional warranty on this deck. In the event of a warranty claim, return shipping is the buyer’s responsibility and will be reimbursed if the issue is determined to be covered under the warranty. Please review the high-resolution photographs and the YouTube demonstration video for a detailed look at both the cosmetic condition and operation of this deck. Serious inquiries are welcome, and we are happy to provide additional photographs or information upon request.