Ever since I worked on my first NAD 1020 preamp, I have always wondered if it was possible to build a 3020 integrated out of one? From initial appearances, the circuit board in the 1020 looks to be the same as the 3020, just without any of the power amp components fitted. But as I found out, not all 1020 preamps are suitable candidates for this modification. The 1020B model has all the holes drilled in the PCB, but turn it over and you'll see there are no copper tracks under the power amp section. The 1020A is the same. None of this applies to the "i" and "e" models, these are significantly different to the earlier ones.
So why modify a 1020 to make a 3020, why not just buy a 3020? Well, unless you can find a bargain at a Goodwill, Thrift Store or yard sale, most 3020 amps sell for close to $200, or more. For that money, you'll still be getting 35 year old electrolytic caps that weren't any fancy name brand to begin with. Contrast this to 1020 preamps, which at the time of writing, you could still find for less than $100, non-working units sometimes for less than $50. Since you'll be replacing a bunch of caps anyway, why not start afresh? I'm not saying this is the most economically viable way of getting into vintage NAD amplification, but if you like a challenge and you're itching to get soldering on your next project, this thread might be for you.
So for this recipe, you will need :
1) A 1020 preamp.
2) Components to build the power amp section.
3) A heatsink.
4) A power transformer.
5) Some other small items from parts units.
The last three items are the hard to find ones. It is possible to drill your own heatsink, I did it myself once before using nothing but a piece of angle aluminum, "clamped" in the grooves of a picnic table and drilled with a hand drill. The power transformer on the other hand is uniquely NAD. It features twin secondaries, one for the preamp stage (and parts of the power amp), and the other to feed the final couple of stages of the power amp. You could in theory just use a single secondary transformer, but you might lose some of the benefits of the dual secondary design.
But help is on hand in the form of the NAD 7020 receiver, which has the 3020 amp and 7020 tuner combined into one chassis. Like the 1020 preamp, parts 7020 receivers can be purchased for around $50. You might ask the next question, why not just rebuild the 7020 in the first place, you get a free tuner in with the deal? Why not indeed! Nothing is stopping you from rebuilding either the 1020 preamp as purely a preamp, or restoring the 7020 receiver you bought for parts. This thread is about using a parts 1020 and 7020, and using them to make a 3020.
Here goes...
So why modify a 1020 to make a 3020, why not just buy a 3020? Well, unless you can find a bargain at a Goodwill, Thrift Store or yard sale, most 3020 amps sell for close to $200, or more. For that money, you'll still be getting 35 year old electrolytic caps that weren't any fancy name brand to begin with. Contrast this to 1020 preamps, which at the time of writing, you could still find for less than $100, non-working units sometimes for less than $50. Since you'll be replacing a bunch of caps anyway, why not start afresh? I'm not saying this is the most economically viable way of getting into vintage NAD amplification, but if you like a challenge and you're itching to get soldering on your next project, this thread might be for you.
So for this recipe, you will need :
1) A 1020 preamp.
2) Components to build the power amp section.
3) A heatsink.
4) A power transformer.
5) Some other small items from parts units.
The last three items are the hard to find ones. It is possible to drill your own heatsink, I did it myself once before using nothing but a piece of angle aluminum, "clamped" in the grooves of a picnic table and drilled with a hand drill. The power transformer on the other hand is uniquely NAD. It features twin secondaries, one for the preamp stage (and parts of the power amp), and the other to feed the final couple of stages of the power amp. You could in theory just use a single secondary transformer, but you might lose some of the benefits of the dual secondary design.
But help is on hand in the form of the NAD 7020 receiver, which has the 3020 amp and 7020 tuner combined into one chassis. Like the 1020 preamp, parts 7020 receivers can be purchased for around $50. You might ask the next question, why not just rebuild the 7020 in the first place, you get a free tuner in with the deal? Why not indeed! Nothing is stopping you from rebuilding either the 1020 preamp as purely a preamp, or restoring the 7020 receiver you bought for parts. This thread is about using a parts 1020 and 7020, and using them to make a 3020.
Here goes...
Last edited: