Nad 3020

[admin_exported]

Hi, I have a Nad 3020 which I have huge sentimental attachment to. I bought it secondhand from money I received from my parents for turning 21, some years ago.

The volume crackles when I turn the volume, and now a channel doesn't work. Because of the history, I want to restore it to full glory. Is it best to take it to a Nad dealer or to any independent repairer? I am based in Mid Kent.

From the same hi-fi shop I bought some Mission speakers. Not floorstanders, but still big beasts. I paid £50 for the amp and £40 for the speakers. The cone is ripped, and also wondered the best way to get these restored? The speakers are in my parent's loft, and had the main cone above the tweeter. They are really really big by today's standards.

 

[nads]

TBH it is a NAD dealer to start with. I had the same problem with my 3130 and ended up replacing it with a new one.

 

[Jitter]

I had a 3020 recently which had the same crackle, not really a problem unless you keep changing the volume

The channel is more of a problem.

But may well be repairable.

You could also buy a new one. I find Steve's HiFi in Hastings to be very honest.

http://www.steveshifi.co.uk/used-hifi-amplifiers-5.html

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

Guys, thanks for the tips. I'm near A21, so the Hastings idea looks promising.

Out of interest, I did some searching for info on fixing and modding 3020 amps. It turns out the build quality inside was appalling. One guy who worked in hi-fi in the 70s and 80s said the return rate was 40%. Another guy quoted 70% based on observation.

There may be issues with the board and one person said that the old phenolic boards are prone to degradation.

On the upside, any 3020 which survived the first year tended to be a very reliable little amp. On for hand may be cuff-links would have been a better 21st birthday present, but I think the memory of me auditioning in the shop with my mate; negotiating price and carrying the stuff back to halls nearly 20 years ago is compensation enough

I need to find out about fixing those speaker, because they had the retro look today.

 

[the record spot]

Just noticed this; I bought a brand new 3020A in 1986, the first had one duff channel - no sound out the speaker at all. The speakers were fine, so the amp went back. Replacement was good, and still is, 23 years later.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a 3020e from about 1986 and it works fine. I have recently done a gentle hoover of the insides to get dust out.

 

[the record spot]

Great thing about this amp was the power-amp option - one of the few budget amps of the day (and maybe even still at the sub-£200 price point?) that permitted this addition.