NAD 302 Integrated Amplifiers

NAD 302 Integrated Amplifiers 

DESCRIPTION

25 Watt Integrated Amplifier (1993-1995)

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 21  
[Sep 30, 2023]
polboron


Strength:

Music has moved on and vinyl has given way to digital formats and still, I am happy and when I crank it up, my neighbours are not!

Weakness:

None so far. www.learnparkournow.com/

OVERALL
RATING
5
[Feb 06, 2023]
powerless277


Strength:

Rich and laid back. Took the edges off usually glaring recordings from GRP. Great vocals and a relatively large sounstage. Bass is authoritative, weighty and controlled. Made me think I was listening to a much larger amp of 150 wpc. Springfield Onsite Truck Repair

Weakness:

None . .

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Sep 19, 2016]
Jarvis
AudioPhile

The NAD 302 integrated includes what is possibly the best preamp that NAD has ever created. It is insane how good this cheap looking, grey, plastic facia unit sounds. I have used it with all of my power amps and I was left speechless...! Try and think of a really good preamp. Now A-B it with the 302 used as a preamp. The 302 will most certainly sound better. I would bet money on that. If you find one, buy it! On the other hand, if used as an integrated, it is a very respectable and good quality choice for a small room or a bedroom, but just that.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 23, 2016]
Chris
AudioPhile

The 23 yo NAD 302 amazed me as a pre amp,. It is severly undervalued. I would like to give it 6 stars if I can.

I use this NAD 302 as preamp in the middle of other much higher priced equipments, even my power filter,cables are 5~10 times priced of this NAD, but this NAD sounds just AMAZING in the system. I have never had such a pleasing experience in 30 years hifi experience. The sound stage is wide and super deep, music instruments sound very live as if you can touch them. The sound is very open, transparent, clean, and balanced.

Speaker: B&W Matrix 801 s2,
Power amp: MOON w5.3r
CD player: MOON equinox
Interconnect Cable: Cardas Golden Reference, Cosmic Audio Flex

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 18, 2014]
rob
AudioPhile

After not being at all impressed with Cambridge Azure 351 and the Rotel RA-04 SE (which had far too much treble) , I decided to take a risk on an ancient amp as a stop gap till I can afford one in the £600 price range. I opted to snap up an old NAD 3020i for 70 pounds that is in mint condition and recently serviced. Astonishing sound quality for an amp of this age and tech and far better than my previous two amps where the vocals seemed to get lost. This 3020i has a beautifully warm sound and perfectly geared for vinyl which I've just recently got back into following years of tinny sounding CDs. I'm using a Project Essential deck and blasting it out of a pair of Dynaudio DM 2/6 speakers. I highly recommend anyone to get one of these old Nads and can't see myself ever selling my unit.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 11, 2011]
Jon Braithwaite
Audio Enthusiast

I think I have had this amp for almost 20 years now. It has been in large rooms, small rooms with big speakers and small and has never, never failed to please! I have a pair of Gale Reference monitors that it is currently hooked up to and the sound is powerful and clean. Bass isn't phenomenal but is exactly where I would expect it to be. Not boomy and not too light. Perfect. I have previously used it with a pair of AE109's and it performed well but is best mated to the Gales which are from the same era. Music has moved on and vinyl has given way to digital formats and still, I am happy and when I crank it up, my neighbours are not! A cracking piece of kit that has more than earned its keep.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 04, 2009]
Crowbar1963
Audio Enthusiast

The Nad 302 has exceptional 3d quality to acoustic sounds (vocals included)in particular, and therefore seems above its price bracket in its time.
I'm running old equipment around it. B&W Dm560 speakers, Rotel rcd965bx with improved code reader, Cambridge Audio Azur 640T DAB radio and It has seemed that the common issue of finding what best suits is, Though minorly so, of benefit. I would suggest Speakers with a 3-way crossover are likely well suited.
It gives a comfort like vynal and almost valve like smoothness in sound thats clean and easy to percieve, but for newer rock guitar tracks? I have heared better ( Rotel RA-04) because a clinical middleness presents.
You can probably tell that the sharp/brighter mixes of todays current trend isn't for me And I strongly feel its a lazy way to create clarity in some speaker builds,
but if you value a fairly nuetral and near flat Frequency spread so you might hear the mix a classic studio engineer actually intended it? Then you can take this Amp seriously, and have very good quality for small money.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 16, 2003]
Leong
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Full power to drive my Mordaunt Short MS90 modified crossover as well. Ease of

Weakness:

Where there is weaknesses i will eliminate it, either on the cables or the internal components.

My first amplifier was 3020i, it was the first introduction to me into high fidelity, when i got my hands onto this 302, i was astounded that what improvements it has made thru the years. after listening to about 2 years. I got my hands into modifying this amp, by increasing the power supply capacitance to more than 50 thousand micro farads "EACH CHANNELS", the bass tend to be more more boomy on my Mordaunt Shorts, but i have my control on the bass knob. This is a well define amplifier after my 3020i, i am able to push the limits of this little 302. i had the ceramic capacitor replace with polypropylene capacitor and the internal wires replace with QED Qudos, with the AC cord replace with Merlin type cable, this star can jump. I have change 3 CD players to suit this amp, the first was the Philips 692, the sound was pretty harsh, makes me want to stay away from the system. The second was a Sony CDP-990, the sound was very warmth, makes me wants to rush home every day to run thru every disk i have, and my third is a Philips 951. This player makes me want to keep buying new CDs

Similar Products Used:

Audiolab 8000a, NAD 3020i

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 18, 2003]
utsur
AudioPhile

Strength:

cheap, clear sound, will sound great on small speakers.

Weakness:

low power - he worked good with my small JPW speakers, but was terrible on my big AE it just didn't have the power to give a decent bass. The sound is a little dry, but if you just beginning your audio life it'll be enough.

This amp is a very basic amp. my first mistake is that i got in love with my first time i listen that i didn't check other products. He's cheep and give very good value for the money but has a dry sound and low power. he also looks very professional for his price and with nad you know that they wouldn't let you down.

Similar Products Used:

if you don't have the money you can easily start with this one but i recommend to replace him as soon as you can just try new amp (even a new nad) and you'll here the diference, and don't let him near

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Mar 21, 2003]
Razak William
AudioPhile

Strength:

Reliable, fuss-free, clean sounding. One of the last great NAD amps with phono input. You can't really go wrong with NAD, can you?

Weakness:

Not enough grunt to push my Krix Superbrixes. Phono stage is dodgy I think. There seems to be more sound coming out of the right channel!!

I upgraded to the 302 from a 3020i. Mistake! As good as the 302 is, I missed the 3020i's poise and presentation. Plus the 3020i had a mono button (very useful if you have a large collection of mono records) and a low-level switch.

Similar Products Used:

NAD 3020i

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 1-10 of 21  

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