My Experience - NAD 3020i paired with the NAD 412 Stereo Tuner

[Record Player]

Ladies & Gentlemen Ive been pending my ownership review on my NAD 3020i Stereo Integrated Amplifier which I acquired a few months ago as well as the recently acquired NAD 412 AM/FM Tuner.

So here goes

NAD 3020i Stereo Integrated Amplifier with an inbuilt PhonoStage 1981 Model

Lets start with the NAD 3020i. Did you know that the number 20 is supposed to be an exquisite/magic number tagged to a lot of good sounding HiFi amplifiers! The NAD 3020i is built to sound like a High Quality Amplifier with fantastic driving abilities and with a sound in a league of its own. It has achieved fantastic reviews. Came at a very affordable price as well. I think this Amplifier started getting manufactured around the late 70s and became one of the most sold and sort after. Claims power of about 30watts at 8 Ohms with a very well designed PhonoStage. Pairs really well with my Akai TurnTable and my NAD 412 Tuner (shall get to the tuner later in this review). The build quality is like a Tank!

Ive read a lot on ownership reviews of the NAD from our fellow HFV members as well and really wondered how my own experience will be. Well the NAD definitely exceeded my expectations! This was one of those amplifiers that clearly the NADs identity stood out when I played it first with my TT. It sounded very warm with the mid-range being clear and detailed. The bass specifically sounded very warm and now I could relate to what warm bass meant . Just the way I like it. I then paired it to my basic Onida CD Player and the results were very pleasing. I can image what a nice dedicated CD Transport like a Marantz CDP would sound. I also noticed that once the Amplifier warms up a bit, its sounds even more incredible. The NAD has a great build quality and I like the simplicity in its aesthetics. Looks wonderful on my Rack. I also ensure I take very good care of this piece of history. This is my very short review on my experience from a laymans point of view.

Conclusion Best thing that ever happened to me with the introduction to the NADs. The 3020i sounds natural and incredibly sweet. Courtesy my friend and mentor ReubenSM.

NAD 412 Stereo AM/FM Tuner 1994 Model

Im an avid music listener and I was patiently waiting to acquire a good AM/FM Tuner to pair with my NAD 3020i. I got me hands on an extremely well maintained NAD 412 Tuner. This NAD has evolved from the award winning 402 tuner. The 412 out-performs many tuners that cost far more. Employing high quality components in it's simple circuit topology give the unit the noise free, low distortion performance that have made NAD tuners famous. Only the most essential functions are employed resulting in an uncluttered front panel of a product that is simple to use.

Unboxed the NAD and it clearly lived up to its build reputation. Again looks fantastic on my Rack. I quickly paired this with the 3020i. I dint have an antenna available at that point and I thought let me just power it up and see what happens. I manually tuned it to 91.9FM Radio Indigo and thats it, I was in complete awe for the next 2 days. Clearly lives up to its reputation of a natural sounding tuner. It sounded way better that my Denon AVR FM. I dint require an antenna as the place I stay in Bangalore has very strong FM reception. However for some weak FM stations, I used a DIY antenna method. I used a 3feet cable used for Cable Connections and connected one end of the cable to an Antenna jack and then to the Tuner and the other end cut bare kept as straight as possible. This has worked well. This NAD 412 Tuner has a fantastic crystal oscillator controlled digital frequency synthesis for precise tuning. One unique feature I noticed on this Tuner is when listening to weak stations sometimes the background noise can become annoying and spoil the listeners enjoyment of the programme. The BLEND function reduces this noise whist still retaining adequate stereo separation. NAD link is provided, enabling the 412 to be remotely controlled by another NAD product that is also fitted with NAD link and which has an IR sensor.

Conclusion A fantastic and remarkable natural sounding NAD tuner. Very simple to use and I strongly recommend the NAD Tuners to anybody looking for a good performance tuner. Again courtesy my friend and mentor ReubenSM.

Some Photos for Reference:

 

[reubensm]

Hey, thanks for considering me your friend and mentor. I always try to relate with and talk only about equipment that I have owned, heard or experienced (operated) and give an opinion as honest as possible (by honest, i mean, as neutral as possible, as being a person on a predominantly rock and metal staple, my listening taste/style is usually coloured). Must say that you have a really good looking rack and equipment is in great condition. Some legends on your rack as well. But where are the speakers? Would have been nice if you could include a picture of the Jamo speakers too. See some heavy cabling behind the rack, are these for the speakers? Great looking rack, is that your cd player, on the shelf closest to the floor?

