D 3020 V2 Hybrid Digital Integrated Amplifier – 24-Bit/192kHz DAC, Phono Input, Bluetooth aptX, & Subwoofer Out

The NAD 3020 v2 Hybrid Digital is a great little amplifier and DAC. Like all NAD gear, it offers good value for the money spent. With an honest 30 Watts RMS per channel and an oversized power supply it easily drives bookshelf loudspeakers to room filling volume levels. I've owned quite a few NAD stereo components over the years, including the original NAD 3020 produced back in the late 1970's, and the latest NAD Digital Hybrid amplifier is worthy of the NAD name. I purchased this amplifier for exclusive use with a SuperMicro PC running Windows 7 Pro and JRiver Media Center software. My Windows PC has an optical S/PDIF output on-board so I used that interface instead of the noisy electrical USB or RCA outputs. The optical S/PDIF interface effectively isolates the noisy PC chassis from the sound system entirely. My NAD 3020 v2 Hybrid drives a pair of ELAC B6 Debut Series loudspeakers and the amplifier's subwoofer output is connected to an ELAC Debut S10 200 Watt Powered Subwoofer. Sound quality is good, with no noise or any of the jitter normally associated with a USB connection. The amplifier's on-board DAC handles 24bit 192KHz Hi-Resolution FLAC files with no problem. The NAD 3020 v2 Hybrid replaces an older NAD C160 Preamplifier, NAD 912 Stereo Power Amplifier and Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 100 I had been using. Everything needed for stereo sound reproduction is now handled by this one small component instead of a whole stack of components and interconnects. I use my PC for ripping audio CDs in FLAC format that are then uploaded to a networked music server for use with an audiophile quality Hi-Fi system in my living room. The NAD is a great way to monitor CDs while they are being ripped and for general listening in my office while I work. The optional 6dB Bass boost at 80Hz is perfect for smaller bookshelf loudspeakers that normally roll off at the low end, but if your system employs a sub-woofer you'll definitely want to leave it turned off. If you're considering purchasing this amp make sure you get the newer v2 model, it trades the noise-prone USB connection for a Moving Magnet (MM) phono preamplifier and RIAA equalization circuit. The v2 model also has preamplifier outputs that allow you to connect a more powerful amplifier if you ever want to drive larger more demanding power-hungry loudspeakers. The NAD 3020 v2 Hybrid uses a Class D power amplifier circuit. Class D power amps have taken a beating in the audiophile press over the years, but the newest Class D amplifier designs have none of the sonic issues associated with earlier iterations of Class D circuitry. While Class D amplifiers used to be relegated to subwoofers only, they can now be used to power full range speakers without any sonic shortcomings. The NAD is rather unique at the $399.99 price point. There are other amplifiers costing the same, but they don't include all of the features the NAD offers. The 30 Watt per Channel amplifier, on-board DAC, MM Phono Preamp, Headphone amplifier, remote control, preamplifier outputs, Bluetooth aptX interface and multiple analog and digital inputs make this little integrated amplifier a bargain. It makes a great starter system for music lovers. It can serve as the hub for a dorm-room Hi-Fi, home office system, or computer sound or gaming system. The only caveat I have is the Auto-Standby power feature gets a bit tedious, but it can be defeated if you don't want the amplifier to constantly shut off when you use your computer for things other than music and only need to hear the occasional warning beep or error tone. There's a good equipment review of the NAD 3020 Hybrid Digital Amplifier in Stereophile Magazine. Google "Stereophile NAD 3020" to read the entire review online.

