Clarity, simplicity, makes my bookshelf speakers sing with lots of power to spare. Had it fixed twice for small repairs. I’ll keep this baby for a long time. Guy at the repair shop agrees that this amp is a steal and he sees everything.

Runs slightly hot but works fine with proper ventilation.

This was my first ever component of true "Hi Fi". I was utterly blown away, haveing only previously experienced boom boxes. Initially it was paired with Goodmans Maxim 2 loudspeakers and a Philips CD630 player, then a Linn Basik / Akito / K9 turntable and Cyrus 781 standmounted speakers.

Sadly the amp was stolen after 7 years of ownership. I have since bought Cyrus amplifiers, and I can only compare it to these and a few other NAD amps I demod. My impressions were that the phono stage was excellent, better than either my late model Cyrus One or III, and possibly the match of my dedicated Creek head amp. The 3020i certainly sounded drier and less musical and the 3225PE (whilst undeniably powerful) less subtle.

Via digital sources the midrange was sweet, although it never quite had the same speed and attack of the Cyrus amps, or the drive for rock, certainly nowhere as revealing as the Cyrus III although maybe more tolerant of poorer sources. The NAD was a much easier and more relaxing listen than either of them and I still miss it!

The NAD 3130 was the first amp I ever bought as a student in 1987 on Tottenham Court Road. I've pretty much used it non-stop since then and it has never let me down in 22 years - ever ! It was the best sounding amp I could afford at the time (I preferred it to the similarly priced Rotel - can't remember the model) and it has certainly provided me with value for money.

It is a sweet little amp and I've listned to a variety of generes over the years, my favourite being classical and jazz. I have no complaints about the phono stage and paired it with a Rega Planar 2 turntable (wish I had kept it). Its original CD partner was a Denon DCD-610 which finally gave up the ghost last weekend after having a new laser transplant about 4 years ago - I'm looking to replace it with a NAD C545BEE. The original pair of Acoustic Research AR122 bookshelfs were replaced last year with some B&W 685s, and I think the combination sound superb.

Strengths:
Reliable - well this one has proved to be.
Highly versitile.
Great value for money - it may have been pricey for a student in 87' but worth every penny given its long service.

Weakness:
Can't think of any, I hope to keep it for another 20 years!

Good all around performance with a cracking good MC phono section for the price.
Fairly well built provided that you did not get a unit which suffered from quality control problems. NAD has been known to grow a lemon or two now and then.

At a price of $106.50 delivered, none that I can detect thus far.

I just received the NAD 3130 and rrunning it through its paces as I type this terse review. It's untimidating to look at by audiophile standards. NAD's standard grey casework offering a very utliitarian appearance. Nothing fancy, yet in its own way a sense of quiet elegance.

I purchased this unit to give my Linn Classik a breather, as well at the tube amplifiers which I use during the cooler months of the year here (I live in the Northeastern part of the United States).

I can already tell you that the 3130 matches up quite well with my late model Linn Kan V speakers. And that is has a better than average phono stage for an integrated which probably sold new in the mid 1980's for roughly $300.

Like Rega, Linn and many other hi-end audio companies, in the modern day NAD has managed to keep its components affordable through more creative manufacturing methods -- however, I have a strong suspicion that the 3130 is constructed better than anything which NAD currently builds within this respective price range (roughly $600 taking into account inflation).

From my recollection the NAD 3130 stands up quite well next to the Naim Nait 1, 2 and 3 series integrated's that I've owned in the past and a fraction of their cost -- even used. Have you seen the prices of used Naim Nait 2's on Ebay lately?

They regularly sell for between $700 and $800, given their cult following.

And while the later iterations may in fact be a tad more articulate in the midrange,
the Nait 2 is certainly not worth ten times the price of the 3130 -- especially when you consider that the NAD has 10 watts more per channel and the addition of a darn good moving coil phono section (along with its moving magnet section).

Simply put, the 3130 has my Systemdek IIX (equipped with Sumiko Blue Point Special MC cartridge) singing at the present moment.

If your a vinyl junkie who wants great sound without going broke, and leaving with you plenty of moolah left to buy vinyl consider this.

The Systemdek, NAD 3130 and Linn Kan V's cost me a total of $1031.50 delivered. In this day and age many phono cartridges cost more than this.

While I could continue to write about how sweet this little NAD is, it would take away from my listening time. So I'll just close by saying that as long as you get
a 3130 that was built by someone at the factory who was careful about what he doing, you may have yourself a unit which will outlast you.

However, NAD has been as much known for spotty quality control as it has for good sounding affordable equipment. So caveat emptor.

Happy listening!

Jim

Similar Products Used:

Linn Classik CD Reciever