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RE: The $200 Challenge

Posted by joerosen1 (A) on August 18, 2010 at 10:10:53

In Reply to: RE: The $200 Challenge posted by Eli Duttman on August 12, 2010 at 19:33:58:

The 3020 is a singularly AWFUL sounding (dis)integrated amplifier, cheerfully slapped together in Taiwan, with knobs that fall out when you press on them, potentiometers that wobble inexcusably for something that pretends pretentiously to have some audiophile cred (even Ken Kessler of Hi-Fi News, a mindless cheerleader for most products, just PISSES on the 3020 as well!), convenience AC outlets that go intermittent after being used 3 times, and RCA jacks mounted vertically that attract dust and dirt and get all filthy and intermittent in no time!
Maybe the crappiness of this UGLY little POS would be forgiveable if it sounded any good, but don't worry, because it DOESN'T.
It's only claim to fame is that it has the output stage of a much higher power amplifier, but its cheapo build extends to its power supply which isn't up to much more than the 20W/ch. that it was rated for to begin with.
This is a dirty sounding, dull and opaque amplifier with obvious grain and grit to the sound. I once compared it to a bottom of the line Nikko receiver in the early 80's, and the Nikko DESTROYED it!
The only nice thing I could say about the NAD is that it was so dull and dirty that it had a better "tone" than the Nikko, which was the typical bright'n'cheap sound that one associates with cheapo Japanese receivers of yore.
Still, the Nikko was infinitely more detailed, clean, lively and sparkly and more interesting and involving to listen to!
Eli, you bought the hype, dude!
Ever actually listen to one of these things???
Get a Luxman RX series receiver or H-K 505 integrated and get back to me!
I just bought a Musical Paradise tube amp for $200, called an MP-301.
It's a single-ended 6V6/6L6 amp, well made, reliable (one friend has been running his for about a year now, no hiccups or worries), and conservatively designed.
It eats up your entire $200 budget, and its only 6W/ch. on a good day.
But its a heck of a 6 Watts, plenty for a dorm or apartment, and it SMOKED an ARC CA-50 in perfect operating condition by direct comparison!
HAH!
It isn't speaker fussy, it has tight bass, its dead quiet!
It uses $10 tubes, and sounds ACE with them!
So maybe you can stretch your budget to $300, and get some used Advent or EPI or Burhoe or Genesis speakers, or Dynaco A25/35's.
Any Lux receiver or integrated has a very good to KILLER phono stage, short of high-end exotica.
I'm particularly impressed with the phono stages in the Lux RX series and in the early-80's HK stuff with the frosted aluminum faces, both the digital and earlier analog tuner'ed versions.
None of it is made in Taiwan, and whilst the Lux stuff has wobbly knobs too, at least the selector pushbutton knobs don't fall off even if the "suckface" tends to get stuck on most of 'em...

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