NAD 3020 project with CNC machined front panel

leesonic

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I finally got to work on this project over the past couple of days. I had been meaning to make another 3020 amplifier from a 1020 preamplifier. Since I used all my spare 1020 front panels on other amps that I sold, I had a new front panel CNC machined from blue anodized aluminum. To mount the front panel I just tapped out four of the front sub panel screws with an M3 tap, and used some threaded standoffs.

The circuit board came from a 1020 preamp that I believe I sold to @moosteve and then bought back from him. The power amp has all new components obviously as there wasn't anything there before. Wima films, TDK ceramics, Nichicon electrolytics, 1% metal film resistors, Bournes trimmers, all new transistors including the outputs.

The chassis and transformer came from 3120 that I bought from eBay that arrived with a cracked circuit board. This has the luxury of the 4/8 ohm switch on the back, which far from being a power reduction device, actually runs the supply rails at a higher voltage than the "regular" 3020.

The power meter board was in my box of spares, I added the blue LEDs. Since there were no mounting points on the new front panel, I had to add little strips of steel to the sub-panel, and mount it to that.

The extra circuit board inside is one of my protection circuits. I've upped one of the caps to 220uF which gives a nice long turn-on delay.

I couldn't decide between using the flash or not, so I've uploaded both pics. I also uploaded a video to YouTube. I had the amp running like this for about an hour into those 6x9s with the loudness on and the bass up a little. It got hot, but it was loving it!

:banana:

Lee.

NAD 3020 blue 01.jpg

NAD 3020 blue 02.jpg

NAD 3020 blue 03.jpg

NAD 3020 blue 04.jpg
 
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Awesome, I've been waiting for this.

Well done. Send a picture to NAD- they'd love it.

It reminds me of Metaxas.

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You could get the knobs plated/painted silver and get a stainless top...
 
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Maybe cut some thin felt rings and a square piece to go under the knobs and around the power switch to hide the light/gaps?
 
leesonic, Gotta love that anodized blue front panel. Looks Fantastic with the blue LED's too. The protection circuit is it wired between the outputs and the speaker connectors? Is the protection PCB available? Saw the video. Sounded good. Nice dynamic range as per the power LED's.
 
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That looks absolutely awesome man especially knowing you built it all from spares. Seriously excellent work!
 
Blue LED's are too bright. They distract too much from music especially with low room lighting. I cover them up in my gear. Otherwise, full marks for the face plate. IMO.
 
Wow Lee. Looks fantastic.....

So, you could start a small trade in selling those faceplates. The machine shop has the pattern now, right? I'm wondering how much to crank out a dozen for reselling in BT or fleabay? Could do different colors too.... Lotsa 3020's out there with abused faceplates that could use an upgrade!
 
Well done. Send a picture to NAD- they'd love it.

You could get the knobs plated/painted silver and get a stainless top...

Thank you! I thought about looking in Home Depot for some kind of rubberized coating (in blue), or maybe just painting them a dark textured blue. Some custom turned knobs would be a nice option as well.

Maybe cut some thin felt rings and a square piece to go under the knobs and around the power switch to hide the light/gaps?

I thought about this. Got any sources? The felt they sell in craft stores seems too thick, although I haven't gone everywhere to look.

leesonic, Gotta love that anodized blue front panel. Looks Fantastic with the blue LED's too. The protection circuit is it wired between the outputs and the speaker connectors? Is the protection PCB available? Saw the video. Sounded good. Nice dynamic range as per the power LED's.

Yes, protection goes between the amplifier outputs and speaker terminals. On this amp, it's easiest to just pull the little inductors from the board and relocate them to the protection circuit, and use the connections on the board where the inductors were. I usually just offer the protection board as an option when I restore this and other amps. Since it was a Kenwood design, it should work with other amps that run higher supply rails.

Blue LED's are too bright. They distract too much from music especially with low room lighting. I cover them up in my gear. Otherwise, full marks for the face plate. IMO.

That's a matter of opinion, but I could see how some people might not like it. I did think about going with the red LEDs than NAD used originally, only 5mm ones instead of 3mm. I've always been fascinated by LEDs ever since I was a kid, and when blue ones first came out they were about 10 pounds each ($12-15). There's something about a piece of equipment that just uses a plain old 5mm LED. I remember a Dual cassette deck that had a huge level meter with 10 or maybe 20 LEDs. I love watching LEDs flash in time with the music.

But hey, thanks for your compliments. It would be a boring old World if we all liked the same thing.

Wow Lee. Looks fantastic.....

So, you could start a small trade in selling those faceplates. The machine shop has the pattern now, right? I'm wondering how much to crank out a dozen for reselling in BT or fleabay? Could do different colors too.... Lotsa 3020's out there with abused faceplates that could use an upgrade!

I could. But again, I would prefer to offer it as a service to my customers.

Lee.
 
BTW, I had the faceplate made for the matching 4020 tuner as well. Now all I need is to find a suitably "lo-tech" CD player, and get a front panel made for this as well.

Lee.
 
...Now all I need is to find a suitably "lo-tech" CD player, and get a front panel made for this as well...Lee.

What about a NAD 5420? Very basic looking front panel, not too many buttons. Have the drawer-front water jet cut out from the one panel?

Then, take some glamour shots of all three, send them to NAD and suggest they do an anniversary trio of components to celebrate the 3020 - all in your blue (give it some name like Deep Azure or something).

Get them to give you a sample set as a thank you. :)
 
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You might see if someone you know has one of those thin slip mats that come with DJ turntables. The felt like material is thinner, less fuzzy and a bit stiffer.
 
BTW, I had the faceplate made for the matching 4020 tuner as well. Now all I need is to find a suitably "lo-tech" CD player, and get a front panel made for this as well.

Lee.

Hope the 7020 is next. I got a functioning, but unrestored one in the queue and that would be icing!
 
That's freakin awesome! If they offered NAd's with that styling from the factory, then I would truly be a fan of them!! Hell I'd even buy one , cuz I know you're upgrade versions have got to be better than originals with the sq to match!
 
Meter calibration was off, so I added a 10k trimmer to the meter board. Just remove the two resistors and put the trimmer in their place, I used a Piher brand trimmer I had lying around.

NAD 3020 blue 09.jpg
 
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