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.

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.

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 :)

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

Great phono stage, great pre-amp (with pre-amp out, power amp in connections), very conservatively rated in power, able to drive low-impedance speakers.

Above all, crystal-clear sound. Just has the right stuff.

Very economical, and an inexpensive education.

Other people mention button, switch and connector problems, but mine has been fine. Wish it had an input for low-output moving-coil cartridges.

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 $5000 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 will be my reference standard as I rebuild a great-sounding system again.

Similar Products Used:

Worked in several audio stores in late 70s/early 80s, heard lots of equipment of that vintage, in all price ranges, from Pioneer, Technics, etc. to G.A.S. Ampzilla.

sound nature, wide

none,

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.

sound nature, wide

none,

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.

Clear, warm, does a nice job of handling just aboput any genre.

Nothing really, plastic push buttons keep popping off, I have since fixed that with a little crazy glue.

In 1980 I was in need of a budget system when my audiofile friend in N.Y. suggested I got the NAD 3020 with matching tuner. Never having heard of NAD, I had him buy it for me. A wonderfull little amp is all I can say, I've got it driving a pair of DCM TimeWindows with a AudioPro B-250 sub. Clear, warm, real. I still have the system, with no plans for replacing it. I have dragged it with me all over the Caribbean with me to lend some class to my once nomadic life style and it's still glitch free. It now has a permanent home and still sounds like the day I took it out of the box.

Clear, warm, does a nice job of handling just aboput any genre.

Nothing really, plastic push buttons keep popping off, I have since fixed that with a little crazy glue.

In 1980 I was in need of a budget system when my audiofile friend in N.Y. suggested I got the NAD 3020 with matching tuner. Never having heard of NAD, I had him buy it for me. A wonderfull little amp is all I can say, I've got it driving a pair of DCM TimeWindows with a AudioPro B-250 sub. Clear, warm, real. I still have the system, with no plans for replacing it. I have dragged it with me all over the Caribbean with me to lend some class to my once nomadic life style and it's still glitch free. It now has a permanent home and still sounds like the day I took it out of the box.

Excellent, natural sound that will let you enjoy your music and make you stop wondering about how your amp does sound like.
Power much more than the rated 35Watts
Has current and can drive demanding 4 Ohm speakers
It never sounds hard, whatever limitations this model has does not insult your ears!

Concerning the price and the category none. Just a limitation at the sound pressure levels you can create and sometimes, with big speakers, the bass could be a little deeper. But still, it will never make you feel like something is bothering you.

I own my NAD 3020B since 1987. It was part from my first real HiFi system, with a NAD turntable, NAD tape deck & latter a Sony 16bit CD player. The speakers that the NAD had to drive, were the Audio Spectrum S-37 (I guess not very famous outside Greece but that does not mean that they are not excellent speakers). These speakers were demanding in current, and I tend to believe that NAD 3020B was the ONLY 2x35 Watt RMS amp that could drive them properly. The 3020B had the red led power indicators, loudness, pre amp out, power amp in (with and without filtering), soft clipping & speaker impedance switch. The sound is ABSOLUTELY great even compared to more expensive units & the power feels like it is more than the 35 Watts. I strongly recommend it as an integrated amp or as a simple pre amp, I don't think that you could get a better sound at this category.
Don't underestimate it, deserves good source & speakers.

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I couldn't find something better. When I upgraded my system, I totally changed category with pre power amps and bi amping.

The best budget product of all times, bare none!

None, if you like the looks.

I have just bought a 3020A in absolute mint condition. I have wanted one of these for years an finally got one! I am using it as a second set up in my bedroom with a Sony cd player (ES) and Tannoy Fusion 1 speakers. This seems to be a perfect match. The set up is simply playing music as it should be. The bass is deep and vell controlled, with a beautiful midrange and treble. The 20 watts is more than enough to fill a medium sized bedroom. I have had no problems with this amp except the usual wroomf when you turn the amp on ( this is the case for all early models of this amp...). This amp will stay with me for the rest of my life and i hope my son can use it too when i'm gone. If you wonder if the hype is true, go get one if you can. You will never regret.

way more power than stated. great phono stage.

tweeky little push buttons that usually break off.

Ive owned a few of these 3020's and i dont know why i keep coming back to them until i got back into vinyl. i traded some items for this little beauty and it was recapped etc so its like new and i have to say that its going to be around for some time to come. as i run mostly vintage items in my systems i cant see going to higher priced preamps for my needs. a great bang for the buck and there a quite a few of them out their and they are easy to get fixed if anything may go wrong with them.
as for power it just keeps it coming, no need for these so called huge amps (although some do look nice) this amp puts out way more than the stated 20 watts. with headroom that will fill any size room with good authority more like a 100 watter in my opinion. deffinate keeper...

Simple and straight forward.

Could use an extra input.

I bought my 3020 over 25 yrs ago. It has outlasted 2 wives and several homes. I am waiting for the thing to die so I can spend some money on some sexy new gear that likely won't sound half as good. I use mine as a pre-amp for my NAD 2140 amp bought at the same time. Originally had Bose 501's until I got some real speakers, CELEF CL1's. Now using Klipsch KG5.5's, could use a little more power but I think I may just upgrade some cabling. Possibly the best value for the money of any electronic device I have ever purchased.

Similar Products Used:

4020A tuner