Used NAD components?

mdaudioguy

In pursuit of a 2-channel bookshelf rig - no speakers yet... A guy at work is advertising the following NAD Monitor series components:

2600 power amp
4300 tuner
1300 pre-amp
5100 cd player

I'm asking him about condition, age, etc..., but he just advertised "best offer." I wouldn't know where to start. Gonna google around a bit.

Anybody know anything about this stuff? I'm mostly interested in the amp and pre-amp, but I'd take it all if the deal was right.

billbillw

I like old NAD stuff, but honestly, I think that system would be a bit too much for a bookshelf rig. That amp is 150w/ch, which with NAD power is probably like 200w from other companies. I imagine he has a $ figure in mind that would be at least $500.

If I were you, I'd look for one of NADs lower powered integrated amps. Their 30-50 wpc integrated amps often sell for under $100 and they have plenty of guts to drive most bookshelf speakers.

One think to known about older NAD stuff is that it often needs some maintenance. Their pots/switches get dirty easy (use deoxit), their power supply caps are not the best quality (and need replacing after 20 years), and their speaker output relays can give trouble. Depends a lot on how much the stuff was used though.

I have an NAD 3140 that I power my desktop/PC rig with. I'm very happy with it, but it required quite a bit of maintenance when I got it.

mdaudioguy

Thank you. You confirmed my suspicions. In searching online, I saw a lot of mentions of people "refurbishing" their older NAD gear. I'm not prepared to get into that right now. I think I'll let this pass. I have looked at their integrated models. A local B&M store has a demo model that's slightly discounted. Might look into that further now. It's not $100, but it still seems to be a decent deal.

Zitro

Keep an eye on ebay, there are always a handful of NAD integrated amps on. If you like vintage, the 3020 is one sweet sounding amp, and this one is in working order

http://cgi.ebay.com/NAD-3020-Integrated-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ180482864261QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Electronics_R2?hash=item2a059df485#ht_500wt_1182

There are others on there, but they need repair. If you are willing to fix an amp, the NAD C320BEE is my primary amp and I will vouch for this piece all day; a brilliant amp for the cost. Makes my LSi7's sing beautifully

http://cgi.ebay.com/NAD-C320BEE-Integrated-Amp-needs-work-w-service-man_W0QQitemZ300407027135QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45f1a775bf#ht_1116wt_1165

Just keep looking, if you are patient deals are out there. Almost all of my equipment has been ebay, craigslist or thrift store deals.

amulford

I have some older NAD stuff. I like it alot. you might need to do a little work to it, but it's a solid performer with a nice warm tone, IMHO...

mdaudioguy

FYI, they showed up on CL today... probably more than I wanted to spend.

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/ele/1651974251.html

mdaudioguy

Not NAD, but how about any of these? Anyone familiar with the B&K St-140?

mdaudioguy

Duh... It would help to post the link... This looks like some cool stuff.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/ele/1640553545.html

mdaudioguy

Hmm?

lhester

md,

I have a 1987 vintage NAD 2600A, bought it used in 1991 or so. It is definitely not a bookhshelf unit. I did see one go for about $300 on ebay awhile back.

I have never listened to a 140, but from the Stereophile reviews back in the day they are a great sounding unit. I don't know if you would consider it a bookshelf unit or not.

LH