For the most part, I partnered the D 3020 with small, affordable loudspeakers—PSB Alpha B1 ($299/pair), Pioneer SP-BS22-LR ($129/pair), Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 ($349/pair)—but toward the end of the listening period I hooked it up to a pair of glorious KEF LS50s ($1499/pair) and turned the volume up…
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I almost forgot to mention the outer box, a very attractive slipcase. Right out of it, the D 3020 sounded clean, clear, and resolving, if a bit small and bass shy. After only a day or so of use, however, the D 3020 sounded far bigger and more powerful than its size and weight would suggest.
Sam Tellig wrote about the D 3020 in December 2013 (Vol.36 No.12):
Years ago, Corey Greenberg wrote a memorable headline: "GO NAD."
NAD, which then stood for New Acoustic Dimension, was founded in 1973 but really got going in 1978, with the 3020 integrated amplifier. Audio stores loved the line because Crazy Eddie didn't sell it and because they no longer had to turn away customers who wouldn't buy expensive stuff.
I well remember the original 3020—so many of my friends owned one. It was one of the first solid-state amplifiers, integrated or otherwise, to lack the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Integrated amplifier. Inputs: one RCA coaxial S/PDIF connector, two optical S/PDIF connectors, one asynchronous USB input, one RCA analog input. Maximum power: 30Wpc (???dBW).
Dimensions: 7 3/8" (186mm) high by 2 5/16" (58mm) wide by 8 5/8" (219mm) deep. Weight: 3 lbs (1.4kg).
Serial number of review sample: Not noted.
Price: $499.
Manufacturer: NAD Electronics International, 633 Granite Court, Pickering, Ontario L1W 3K1, Canada. Tel: (905) 831-6555. Web: www.nadelectronics.com.
Sidebar 2: Measurements
The D 3020 was voted Stereophile's "Budget Component of 2014." Getting the review sample onto my test bench had been on my to-do list for way too long, but I was reminded of the unfinished task when I picked up the PS Audio Sprout for measurement from Herb Reichert, whose review of the latter appears elsewhere in this issue. I first checked the performance of the D 3020's digital inputs, looking at the signal from the headphone output jack with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see www.ap.com, and the January 2008 "As We See It").
The headphone output…
From the Hill Country to the Low Country. From grackles and bluebonnets to azaleas and snowy egrets. From the teeming, swilling, blabbering, fashion-conscious masses in Austin at SXSW--from which, I admit, I do recharge my batteries—to a more genteel crowd and more relaxed setting. After my Austin sojourn this year, I paid a visit to the more staid and adult universe of the Savannah Music Festival. Now in it’s 26th year, the festival, held in a town blessed with charming squares, a large arts school, Savannah College of Art and Design (better known as SCAD, though I kept calling it SACD for…
Although I attended the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, and contributed to Stereophile's on-line show report, there were many products outside my beat that I found about just like Stereophile readers, ie, reading my colleagues' show reports. One of these that piqued my interest was the Wilson Audio Sabrina, the lowest-priced ($15,900/pair) floorstander from this elite speaker manufacturer. Larry Greenhill's report provided a brief description of the speaker, but since the speaker was only being shown, not demonstrated, he couldn't very well say much about the sound.
A listening report…
Bay Area high-end audio retailer Audio High (165 Moffett Boulevard, Mountain View, California) has been chosen as the first Meridian partner to introduce its revolutionary MQA audio coding system on Thursday April 16, from 6pm–9pm.
As John Atkinson wrote last December, MQA is a backward-compatible codec that reduces the size of a hi-rez audio file by three quarters. When played back on a standard DAC, it plays as a conventional 16-bit file sampled at 44.1kHz or 48kHz, but when decoded by a DAC offering MQA, it plays back with higher resolution and the original sample rate.
As well…
PS Audio’s affordable Swiss Army Knife of an integrated amplifier—it offers digital, Bluetooth, and analog inputs, including phono—is featured on the May issue's cover. And five more amps and preamps are reviewed in this amplification-dominated issue: Bricasti's new M28 monoblock and Raven's 300B amplifier, Simaudio's Moon 740P preamp, and Luxman's CL-38u preamp.
John Atkinson kicks off May with an analysis of why the mainstream media have rejected not just the PonoPlayer but hi-rez audio in general, while Herb Reichert pays tribute to the late Joe Grado. Michael Lavorgna auditions Sony'…
Bruckner: Symphony 8
Rémy Ballot, Upper Austrian Youth Symphony Orchestra
Gramola 99054 (2 SACD/CDs). 2015. John Proffitt, prod., eng.; Richard Winter, prod.; Rémy Ballot, Matthias Kronsteiner, eds., mastering. DDD. TT: 103:44
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
Rémy Ballot, Upper Austrian Youth Symphony Orchestra
Gramola 99054 (2 SACD/CDs). 2015. John Proffitt, prod., eng.; Richard Winter, prod.; Rémy Ballot, Matthias Kronsteiner, eds., mastering. DDD. TT: 103:44
Performance ****½
Sonics *****
This performance of Bruckner's greatest, most generous work, his Symphony 8, took place in August 2014 in the basilica of St. Florian, the Austrian monastery where Bruckner was schooled and served as organist. It was taped before an audience, directly above the crypt in which Bruckner is buried. The band was the Upper…
Violet- and orchid-colored LED banks shimmer across the room. Green and pink spots radiate out and back. A steady stream of beats and keyboards from other electronica luminaries rumbles out of the speakers. Let's dance! Or maybe just listen?
Onstage, Dan Deacon is busy tweaking his gear. Out on the floor, the audience is oddly antsy. To fight the waiting, one woman hangs on her boyfriend. Clumps of hipsters conviviate. Very strong drinks (a sponsorship deal?) flow for seven bucks a pop. Anticipation thickens. Impatience turns to pacing. Young men make solo air grooves. The LED black…