nad 3020. Aux works, phono left dead?

[hostarn]

Hello friends!🙂

I bought this Nad 3020 becouse people had said that it was great for playing records on. Trouble is, left channel doesn't work when I play my record player. But wierd thing is; both channels work if I play a cd.

What's goin' on here?

I know you'r all very good at these things so I'll be glad to hear your thoughts.

Erik

 

[planet10]

1st thing you need to do is figure out whether the problem is in the NAD or the turntable... swap L for right and see if the sound comes out the other channel... if it does TT, if not NAD.

There is a phono board between the TT and the rest of the amp (where the CD would play thru)

dave

 

[jazzy939]

If your CD is playing fine, then both the amplifier channels(pre and power) are fine.

Either the phono pre-amp section is not working, but it can also come from the turntable.Can you verify? Swap the channels, does the defect transferred?
Some loose connections at the cartridge to start the trouble shooting.. Do a continuity check at the phono RCA plugs to see if any of the channel is open.
If both are okay then.. it's the phono pre-amp of the NAD...

Also since its an old unit, make sure all the plugs and sockets make good electrical contacts.. the sockets should be shiny(NAD 3020 have non-gold plated sockets) A good twist of the RCA plugs in the sockets should be able to restore the contacts...
Good luck dude! 😀

 

[hostarn]

thanks guys.

1. Well I've tried my turntable with another amp and its fine.
2. I switched the R for L and there is no difference, left channel still dead.
3. ? What do I do now? If there were a bad contact or desoldered RCA contact then I should'nt be able to hear the same configuration right?

Your so kind for helping me.

E

 

[jazzy939]

If that is the case, then that particular phono channel is 'dead'..
It can be a bad/cold solder joint, bad/leaking caps to 'god knows what'.. 😀
You have to start trouble-shooting from the input socket, selector switch then to the phono pre-amp.. would be handy to have DMM, signal tracer/injector etc..

 

[jaycee]

Which input are you using for the CD player? Do all the other inputs work OK? (edit - nevermind, I read the thread title again!)

To be honest the phono preamp in the 3020 is nothing special. You'd be better off using an external one connected to another input.

The fault is most likely in the phono preamp circuitry itself, but could be anything from damaged transistors to cracked solder joints.

If you have the electronics skills, having one working channel is useful as you can use that to troubleshoot the faulty one. Search this forum and you will find the service manual. If not, then unless you know someone who does, it's not going to be worth the money in repair, sadly

 

[jazzy939]

Yeah I would agree to that, jaycee.

A good(better in fact) substitute for the phono preamp would be the VSPS.. you can DIY it or buy completely built board. Your choice. 😀

 

[analog_sa]

To be honest the phono preamp in the 3020 is nothing special.

And neither is the power amp - you'd be better off using a nice separate class A. Then use the 3020 as the "brain" of your system and leave others do the hard work. 🙂

 

[hostarn]

Thanks fellows!

I do have some (limited) electronic skills, I'll get to it.

How much is this phono-preamp your talking about?

And, are you saying that the only great thing about the 3020 is the pre-amp? And why? I could use it with a haferl dh-200 for example. I just thought it 'd be nice and simple to have an integrated.
I should tell you that I'm looking for an honest, flat, transparent sound more than a "good" sound.

 

[analog_sa]

To be realistic this was an entry level amp 30 years ago. A giant killer today? 🙂 Honest, flat and transparent it ain't but can be pleasant with high efficiency speakers.

Fwiw i think the preamp and power amp section are pretty evenly matched. I just thought the idea of using an external phono pre with the power amp was a bit outrageous.

 

[hostarn]

Hey everyone! I'm now enyoying an old Billy Cobham vinyl. I opened the beast up and I't seemed that someeone had been messing about with it. And when putting it back together he\she must've screwed the card to tight, cus it had cracked and therefore cut connections;

So i soldered some small cables in there to re-connect what should be connected and it now works great.

Well, if this thing is not as transparent as I thought. What integrated amp would? Is there one integrated amp that does not cost 500 000 dollars but has a flat freq. response and a clear, honest sound? I have a pair of Tannoy pbm:s.

 

[analog_sa]

One thing they all have is a flat frequency response. Why worry anyway? If you like the sound that's all that matters.

 

[jazzy939]

hostarn,
Good work there! 😀

Since you have some skills why not DIY your amp?
Start with a power amp, the GainClone does come to mind although there are many many choices, and you can use your NAD3020 as the preamp and later move on to a DIY preamp. There are enough threads here to get you started..

I am currently running my own pre, power amp and the VSPS. Satisfaction guaranteed! 😀
Have a good one!

 

[hostarn]

My own amp? I will have to think about this. Do I have the time (proud father since march)? Skills? Stuff?

Thanx for your thoughts anyway.