Nad 3020

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I have a Nad 3020 amp (getting quite old now!) and wondered how it compares with the modern amps?

What sort of money would I have to spend to notice a significant improvement?

Thanks for any help

 

[Anonymous]

It's not a bad amp, I personally found it a bit dull and better on vinyl than CD, it may be worth keeping it as I don't find nothing under £500 that would offer a significant worthwhile improvement. Whats the rest of your gear?

 

[gregory]

my first proper amp and sorely missed.i am in the process of looking for a 2nd hand one for my bedroom and maybe to play about with in my main system.silly is right about it sounding good on vinyl as it boasts both mm and mc inputs,i cant comment on cd quality as i never tried it with one but i'm a vinyl man so thats the reason why but i would have thought it sounds quite nice.a very good amp much better i feel than the cambridge's of today and quite a few others.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Gregory, the NAD 3020 was my first proper amp (circa 1979) and it's still going strong! I found this thread because I am considering buying a more modern amp - assuming that 30 years of technological development must surely give huge improvements even at relatively low prices (eg. Cambridge Audio 640a v2, Marantz PM6002 or NAD C315BEE). Unfortunately I live in the wilds so it is difficult to arrange to audition the kit. I would be interested to know how much you think I might need to spend to improve upon the still impressive 3020. Did you ever get that NAD for the bedroom? Mine might be up for sale if I'm not persuaded to hang on to it!

 

[Anonymous]

It depends what your listening requirements are. If you have hard to drive speakers, a large room or listen at loud volumes then yes, better amps are around nowadays. If you have easy to drive speakers in a small room and listen at low to moderate volumes - and you're on a budget - there isn't anything around sub-£200 (new) that will better it IMO. As others have said, it has a fairly decent phono stage inbuilt so they go particularly well within a little vinyl system. As with most NAD products, you either love them or hate them. Most people who slate the 3020 don't like the NAD sound full-stop. It's a good amp and for the price they go for these days, a veritable steal (if in good working order). I have a boxed one in the attic that I will never part with!

 

[Anonymous]

Funnily enough, i took delivery this week of the vnew nad c355 bee, to replace my much loved 3020i. i agree with most of the previous comments. the c355 has a modern interpretation of the nad house sound, what has been of huge difference though is the amount of detail the c355 digs up versus the 3020i, which has been a revelation, also having a remote has been a welcome addition. on the negative side the c355 is very ugly black box imo, has too many led's when in operation and also doesnt come in the traditional nad 'green' and timeless design, aesthetics i know, but important when weighing everything up.

i certainly wont be selling my 3020i on yet.......

 

[nads]

Where did the Green Square on button go? fergs how does the beresford dac compare to the built in one in the 542?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="fergs"]Funnily enough, i took delivery this week of the vnew nad c355 bee, to replace my much loved 3020i. i agree with most of the previous comments. the c355 has a modern interpretation of the nad house sound, what has been of huge difference though is the amount of detail the c355 digs up versus the 3020i, which has been a revelation, also having a remote has been a welcome addition. on the negative side the c355 is very ugly black box imo, has too many led's when in operation and also doesnt come in the traditional nad 'green' and timeless design, aesthetics i know, but important when weighing everything up.

i certainly wont be selling my 3020i on yet.......[/quote]

The C355 is a £400 amp though, so comparing it to the 3020 is a bit harsh. ;-)

 

[Anonymous]

i cant comment on the technical diffs, only that the beresford digs up more detail particularly with percussion, gives more spacial vocal delivery and generally feels like it gives a more 'atmospheric' presentation of the signal....

 

[Anonymous]

Is that the TC-7510?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Hughes123"]Is that the TC-7510?[/quote]

yes it is

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice, food for thought. My aged 3020 is driving an equally ancient pair of Mordaunt Short Festivals. The combination still gives a warm room filling sound, vocals and accoustic guitar are clear and precise. The low end was always slightly warm and 'muddy' and I think that may have become marginally worse. My kit also spent a fair chunk of it's mid-life packed lovingly in it's original boxes in the attic - the resurrection has been a real eye (ear?) opener, I'd forgotten how good it was. Which, paradoxically, got me thinking about finding something even better.....

 

[a91gti]

Just a thought but given the age of your system i wonder what cabling you have. Having read a few posts on here may i suggest with some trepidation trying some up to date interconnects and speaker cable? This may freshen the sound for you while saving money and retaining the 3020.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey taxiboy, have you been looking through my window? 🙂 The cabling and interconnects ARE long overdue for updating and I will certainly try that first. The speaker cable is particularly low-spec so hopefully a relatively cheap upgrade will help Van Morrison sound young again! My recently aquired Cambridge Audio 640C has made a big difference already. This sound quality issue is so subjective, I would love to hear a very expensive rig just to know how much better things could be. All I know for sure is that digging out the 30 year old NAD and MS Festivals and adding a decent budget CD deck is filling my room with clear, rich complex and vibrant sounds that the £400 Sony all-in-one system I bought five years ago never got halfway close to. Thanks for your help - and yes, I am sorely tempted to hang onto the 3020.

 

[paddyb]

Just seen a 3020B in a charity shop which is being sold along with other separetes as a job lot for £100. This includes a pair of Celeston DL4's which I can use, but I'm not interested in the other stuff. As they still go for £70-£80- on ebay, it seems like a fair offer and I'm tempted to try building a new system round it including a turntable and a laptop/DAC for digital music. It will be driving a pair of Dali Zensor 3's.

Can anyone venture a guess as to how this would compare soundwise to my Marantz MCR603 and to What Hifi's budget amp of choice the Marantz PM6005.?

 

[paddyb]

I've made them an offer of £70 (I'm breaking it down as £40 for the NAD, £10 for the speakers, £10 for the nice wooden Hi Fi rack that it comes with (which I can use) and £10 for the other components that may or may not come in useful at some point. The turntable and tuner are faulty and aren't included in their pricing. However, they've told me that someone else is coming in tomorrow to have a look who is also only interested in the amp, so I might get outbid.

How much would you say I'd need to spend on a modern amp to get something of similar quality (sound wise, not features)?

 

[TrevC]

I've made them an offer of £70 (I'm breaking it down as £40 for the NAD, £10 for the speakers, £10 for the nice wooden Hi Fi rack that it comes with (which I can use) and £10 for the other components that may or may not come in useful at some point. The turntable and tuner are faulty and aren't included in their pricing. However, they've told me that someone else is coming in tomorrow to have a look who is also only interested in the amp, so I might get outbid.

How much would you say I'd need to spend on a modern amp to get something of similar quality (sound wise, not features)?

About £80, looking at Richer Sounds Cambridge.

 

[paddyb]

About £80, looking at Richer Sounds Cambridge.

So not even as good as the cheapest modern amp. I get the impression that its a little more capable than that?

 

[nopiano]

About £80, looking at Richer Sounds Cambridge.

So not even as good as the cheapest modern amp. I get the impression that its a little more capable than that?

I never owned one, but I sold literally hundreds. They were great with cheap, efficient speakers, as they were mellow and didn't clip (and sounded better with the soft clipping switched off). At the age now, it could be facing imminent failure, or carry on for another decade! It might have a crackly volume, noisy phono stage, or worse. The selector buttons used to ping off (nothing a dab of glue can't fix) so make sure you have them all.

I shows there is little depreciation for good hifi though, and a contemporary Pioneer turntable bought for £50 might fetch double that!

 

[paddyb]

It's got a reserved sign on it now, so looks like irs been sold. It's piqued my curiosity though. I'm interested to hear what it sounds like, so I might try and get a reconditioned one on ebay.