I'd take the Euro outlook on the early vs. later series differences with a grain of salt. Personally I think it speaks to a regional lean towards warmer sonics which is fine but the later pieces are IMO more accurate and not at all harsh or clinical in the process. I absolutely do not favor cap-coupled output stages over direct-coupled designs personally, but again I think there's a rose-colored mystique to some of that stuff from early days.
The kicker for me is that the 1000-series and related models from that era are all at an age where you can almost count on degraded signal path and other performance issues, which tends to be less of an issue as you get into the later 2000-series and the 3000-series & 4000-series components. They're also much less tech-friendly and since I do my own repairs/restorations, that matters to me.
As to the RIAA preferences, it's a well-established story with credible people posting about it (including here on AK) and I won't try to argue it, but I've got no issues with the 2080 and my 3000-series pieces in that department.
I do own a few units from further back: TA300 integrated, TR 200 receiver, an old Solvsuper in a small cabinet with built-in speakers, and a TR 1020 but I would not pick any of those as a first choice for listening to daily. My 2080 and 3000-series systems get the nod for that.
Because of my bias towards the newer series, I am a littler weak on the chronology prior to that (I got interested in Tandberg around the time the TR 2075 MkII was being sold) but here are some basics (this will be US-centric so not going to try and cover the Huldra and Solvsuper models):
- Smallest cabinet/earlier: TR200, TR220 (including some larger 220 models with built-in cassette or turntable e.g. TR220 GC)
- Slightly larger cabinet/followed the TR 2xx stuff with some overlap: 1000-series: TR 1000, 1010, 1020, 1020A, 1040 (A and P variants), 1055. The TR 1055 is likely the best of these IMO, but it is not single-ended/cap-coupled as are some of the earlier/smaller models in that list.
- First-gen TR 20xx series: started in 1975 with the launch of the TR 2075 flagship, sold as "three components in one" message, i.e. you did not have to give up component-level performance when you bought a 2075. That first series also included ther TR 2025 and TR 2055. They can be distinguished by the knobs having deeper/square fluting and inset black pointers.
- Gen 2 TR 20xx: 2075 is replaced by the 2075 MkII which incorporates numerous internal improvements made to the 2075 design over its production lifespan. New version of 2025 and 2055 are offered and a new model called the TR 2040 complete that series, which sees the older knob type replaced with a clear-anodized satin finish knob with shallower scalloped fluting. It was being exposed to the TR 2075 MkII in 1976 which turned me into a diehard Tandberg enhusiast (hence my avatar).
- Gen 3 TR 20xx: blue displays are gone, replaced by amber. This was down to changing out the blue acrylic panel for a smoked gray/brown panel and similar change to the back panel colors for the two tuning meters. 2025 is replaced by 2030, 2040 is replaced by 2045, 2055 is replaced by 2060. The 2025 to 2030 and 2040 to 2045 changes are largely cosmetic and slight uptick in power rating. 2055 to 2060 is more drastic: they added AM to the 2060 (only model other than the three flagship models to have AM) and it went in the smaller chassis that the 2025/2030/2040/2045 all share. Also got pushbutton tuning. I've had an acquaintance that designed audiophile gear for a living lavish praise on the 2060, said it was the most accurate/neutral receiver from that era he had ever heard. Doesn't seem like the 2060 gets that level of respect in terms of market value, though. Top of the line for this generation was the 2080 which launched in 1977/78 timeframe and continued in production through the introduction of the 3000-series.
- There is one later receiver model, the TPR 3080A (Tandberg Programmable Receiver). It has the cosmetics of the later 3000-series with black anodized aluminum fascia and cabinet, and grayish satin-finish knobs. Kind of a cool piece, but rare and sonically I think a step back from the 2080/2075 MkII.
John