Yet another broken NAD 3020 thread

jumpingclear · 15th December 2011, 07:54 PM

When searching for info to help with the problems I am having with my NAD 3020A a few threads from here showed up. I have read them and done a search for more and think I have a bit better understanding of the problems people have had with these amps failing but I am still not sure exactly what has failed in mine and hoped someone here might be able to diagnose a likely cause.

I have an old NAD 3020A amp that I was using connected to a cd player. The other day I started to play a CD and first one channel went dead and then the other. A further test after it had been off for a while gave the same result, sound for a short while then died. I tried playing through headphones and connecting my pc sound out to the amp and if I turned up the pc volume and the amp volume to full I could hear the music but it was very faint.

I have taken the case off and can't see anything obviously wrong. None of the capacitors are leaking or bulging and there is no obvious sign of any component having burnt out. When it went wrong and after there was no burning or hot smell. Hence I am hoping that whatever components have failed it hasn't damaged any others.

I am trying to decide what to do with it. I see people do buy them not working on ebay but the price is obviously low. I have seen someone in Scotland advertising a upgrade service which would probably fix it but that would be £120. There is also a local electrical repair shop that says it repairs hifis and said they would look at it for £20 but I don't know how much experience they have and unfortunately only spoke to the salesman not one of the engineers. The other option is if I can get a clear idea what is wrong and it turns out to be just a few components whether I have a go myself.

Any help appreciated.

thanks

currentflow · 15th December 2011, 08:38 PM

Hi jumpingclear,

Here is a link to the schematics:
The Class-A Amplifier Site
These are for the 3020, but I believe are similar to the 3020A.

This might be of interest:
The Stereo Club: NAD 3020A

It is likely that the electrolytic capacitors will need replacing if they are the originals. However, the first place to start would be to check the internal supply rails against the schematic diagram.

Regards,
currentflow

picowallspeaker · 15th December 2011, 08:56 PM

Here's a link to the schematics and HOW everything works

-----It's in ITALIAN

Elettronica audio - (a cura di Piercarlo Boletti): marzo 2009

planet10 · 15th December 2011, 09:12 PM

3020 Service Manual

dave

15th December 2011, 07:54 PM	#1
jumpingclear diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2011	Yet another broken NAD 3020 thread When searching for info to help with the problems I am having with my NAD 3020A a few threads from here showed up. I have read them and done a search for more and think I have a bit better understanding of the problems people have had with these amps failing but I am still not sure exactly what has failed in mine and hoped someone here might be able to diagnose a likely cause. I have an old NAD 3020A amp that I was using connected to a cd player. The other day I started to play a CD and first one channel went dead and then the other. A further test after it had been off for a while gave the same result, sound for a short while then died. I tried playing through headphones and connecting my pc sound out to the amp and if I turned up the pc volume and the amp volume to full I could hear the music but it was very faint. I have taken the case off and can't see anything obviously wrong. None of the capacitors are leaking or bulging and there is no obvious sign of any component having burnt out. When it went wrong and after there was no burning or hot smell. Hence I am hoping that whatever components have failed it hasn't damaged any others. I am trying to decide what to do with it. I see people do buy them not working on ebay but the price is obviously low. I have seen someone in Scotland advertising a upgrade service which would probably fix it but that would be £120. There is also a local electrical repair shop that says it repairs hifis and said they would look at it for £20 but I don't know how much experience they have and unfortunately only spoke to the salesman not one of the engineers. The other option is if I can get a clear idea what is wrong and it turns out to be just a few components whether I have a go myself. Any help appreciated. thanks

15th December 2011, 09:12 PM	#4
planet10 frugal-phile(tm) diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Victoria, BC, NA, Sol III Blog Entries: 5	3020 Service Manual dave __________________ community sites t-linespeakers.org, frugal-horn.com, frugal-phile.com ........ commercial site planet10-HiFi p10-hifi forum here at diyA

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15th December 2011, 08:38 PM	#2
currentflow diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2008	Hi jumpingclear, Here is a link to the schematics: The Class-A Amplifier Site These are for the 3020, but I believe are similar to the 3020A. This might be of interest: The Stereo Club: NAD 3020A It is likely that the electrolytic capacitors will need replacing if they are the originals. However, the first place to start would be to check the internal supply rails against the schematic diagram. Regards, currentflow

15th December 2011, 08:56 PM	#3
picowallspeaker diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2007	Here's a link to the schematics and HOW everything works -----It's in ITALIAN Elettronica audio - (a cura di Piercarlo Boletti): marzo 2009