On another note, the 3020 amp features on the list of the 10 most significant amplifiers of all time.

 

[gobble]

Must say that you have a really good looking rack and equipment is in great condition.

Good thing the OP is not a lady. "Nice racks! ... Tweeeeet!"

Is the new 421 tuner as good as the old one?
i suppose even the c325 is not as good as the 3020. Why do new product revisions degrade over iterations rather than improve?

--G0bble

 

[Record Player]

Hey, thanks for considering me your friend and mentor. I always try to relate with and talk only about equipment that I have owned, heard or experienced (operated) and give an opinion as honest as possible (by honest, i mean, as neutral as possible, as being a person on a predominantly rock and metal staple, my listening taste/style is usually coloured). Must say that you have a really good looking rack and equipment is in great condition. Some legends on your rack as well. But where are the speakers? Would have been nice if you could include a picture of the Jamo speakers too. See some heavy cabling behind the rack, are these for the speakers? Great looking rack, is that your cd player, on the shelf closest to the floor?

On another note, the 3020 amp features on the list of the 10 most significant amplifiers of all time.

My pleasure Reuben and thank you for the compliments.

The reason I din't include the speakers is because I have an L shaped setup. I cant accomodate them both in the front side due to space constraints. Plus I din't have my wide angle lens available to capture them both in a single shot. I shot these with a 50mm lens and believe you me, I struggled. You can notice a certain amount of shake in the shots . Now the cabling, infact that's just tube wire concealers. Kep the interconnects concealed seperately and the power cords concealed seperately. And yes, the last shelf holds my basic Atom Onida CD Player, a custom A/B Speaker switch and a Belkin Surge Protector. Ive placed the Servo Controlled Stabilizer seperately. I intend to use that shelf later for a Marantz CD Transport.

Cheers...

 

[reubensm]

Good thing the OP is not a lady. "Nice racks! ... Tweeeeet!"

Is the new 421 tuner as good as the old one?
i suppose even the c325 is not as good as the 3020. Why do new product revisions degrade over iterations rather than improve?

--G0bble

:clapping: good one!!

regarding the tuner, NAD had stated that the 412 is the updated version of the 402, predominantly with a more robust enclosure, better buttons and switches and of course, a more modern looking display (the 402 has old fashioned thick lettering on the display). The 402 also had a chronic problem with the display back-light burning out quite often, which NAD apparently addressed in the 412. The electronics is basically the same. I have the 402 and have listened extensively to the 412 as well on the same setup. Could not note any difference in reception quality and sound quality. The 402 has a grey plastic face plate which has been changed in the 412.

My opinion regarding sound degradation over iterations in NADs is true to some extent. The older NADs definitely sound better than the newer ones. That's the reason why my brother and I have not upgraded our NADs. My brother uses the 3020A and the C320. The 3020A sounds more warm and pleasant while the C320 sounds more modern with a tad lower mid range. There is a noticeable difference. To me, the NAD 106 preamp sounded better than the 3020's preamp stage and thats why I let our NAD 1020A preamp (the preamp version of the 3020A), go.

 

[reubensm]

My pleasure Reuben and thank you for the compliments.

The reason I din't include the speakers is because I have an L shaped setup. I cant accomodate them both in the front side due to space constraints. Plus I din't have my wide angle lens available to capture them both in a single shot. I shot these with a 50mm lens and believe you me, I struggled. You can notice a certain amount of shake in the shots . Now the cabling, infact that's just tube wire concealers. Kep the interconnects concealed seperately and the power cords concealed seperately. And yes, the last shelf holds my basic Atom Onida CD Player, a custom A/B Speaker switch and a Belkin Surge Protector. Ive placed the Servo Controlled Stabilizer seperately. I intend to use that shelf later for a Marantz CD Transport.

Cheers...

I too have an L-shaped setup in my music hall (new home). Shall post some pictures after I get a good rack.

My opinion is to go for a full-fledged cd player rather than a transport and DAC. You can try DACs at a later point. Make a start with a good CD player. A ground rule in audio is as you go upward in terms of upgrades, the noticeable difference in sound quality becomes extremely marginal, this to such an extent that only an expert can tell the difference. Also when we get used to listening to something really good, it would be hard to match or beat it with an upgrade unless you get something really good (and expensive).