if you really care about sound, you will love the NAD D3020. I am an audiophile. I sold all my equipments because I had to move between countries but I used to have a stereo system that was around 20K. I have had solid state amplifiers, solid state ones, DHT, triodes, etc. I have had horn speakers, open baffle speakers, etc. I know my audio. Nowadays, I had a 120watt solid state asian amplifier Qinpu that I bought new for 1.2K but it died a week ago. So, I needed a new amplifier for my living room. I did not wanted to spend much money because I do not have the space for a real audiophile stereo system but I needed good sound. My speakers are NHT bookshelves, 6 ohms, 86 db sensitivity, so it was not easy to find a proper amplifier for them in the 300-400$ range. First, I tried the Onkyo TX-8220 2 Channel Stereo, the sound was not bad but it was a tiny sound, like the sound you would expect from a bad car stereo (in audiophile terms, the soundstage was really small). Also, the instruments did not have any clear separation. The tone of the instruments, which I am very sensitive to, was wrong, it did not sound real. The next amplifier was the Yamaha R-N303BL Stereo Receiver. The Yamaha produced much better sound, a fuller sound. Also, the soundstage was not small. The problem tough was it sounded really muddy, I noticed this mostly with voices. Somehow, the sound seemed to have a veiled. I tried to fix this with the bass and treble controls but it did not work. So, I returned it. Both the Onkyo and the Yamaha are around 50-70 watts per channel in 6 ohms. The problem is that while the THD (total harmonic distortion) in 8 ohms is pretty low for these two amplifiers, in 6 ohm (for my speakers) it gets really high, like 8 or 10 times higher. I knew I needed at least a 40 wattt amplifier to properly drive my speakers. I saw this NAD (the V2 version because I want to add a turntable) and decided to try it. The V2 is the same as the normal version with the difference that the V2 has phono input and the V1 not. In any case, this is a 30 Watt amplifier that keeps the same power, and most importantly, the same THD (very low) from 4 ohm to 8 ohm. I tried it and I was really impressed!!! The soundstage is big enough, the instrument separation is very good, and it has a full sound. There is no way to compare this amp with the Onkyo or the Yamaha in terms of sound quality, the NAD is simply in a different league. More importantly, the 30 watts were more than enough to drive my 86db speakers to loud levels. This is solid evidence of what a well built power supply does for sound, small amp with good power supply will outperform an amplifier with more watts power but a bad or cheap power supply. Bluetooth works like a charm. As for heat, it gets warm but not hot. This is a small amplifier with a lot of power and a great sound, even for a real audiophile!! So, if you need good sound for a small living room stereo, this NAD D 3020 (normal or V2) is a real good option!!!

I bought this amplifier (refurbished from Safe and Sound HQ) to use with a pair of Q Acoustic 3010 bookshelf speakers and a Polk 10” powered sub. It’s connected to my TV and Blue Ray player through the optical input and to my MacBook Air through via Bluetooth. The best features are the small form factor, excellent sound quality, and the ability to use my tv remote to control the amp. Most people don’t realize that this amp has some thoughtful convenience features for those of us who like to simplify our lives. You can easily enable “auto standby” which turns off the amp after 30 minutes of inactivity. You can also enable “auto sense” which wakes up the amp when it detects a signal. And you can easily train the amp to learn your tv remote buttons for volume and mute control. I don’t even use the included remote (though it works fine). There are however some quirks. The volume level is indicated by 8 dots on the front display. With my Q Acoustic 3010 bookshelf speakers I have to turn the volume to around 5 of 8 dots in order to even hear anything. Then from dot 6 to dot 7 the volume increases very rapidly. The sound is stellar! There is literally zero hiss, and I never have trouble finding the perfect volume level. It’s only a problem if you want to read the volume from the front of the display. The entire useable range is between 2 dots, but there is literally a continuous range of values between the 2 dots. You just can’t read them from the display. Also, the unit does get warm (almost hot) during normal use. I think this is normal. I mean it is consuming ~50 Watts of power and there isn’t much ventilation in the small plastic housing. The sub output also sounds really nice. I’ve been able to reduce the power setting on my sub considerably from my previous amp, and the quality of the bass has improved. Well worth the price, refurbished.

I would love to have a reasonable stereo in a sleek 9" x 9" x 2" box! It's a delight to set up. I thought it sounded fine. I rated it at the level of a Marantz PM6006 and an $80 Micca Origain. Better than a Cambridge Topaz AM-10 and an Emotiva A-100, pretty disappointing that.) The DAC is fine, at the level of my HifiBerry Dac + Pro. That said, I don't really get what Stereophile Magazine was so excited about a few years ago. The NAD lacked the power to drive KEF q100s to more than medium loud. (The Micca Origain did about the same, others could get louder, a 50W Rotel circa 2000 easily gets them past that. Oddly, even when using the NAD as a preamp (pre-out, no speakers attached) for said Rotel the volume is similarly limited. Also oddly, the NAD generated much more heat as a preamp than the Rotel did as a power amp.

