NAD 3020 Appreciation Thread

Pretty much my findings too. I replaced my NAD 3020i with funnily enough, a Kenwood 3020se, which is another budget model from the nineties. The phono stage isn't up to much, other than that I much prefer it to the NAD. I use it with a Slee Gram amp 2 phone stage.

 

Sigh. I miss my 3020. Had it from my last year in college for more than 20 years before it crapped out in the mid -1990s. Afterwards, I tried a Yamaha and now have a Marantz PM7200, which I like a lot. But I still have a soft spot for that little 3020.

 

For sure. Those are crippling the sound. Realistic is the bottom end of mid-fi (I had owned some in the 70s and 80s) and SAE I remember from back then also, with decent sound but not too remarkable.

Oh how I would like to have a 3020 just as a spare room system. It is hard to find a good, clean and refreshed 3020 today however. If they are the price is insanity, doubled.

 

A couple years or so ago, I was looking through some old The Absolute Sound magazines. I read an article on NAD 3020. I think the NAD 3020 was pretty new when the article was written. It had already created quite a positive stir in the audio press.

The TAS article was about trying to get to the bottom of the fact that there was a lot of credible positive reviews and some credible negative reviews. (I was not aware of negative things being said about the NAD 3020 other than that quoted in that article.) The jest of it was that there was a fair amount of variation in the sound between individual examples. Mostly good but some stinkers.

TAS had the 3020 on their Recommended Components in the Beer Budget section. Then they started stating that only the preamp portion was recommended. They revised (down) the amplifier section. They had high praise for the phono preamp for the price.

Then last year, I read an article in one of the UK magazines about the history of the NAD 3020. Big selling amplifier, very popular with the press. NAD made variations on it, a preamp only model, one without tone controls and some others that I don't recall the details of. NAD did not have much success with these because everyone knew the name NAD 3020 and wanted that exact model.

Just some random memories from magazine articles. I have had an interest in these because it is such an iconic amplifier.

 

The 3020 was featured in the TV series "Humans" on CH4 (UK) last night. In the family living room.

 

I usually see them go for $200-$250 or so. I lucked out and got mine for like $150!

 

Bought one when it first came out. An astounding piece of audio history.

 

Still working?

 

Sorry, I don't still have it but fondly remember its prowess and performance. One of the great audio buys of all time.

 

Yesterday I decided to give my Pioneer A-400 a break from full time duties and hooked up the 3020b. What a great sound! Not as insightful or clear as the Pioneer, but much groovier! It has a lovely earthy sound to it and lots of rhythm!

 

I just received a rehabbed 3020A last week that I bought from Leesonic over on Audiokarma. What a great amp--it's been on pretty much non-stop whenever I've been at home.

 

The 3020 phono stage was designed by my old boss Tom Holman, it's topographically pretty much the same as the one in the Apt/Holman preamp.

 

Any recommendations on which power amp to pair the 3020 with?

 

Anyone compared the old 3020 with the new one (you know, that looks like a wifi router)?

 

Had this amp. Loved this amp. Loved it's phono stage.
Pretty much the budget solid state amplifier in my books.

 

I had the 1020 preamp for a while paired with a Harmon Kardon amp. A very nice combination. I bought a 3020 a number of years ago out of curiosity and found it underwhelming to my more experienced ears, but I understand the appeal of it.

John K.

 

As a young twenty-something back in the 80's my NAD 3020 & four Wharfedale speakers rocked my world. Great amp that I regret parting with & I would definitely snap one up to take a trip down memory lane...

 

I just use an SAE TWO P10 power amp and I think it works great. You can get them pretty cheap on eBay in great condition. I'm sure there are better ones out there, but I inherited the amp, so I can't really complain.

 

Anyone have any notion how the 3020 might compare with the modern-day C 316BEE amp?

 

I pair my 3020 with a same-vintage Nikko Alpha II, which powers the woofers on my Linn Sara 9s. Sounds wonderful, for not much coin (I scored my NAD at a thrift shop for $69).
Also, I recommend the LAB setting for the preamp-to-amp connection. Much better range. But if your records are bad or the turntable is not totally isolated- BEWARE!

 

How did you power 4 speakers with it? Two wires in each binding post, or an external speaker switch?

 

Four 8-ohm speakers in series-parallel.

 

So the 2nd left speaker connected at the 1st left speaker's binding posts?

 

I understand they are connected in parallel, I'm just curious where the connection takes place. Only because I sometimes ponder where/how I would connect 4 or more speakers to my 3020.