Probably because it is old, defective and nothing special to them. Repairing is expensive and who wants audio these days within you have the latest and greatest smart phone to play music so....
To be honest... I would not blink an eye and recycle it as well 🙂
To be honest... I would not blink an eye and recycle it as well 🙂
All good intentions aside, there are many cheap amplifier boards that sound better with less scratchy switches and potentiometers and no caps to replace. Cheaper than repairing too.
I reused quite some amplifier casings for such boards. When one cuts an aluminum front cover and glues it to the old one a nice new device is born.
I reused quite some amplifier casings for such boards. When one cuts an aluminum front cover and glues it to the old one a nice new device is born.
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for some bits of kit i might agree, but the 3130 was one of the best(IMO) amp's NAD made in that era, and provided the front cover is in good condition, the rest is worth saving
great amps these.
lots of people are buying vintage kit these days because the is evidence to suggest they actualy sound better that some of the new kit being produced.
BTW i dont include everything in that statement, becuase im a great beliver you get what you pay for, and there is some great(new kit) out there
i personaly prefer an analogue sound over digital, but thats just me.
maybe its because im old 😉
great amps these.
lots of people are buying vintage kit these days because the is evidence to suggest they actualy sound better that some of the new kit being produced.
BTW i dont include everything in that statement, becuase im a great beliver you get what you pay for, and there is some great(new kit) out there
i personaly prefer an analogue sound over digital, but thats just me.
maybe its because im old 😉
Ha ha 🙂 I use digital for the same reason. As small as possible with old fashioned industrial look when it is a DIY device.
It is normal, most people go back or look back at a certain age in nostalgia/melancholy. For some reason I am in the group that is the exception. Hey as long as everyone is having fun all is good.
It is normal, most people go back or look back at a certain age in nostalgia/melancholy. For some reason I am in the group that is the exception. Hey as long as everyone is having fun all is good.
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At the shop, I had to determine the service validity to some of the "butchered by the customer" items that came through the door.
Naturally, those resulted in a more costly repair/restoration.
I'm not one to turn down jobs, but I do "draw the line" at times.
Naturally, those resulted in a more costly repair/restoration.
I'm not one to turn down jobs, but I do "draw the line" at times.
I dont do it for buisness or profit realy just because I enjoy it, and take satisfaction putting a good product back out there👍
poundy,: I enjoy your posts and I'm on your side. I can't trash / recycle nor put these units into a landfill.
Keep on doing what you do.
I was able to get a NAD 3155 a year or so ago from ebay. Terrible condition, similar to this 3130.
A little bit of TLC and wow, what great performing amp.
--joe
Keep on doing what you do.
I was able to get a NAD 3155 a year or so ago from ebay. Terrible condition, similar to this 3130.
A little bit of TLC and wow, what great performing amp.
--joe
At least it's an honest wreck, meaning that there's no attempt to conceal the aborted repair. You can see by the way the goop was plastered on that Mr Fixit was inexperienced and unlikely to know the problems with sourcing the right type of 2N3055 output transistor (i.e. hometaxial as opposed to epitaxial process). There is a way around NAD's obsolete tech. problem that enables us to use present day, epitaxial type transistors but there are already a number of threads detailing the procedure which involves inserting emitter resistors. I know this works reliably to stabilise the bias current but I'm not convinced that you get near to the same original NAD 3020 type sound quality.
Out of this comes the advice to take great care with your old NADs - never turn them up like there's no tomorrow or there won't be one for an amplifier which no longer delivers its reputed sound quality.
I
Out of this comes the advice to take great care with your old NADs - never turn them up like there's no tomorrow or there won't be one for an amplifier which no longer delivers its reputed sound quality.
I
Yeah, the story of my life. Especially if something came in that was butchered to and past the point multiple other problems and damage have been introduced aside from the actual problem, which may have been minor to start with.
Some people regard these little NAD amps as collectible museum pieces, which they aren't IMO. Good value for money back when they were new? - Yes, but definitely not something in the league of a Pioneer Spec tape deck or Revox open reel machine.
The other issue is parts availability, which can be the most frustrating thing these days with all the cheap Chinese counterfeit transistors flooding the world, making it so hard to distinguish NOS parts. Good luck finding replacement spec power transistors that don't need extra compensation to get rid of the mystery hf overshoot ringing, which many "parts swapper" techs don't know about. The people who professionally restore these old stereo components are dying off and the knowledge is getting lost with them. Now its just mainly chip amps and class D stuff from ebay, which I can respect for its simplicity and practicality but its not on par with the older higher current linear supply class AB stuff. I genuinely go after the vintage stuff that sounded exceptionally good, not just compared to its original selling price.
I can agree with you about the basic quality/reliability of those NAD units, I've had enough of them in the shop through the years, they never excited me.
Although, I'm sure, there's a following that will praise them, like McIntosh stuff, another brand that never really turned me on.
I've been through enough brands through the decades to make a person's head spin.
And for some reason, I always enjoyed the Panasonic/Technics products, which is currently my main system.
And.... I keep a pristine (and lightly modded) Harman Kardon 330A around too - for a lower-powered receiver it sure fools even seasoned audiophiles.
Bottom line, it's not always about price vs quality.
Everyone has their own personal preferences and I always appreciate that. Would be a boring world if everyone agreed with each other all the time. Great comments guys👍
I've seen many of those NAD boards fried like that - repaired many.
That's another reason that I've not been thrilled with that brand.
Technics baby!.... that's my favorite.
Each to thier own, personally from a sound perspective technics are way down there at the bottom, but it depends what speakers you have, with what amp, and it's personal preference.i never liked the dull, flat sound of thier amps, but that was just me.
As you say, to each his own.
However, I suppose you're not too elightened as to Technics specs and build quality.
They've produced some very nice equipment.