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NAD 3020 parts needed

judgedredd

New Member
Hi, I just received a first generation NAD 3020 (not the A or B) from the UK and was really disappointed with it as the ebay ad did not say anything about the fact that the case was warped (on the top) and the facia (front) was dented in the top right corner and was chipped and chewed up around the edges, especially the sides and bottom. Even the power cable was gouged.

Does anyone have, or know where I can get, a new(ish) case and a really good condition facia (front) plate?
 
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Can't you complain to e-bay it was not as described - have them get the vendor to take it back and give a refund?

If your stuck with it but it works, just consider them battle scars. You will probably find the pieces you're after eventually by spending time looking, but the costs might be prohibitive. Those amps are not scarce so you might find a nicer/cheaper whole one.

It will likely be suggested you become a paid subscriber and look through Barter Town.
 
I did just that - complained to ebay on Friday 8th September. Problem is I purchased the item on the 29th June and had it delivered to my dad in the UK. It then took a couple of months to get it sent on to me after which time the 30 day money back guarantee given by ebay had expired.

Anyway, I had purchased it with a view to getting the caps, capacitors and any other components upgraded, So it looks like there will be more work than I expected.
 
So then I guess you're an owner. If it's of any consolation, I've been using a pre-amp for the past two years that's not exactly a thing of beauty but I did have advantage of seeing it first so I knew the face plate had chipped paint, and the cover was scratched and dented. I also knew it did not work but I took a chance anyway because the price was attractive. Internally, it too needed more work than anticipated - a new power switch and headphone jack.

Supposedly it did duty in a studio of some kind. There were many repairs made internally and overall it was not what you'd call handled with care. Face plates are available but I decided against getting one. Cost was a factor at first but then I started to appreciate that it had to work hard all it's life so it looks how it looks. The physical appearance bears out it's history. Like I said - battle scars.

FWIW, and I know this will likely get contradicted, but I have it on good authority there is no benefit to buying high end, boutique, "audio grade" capacitors for things like this. I had the benefit of corresponding with someone who oversaw the production of the very pre-amp I was overhauling. He explained that good quality general purpose capacitors (ie: Panasonic and Nichicon) are all that is needed. I bought mine locally (there were 41 in total) and got mostly Rubycon's. Cost for all was about $15.

EDIT: Caps for your 3020 would cost more because there are bigger ones inside than what I was contending with.
 
I just got a full refund from Paypal for the total + shipping I paid! So I got a NAD for only the cost of shipping to Canada (45 quid). That's a bargain anyway you look at it :)
 
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