NAD cd players are more warm and neutral but often plagued with transport problems (especially the older NAD CDPs). Also a lot of the older NAD CDPs do not play CD-Rs so you'll need to have a good collection of original CDs. Marantz cd players are a tad brighter than NAD. Going by the advise of our forum member flanker, my brother got a Marantz CD63 MKII player. When I heard it, I was so impressed that I got myself the Marantz CD63 Second Edition cd player which is considered by many to be one of Marantz's best ever budget cd players. The issue with Marantz cdps is that the laser transport tends to blow out fast but it is easily replaceable (usually Philips). Of the newer Marantz cd players, the CD 6003 is the most sort after.

If you are looking for a robust machine that will play anything thrown at it and last for a long long time, the best way to go is in the direction of an el-cheapo sony DVD player. It will play any format, including files from USB drives. However the pleasure of listening to a Marantz cd player is something different in its own right. A stand alone CD player is always better than a DVD player, anyday.

 

[Record Player]

I too have an L-shaped setup in my music hall (new home). Shall post some pictures after I get a good rack.

My opinion is to go for a full-fledged cd player rather than a transport and DAC. You can try DACs at a later point. Make a start with a good CD player. A ground rule in audio is as you go upward in terms of upgrades, the noticeable difference in sound quality becomes extremely marginal, this to such an extent that only an expert can tell the difference. Also when we get used to listening to something really good, it would be hard to match or beat it with an upgrade unless you get something really good (and expensive).

NAD cd players are more warm and neutral but often plagued with transport problems (especially the older NAD CDPs). Also a lot of the older NAD CDPs do not play CD-Rs so you'll need to have a good collection of original CDs. Marantz cd players are a tad brighter than NAD. Going by the advise of our forum member flanker, my brother got a Marantz CD63 MKII player. When I heard it, I was so impressed that I got myself the Marantz CD63 Second Edition cd player which is considered by many to be one of Marantz's best ever budget cd players. The issue with Marantz cdps is that the laser transport tends to blow out fast but it is easily replaceable (usually Philips). Of the newer Marantz cd players, the CD 6003 is the most sort after.

If you are looking for a robust machine that will play anything thrown at it and last for a long long time, the best way to go is in the direction of an el-cheapo sony DVD player. It will play any format, including files from USB drives. However the pleasure of listening to a Marantz cd player is something different in its own right. A stand alone CD player is always better than a DVD player, anyday.

Excellent Reuben. Looking forward to the Photos.

Yes, I will wait and acquire a good full-fledged Marantz CD player. Ive seen an old Marantz CD57. Needs some repair. Belt needs to be replaced and stuff. Howz this rated?

Cheers...

 

[reubensm]

The Marantz CD57 and CD67 were not so highly rated as the CD63 SE. Folks say that the best in the range is the CD63 KI Signature but I have not heard this one. The CD 63 MKII is also a good player (my brother uses this version). Gurus swear by the CD94, however this model is extremely hard to find and very expensive in the pre-used market. Of the current range, the CD6003 has received rave reviews. If you buy an old Marantz CD 63 series cdp, budget another Rs.1000 for a new laser transport, even if the player is in working condition. You could probably ask the person selling it to you, to give you a Rs.1000 discount. I liked the sound of the Marantz CD63 SE better than the NADs. Guess its because it is brighter and more aggressive, in tune with my listening taste.

 

[Record Player]

The Marantz CD57 and CD67 were not so highly rated as the CD63 SE. Folks say that the best in the range is the CD63 KI Signature but I have not heard this one. The CD 63 MKII is also a good player (my brother uses this version). Gurus swear by the CD94, however this model is extremely hard to find and very expensive in the pre-used market. Of the current range, the CD6003 has received rave reviews. If you buy an old Marantz CD 63 series cdp, budget another Rs.1000 for a new laser transport, even if the player is in working condition. You could probably ask the person selling it to you, to give you a Rs.1000 discount. I liked the sound of the Marantz CD63 SE better than the NADs. Guess its because it is brighter and more aggressive, in tune with my listening taste.

Thanks Reuben. This was really helpful.

Cheers...