I previously had an NAD C326BEE which gave up the ghost. I tried swapping it out for a decent Pioneer receiver that I had laying around, but the Pioneer couldn't hold a candle to NAD's sound quality. So I dug around a bit on-line and discovered the NAD D 3020 V2, and figured it might work out since I got many years of service out of my previous NAD. I was not disappointed. The smaller form factor works great for my desktop solution (it's paired with PSB Atom mini-monitors flanking my LCD screens), and the digital optical inputs are a nice touch. I got a SPDIF USB sound card just to try it out and the built in DAC for the D3020 v2 is noticeably cleaner than my laptop's analog output especially at the high end. Despite the smaller size, the sound is full and the bass EQ nicely compensates for some of the shortcomings of my smaller desktop speakers without making the bass sound boomy or vacuous. I was a little concerned about the 30Wx2 channel rating but NAD takes its power rating seriously. The sound quality is solid even at near max volume. 30W is uncomfortably loud when your speakers are just a foot away from your ears flanking your monitors, so for everyday listening at my desk this is more than adequate power (and I do like my music on the loud side). I haven't played with the BT connectivity but I imagine it will come in handy for days when I want to pair up my phone and listen to music instead of streaming it from my media server via my laptop. The class-D system runs noticeably cooler than the C326BEE class-AB architecture, so I imagine I'll shave a little money off my power bill because I was in the habit of leaving the receiver on 24/7. Overall the sound quality is top-notch, and this amplifier lives up to the expectations I had for the NAD badge. I'm also excited it has a subwoofer out, that's a nice bonus I didn't expect, so maybe I'll go searching for something to fill in the deep subsonic bass that I'm missing with my desktop mini-monitors. My main gripes are the lack of a physical power button (lacks sensitivity, a little confusing to turn it on especially with the power-on lag for the UI, and difficult to power on "blind", e.g. if the amp isn't mounted where the power touch area has line of sight), power-on lag, and the self-sleep mode. The self-sleep mode can be disabled, apparently, but I'm going to leave it enabled for a couple weeks to see if I can't get used to the power-on lag because I like the idea of saving power.

My unit failed after less than 5 years. Bluetooth stopped working so I performed a factory reset and firmware update which bricked my amplifier. NAD would only offer a re-certified replacement unit for $250 (plus tax and shipping both ways... they don't even offer free shipping for the replacement). Support was friendly but slow and, ultimately, did not provide a satisfactory resolution. If the problem is software, I'd expect NAD to stand behind their product for longer than the 2 year warranty. While it worked, this amplifier performed as advertised. Startup time is slow as the unit boots up and blinks until it's ready. The remote has poor range. I would not recommend this amp over other options in this price range.

I bought this amp because it offers the ports I need at a good price point. I care about sound quality, but I'm no audiophile. The amp does everything advertised but has some flaws. It takes a long time to start up (presumably because of the software is running on this thing vs. an old-school analog amp) which is annoying, especially since automatic shut off is enabled by default. You can turn auto shut off off (so, it'll stay on) but I can't do this because of another problem: Bluetooth mode has no authorization model. Anyone with a bluetooth device can connect to it. Not only that, but it will change modes if it detects that someone connected to bluetooth! So, you could be at the climax of an album or film and suddenly have your audio cutover to something else. This is inexcusably horrible, but admittedly only a problem if you live in an apartment, so I gave it two stars. If there's somehow a software update that prevents this, I'd give it 5 stars. UPDATE: You can enable "Auto Sense" which will wake up the unit when it detects a signal. This also causes the unit to turn on instantly, instead of taking a while as mentioned above. However, there is no de-bounce, meaning that unless you have a _very_ delicate touch, pressing the power button to turn it on will instantly turn the unit back off. Thus it usually takes me a few tries to turn it on with this feature enabled.

