gzman71

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Since selling my C320bee i searched for better amps going by reviews in magazines only to realise i loved that nad sound!
My previous amp was a musical fidelity x-80 which was powerful and clear,heaps of detail but was missing something?
This is the 3020b model, i can't seem to find much info on the models but this one has banana terminals.
Was unsure about this amp considering the age,but that all went out the window once i hooked it up!
i have the new monitor audio br2's and marantz cd6002 and the sound is so sweet yet powerful....yes even with rock and dance music,i have tried so many cd's and they all sound choice!!!
can't wait to get an old turntable and get the records out.
only $250.00 serviced off ebay....thanks bloke!
i have since brought a nad 5420 cd player and this sounds just as good as the marantz.
i couldn't even get a decent phono stage for $200 so getting this amp for $250 and cd player for $100 just makes me wonder what else is out there.
I can't honestly say between this and the new c320bee isn't that much,maybe more power and reliabilty, i had mine for 5 yrs and never had a problem.
THANKS NAD!!.........p.s. i love the look of it!

desertnad787

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $120.00 from Ebay

Summary:
Bought this NAD 3020A on ebay for £120 about 1 1/2 months
ago probs one of the best buy's ever on audio ive bought so far
:)

Strengths:
Clear sound
Not to bulky
Easy to clean
Good power output

Weaknesses:
Buttons some times come off but stuck them on now
using some pva glue

sqlsavior

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00

Summary:
In 1979, while on a visit to NYC, I stopped in a high-end audio shop to hear what the big city had to offer. An accomodating salesman played me some jazz recorded live in some Swedish club, he said. The speakers were Quad electrostatics, and the sound was (and is to this day) some of the best and most lifelike that I have ever heard. I could close my eyes and listen to people eating
and talking all around me. (The jazz was nice, too :)

When the salesman showed me that these famous $3000 speakers were being driven by a 20 watt, $200 integrated amp, I was absolutely astounded. Later, I read several magazine reviews and they were unanamous - this little NAD was a giant-killer, putting many multi-thousand-dollar separates to shame.
So, when my wonderful little JSH pre-amp finally bit the dust a couple of years later, I bought an NAD 3020 new, and I have had it ever since.

Funny thing is, I had done most of my critical , comparative listening before that purchase, not enough to claim to have "golden ears", but enough to personally experience the real differences in sound clarity, not just in speakers, but in electronics too. Consequently, I can't really say whether the NAD 3020 is better or worse than this or that newer piece. I am sure of one thing though - there are lots of poor-to-mediocre-sounding electronics out there, and after 27 years, the NAD 3020 is still a baseline reference standard, and I will never part with mine.

For people who have receivers, this is an excellent piece for conducting an inexpensive experiment to learn something about yourself and your system. Replace your receiver with the NAD 3020 and listen to some familiar albums or CDs, carefully. If you do not hear detail that is new to you, then either:

A) You have a damn fine receiver already!
- or -
B) Your source and/or speakers are really, really, really awful.
- or -
C) You have "tin ears" and needn't bother with the whole audiophile business...

Cheers :)

Strengths:
Open, detailed, transparent sound.

Excellent phono section (the hardest thing to do well), plus pre-out/amp-in jacks make it a good way to try "vinyl" and hear what all the fuss is about.

More power than the conservative 20 watt rating.

Handles 4-ohm or complex speaker loads, no problem.

Weaknesses:
Will not compensate for poor recordings, harsh CDs, or limitations of other components. This is not really a weakness in my opinion, but some people seem to need mellow, "warm" amplification to make harsh CDs listenable.

Similar Products Used:
Old Pioneer and Kenwood receivers and integrated amps.
JSH, Apt-Holman, Outlaw, Rotel, and Hafler pre-amps.
Dynaco, Marantz, Rotel, and Hafler power amps.

Eric Liu

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.67 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $180.00

Summary:
I've got this a NAD 3020A few months back. it's coupled with a mordaun short satelite speaker and NAD 510 CD player as source. The sound is nature and wide. Furthermore, this baby need some burn in time let say 20 minutes. Obviously, one could tell the the sound is getting smoother, warmer the longer it plays. Despitely, my unit needs some minor servicing. The left channel will get the signal first as the volume is turned a little bit up than the right channel. Nevertheless, as a normal listenning, it has no problem but sound great. Forgive it for the minor problem. :) Some say the looks doesn't look nice but it looks simple and profession, my opinion. It satisfies me and it's great to me. won't be upgrading another amplifier unless i can go for high end equipment. Finally, thanks for the designer and this baby is brilliant.

Strengths:
sound nature, wide

Weaknesses:
none,

Price Paid:  $180.00

Summary:
I've got this a NAD 3020A few months back. it's coupled with a mordaun short satelite speaker and NAD 510 CD player as source. The sound is nature and wide. Furthermore, this baby need some burn in time let say 20 minutes. Obviously, one could tell the the sound is getting smoother, warmer the longer it plays. Despitely, my unit needs some minor servicing. The left channel will get the signal first as the volume is turned a little bit up than the right channel. Nevertheless, as a normal listenning, it has no problem but sound great. Forgive it for the minor problem. :) Some say the looks doesn't look nice but it looks simple and profession, my opinion. It satisfies me and it's great to me. won't be upgrading another amplifier unless i can go for high end equipment. Finally, thanks for the designer and this baby is brilliant.

Strengths:
sound nature, wide

Weaknesses:
none,