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What exactly made the old 3020 such a good amplifier? Is the new D3020 much better?
Cheers
Bill
Follow Ups:
I still have a pile of vintage NAD and owned-own a few NAD BEE designs and I would say the new BEE is a large step up over the older amplifiers even after older are returned to spec.
That was a definite clear statement. Thanks.
Cheers
Bill
i would love to hear a good evaluation of the new one vs the old one. i don't expect they will sound the same but expect both to be good value. it would be handy to have a versatile little amp like that around.
...regards...tr
It had a really good phono and high level stage, good enough to be used as a separate preamp. And while it wasn't high power it was able to deliver that power into a reactive speaker load as well as a test resistor and that's often not true even for some very costly amps. And, of course it was not expensive making it a great buy.
Similar in designation (3020) only. The original 3020 was worth its asking price for the phono section alone. The rest of the package was beyond decent especially considering the original asking price. Have never heard the new version, but can't help but think we're dealing with two completely different animals.
It was an inexpensive unit that sounded great for what it was. My father was the original NAD NYC Area sales rep back when they came out.
It had flexibility with the in and out amp option clips, great phono section for moving magnet cartridge and could handle almost all loads from just about any speaker, doubling down with each ohm value all the way to 2 ohms. It had the soft clipping feature which I used and know saved a lot of tweeters in my room.
It was one of my first systems with a Dual 1219 turntable and stereo tech speakers.
As someone mentioned if it has not been updated you will not get the benefits of it.
I also had the 3080 integrated and it was a beast (For back then) mid fi of course.
It was all the rage just like the SPICA TC50 speakers were in the 80's
I actually still have a 7020 which was the same unit except with a tuner as a receiver in my bedroom system driving ADS L910's
I have not heard the new unit so I cannot speak to any comparison.
Both have pot and switch problems. The pots and switches are sealed construction and do not clean easily. One is still in service (amp section only) paired with a not quite so old Adcom preamp in my son's system. The amp sounds great. The 3020 offered a quiet transparent preamp and a robust small amp. It was a little rolled off at the top so it paired well with many west coast sound speakers of the era. A good phono section to boot. The flexibility of preamp out and amp in connections provided a nice upgrade path for young music lovers on their way to audio bliss. A truly great product for $175.
I have no experience with the new 3020D, the original is a hard act to follow, I have some doubts about the reviews comparisons,
I had the Advent Receiver bought for $125 and enjoyed for more than 20 years. A great tuner, outstanding preamp. I used it with a Marantz amp. I read the reviews of the Advent and the NAD 3020 in the TAC in their second issue where PA had liked both a lot, especially the preamp of the Advent. I was wondering if some tests by JA could reveal the secret circuit or component which made them such good amps.
Cheers
Bill
Does the Apt/Holman preamp or THX ring any bells?I've got one of those 300s myself.
Opus 33 1/3
Edits: 07/15/15
I thought Tom also had something to do with the Dolby sound for movies. In any case that preamp brought the best out of my Rogers LS3/5A. It also has the best Bass and Treble controls.
An interesting sidenote. A few months after I bought the Advent in 1978, a handwritten note came in the mail saying the writer had designed an upgrade to preamps which improved the sound of even Advent. Later I found the writer was the famous Paul of PS Audio before he started his company. I kicked myself for not buying it.
Cheers
Bill
Just a word of caution about comparisons, or, about buying old gear used with stars in your eyes.
30-year old equipment that saw lots of use will most likely have wear components like diodes, capacitors, and resistors that have gone out of spec. While they might not be ready to fail, and the failure might not be catastrophic, they are not going to perform as they did when new.
A dealer friend bought at an estate sale an Audio Research golden-age preamp and amp, original cartons and manuals included--IIRC, $500 each.
However, after a few weeks of retro listening, some internal things failed and a tube gave its life to save the fuse... .
Even at dealer discount at a good independent shop, the repair was nearly $700, and on the theory once bitten twice shy, the dealer had the other unit brought back, and so now he has more in them than he can sell them for, which was not his business plan when he bought them.
The arithmetic is even worse for a piece that was under $400 when new.
But, an old NAD integrated should be repairable, it is not a question of surface mount devices... .
People still lavish lots of money on old Advent integrated amps... .
So, that's my two cents.
jm
"most likely have wear components like diodes, capacitors, and resistors that have gone out of spec."
I certainly don't regard modern passives to be "wear components". In general they last about forever, especially the small-signal ones.
Things that DO wear are...
Tubes: Filament life and decreasing cathode emission even if they don't get gassy, microphonic or shorted.
Switches: Wiper contamination, dirty contacts and plating failure.
Fans: Bearings go out.
Connectors: plating failure, surface contamination and wire strand breakage in cables.
Electrolytic capacitors: High ESR if the vent and sealing isn't perfect.
Radio Rick
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