Probably the most disappointing aspect of this little amp is the false advertising in the description. The description of the amp states it produces 40w per channel- the box the product comes in states 30w- and that’s clearly how much power it has when listening. Don’t get me wrong- the power it makes is extremely clean and musical. If you have smaller, efficient speakers it’s enough amp to fill a home office or bedroom with sound- but you’re going to need to crank it to do so. I have it currently running a pair of Paradigm Premier 100b’s (90db sensitivity)in our bedroom and they sound really good- but if I want the most detail available and the music somewhat loud- it’s cranked to 9/10 on the volume. Fortunately at a more wife friendly/reasonable volume it’s about 6-7/10. The volume control is an issue however- there’s about 200 steps from lowest low to loudest loud- and the remote takes forever to make an adjustment because of it. It doesn’t make a lot of sense why they would put such a fine volume adjustment on a little amp that only puts out 30 watts in the first place… All of that said- for the right application this little amp is sweet! Not many smaller integrated amps give you a combination of 2 digital inputs as well as a phono preamp, subwoofer out and an additional rca input. Oh yeah- and Bluetooth too. This little amp allowed me to plug our tv, and a Logitech squeezebox into it digitally to make a really nice bedroom setup. Overall the sound quality is really good- frankly better than most home theater receivers in the same price range- but you give up things like video switching and ultimate volume. That said- I was able to get 90db of output at the listening position without pegging the volume knob- and while it’s not THX reference loud- that’s pretty damn loud, while remaining clear and musical. To sum up: it’s gorgeous, sounds amazing, and has a ton of setup flexibility. The only downside is that if you don’t have efficient speakers- it’s going to be underwhelming. If you have the right gear though- it’s difficult not to love it even with the few drawbacks. Thanks for reading.

Un pequeño amplificador con un gran sonido. He recibido la versión v2 (phono), perfectamente embalada. Relación calidad-precio excelente.

I inherited a classic NAD 3020i amplifier nearly twenty years ago and it's been the centre of my HiFi system ever since. Warm and lively with a generous bass response it was hard to fault. But time moves on and I thought it was time to replace the old girl with something a bit more up to date. The technological differences between the old NAD and the new couldn't be more stark, but the musical qualities the original 3020 were known for are preserved in the new digital hybrid version, despite the move from class AB to class D amplification. The new amp is clearer and more detailed with a firm and well extended bass but it's still lively and musical to listen to. Here are a few general thoughts: - I tried operating the amplifier on its side, but it got a bit too hot for my taste, even though I'd inserted spacers underneath it to allow ventilation. I think it really should be used in the upright position. The display makes more sense that way. - It has two digital and two analogue inputs, which are just enough for me to plug in my TV, CD player, record player and cassette deck. There is a preamp out which could, at a pinch, be used for recording and a sub-woofer output. Be aware that the main speaker output remains full-range even when the sub is plugged in. You'll need to tune your sub-woofer settings carefully to integrate it correctly with your main speakers. There's a bass boost control for use with very small speakers, but that's the only tone control available. - Bluetooth works well and is fine for late-night listening, but I found that sometimes the Bluetooth source would take over when I was listening to something else. I think it's best to break the connection (but not the pairing) when not using BT. - I tried several times to set it up to turn itself on and switch to optical input when I used my TV's remote, but this feature wouldn't work properly for me. No disaster - it's easy enough to operate the TV and the amp separately and you don't necessarily want full-blown sound when you're only watching the news. - It was only by accident that I found that the seller had inserted a UK mains cable under the packing tray. I was all set to rewire the euro cable that came in the accessory box. It wouldn't have hurt to have put a slip in the packaging telling me where to look. - You can't tune the loading for the phono input. - The volume display on the front panel reaches max when the actual volume is 50% or less. A firmware fix for this would be nice. - It has the world's most easily lost remote. However, it works well enough. - You only get a "getting started" sheet in the box. The actual manual is an online PDF, but you're only likely to need it if you want to change the auto power-off and input sensing settings. For a small-to-medium-sized listening room and reasonably efficient speakers this amp is hard to beat. I'm very happy with mine.

En la foto aparece como el equipo V2 (con entrada Phono) pero en realidad llegó el sistema anterior. Lo devolví y compré en otro lugar. A nivel de sonido es espectacular.

This amplifier filled all my expectations, with one reservation which I’ll come to shortly. I wanted a compact but quality amplifier to play my turntable through since I’ve gone full circle back to my vinyl collection. It ticks all the boxes for sound quality, sonic performance, ease of use, remote control and great design. At the time of purchase it was also some 25% less than when I first investigated it, making it great value for money. There’s several connection options for other items such as CD player, but apart from the Phono input, I am happy to utilise the Bluetooth too. My only reservation - and this has been mentioned in another review - is that the amp seems to lack a ‘full’ sound and a lack of bass unless left to ‘warm up’ for a couple of minutes. It’s obviously not a valve amp so I’m not sure what the reason for this is. However, it’s hardly going to impact my life so I’ll be happy to live with it. Maybe a software fix could be available at some point?

Magnifico