Claim that Proton 520 is "basically a NAD 3020 inside" or 'a NAD 3020 with higher-end components'?

[thurber]

I know nothing about audio circuitry beyond 6th-grade science, but I was reading around about the Proton 520 amp, and in what I found (very little about this amp), kept finding people on forums saying 'it's a NAD 3020 with better components' - I found nudies of each online (linked below) and (again, knowing very little about this stuff) they look totally different. Is this just a b.s. myth that has carried over through the decades, or am I missing something?

Proton 520: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff185/mr-valljud/Samling/Proton520inside.jpg
NAD 3020: http://i62.servimg.com/u/f62/12/22/15/01/nad-3010.jpg

 

[leesonic]

Be aware of what models you are comparing. The NAD 3020 your links points to is a real early one, the power supply board on the back panel is a dead giveaway. The Proton 520 link looks to be much later, and if comparing to a NAD model, I would have suggested the 3020E or 3020i.

Without looking at the schematics, I couldn't tell how similar they are. Proton made their stuff in the old NAD Fullet Electronics factory in Taiwan. There is no reason why they would necessarily use the same circuit board layout though. Both of them are heading for 30 years old, so any better quality components (caps) will be past their sell buy date.

Lee.

 

[thurber]

Thanks! Yeah it occurred to me that it could still have the same components with different arrangement. I guess you would actually assume they'd do that to avoid looking like they were just straight-up ripping off the product. Thanks for sharing your insight.