20 year old NAD 319 in great cosmetic condition and working. Has never needed repairs. I can get one for $120.
Do I pull the trigger or not pull the trigger? A can of fun or a can of worms?
And when it does need fixing, are NAD pcb's really worse than others to work on as I have often read?
Do I pull the trigger or not pull the trigger? A can of fun or a can of worms?
And when it does need fixing, are NAD pcb's really worse than others to work on as I have often read?
Assuming you already googled for other consumer views, you would have read that it's a great value, powerhouse amplifier. Clean, clear and good quality sound with endless amounts of power on tap, are the hallmarks but if you are actually looking for audiophile type sound quality with a nice sounding harmonic content, you might be disappointed.
20 years, whether it's used a lot or not, is a turning point in the life of amplifiers where we consider replacing the electrolytic capacitors. Even if the amplifier hasn't had much use in recent years, it's possible now that you could experience a breakdown of the speaker protection circuit and the main power supply electrolytic caps. This is also the case with virtually any class AB consumer power amplifier. Just consider this diagnosis and replacement cost and the choices possible now with todays' components, when you look at buying any amplifier with more than 15 years under its belt, whether it's been repaired, fiddled with or not. Early NAD boards, BTW, were indeed poor but more recent ones are little different to other competing brands.
20 years, whether it's used a lot or not, is a turning point in the life of amplifiers where we consider replacing the electrolytic capacitors. Even if the amplifier hasn't had much use in recent years, it's possible now that you could experience a breakdown of the speaker protection circuit and the main power supply electrolytic caps. This is also the case with virtually any class AB consumer power amplifier. Just consider this diagnosis and replacement cost and the choices possible now with todays' components, when you look at buying any amplifier with more than 15 years under its belt, whether it's been repaired, fiddled with or not. Early NAD boards, BTW, were indeed poor but more recent ones are little different to other competing brands.
Does that mean I shouldn't be overly worried when It comes to repairing my NAD C370 (from 2003)? I must admit I was very worried about replacing most of the 76 caps in my C370 when I learned that NAD had poor pcb's. I reasoned if the pcb's were as bad as people said how would I possibly avoid calamity replacing 76 caps? It seemed terribly probable that I would wreck the pcb. This forced me to keep putting off the repair.. despite my parts list being all ready to go at Farnell online.
The reason I felt ok about the twenty year old 319 was it used better caps than the newer C370 and so I reasoned that since it was still working that bode well for future little repairs rather than great big major failures like my C370.
The reason I felt ok about the twenty year old 319 was it used better caps than the newer C370 and so I reasoned that since it was still working that bode well for future little repairs rather than great big major failures like my C370.
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