NAD user's U turn.

I think its only NAD's that use the small U shaped metal link between pre and power amp, but if other's do to this could well be right up your street.

When I first had my NAD 3020 mid '80 they were really the only amp to get on a buget. But as the years pasted many other designs came along to challenge the humble 3020. As I was unable to afford the next flavour of the month I started to see if ther were areas where I could improve its performance.

It seem fairly self evident that those two U shaped links could be an area of improvment.

The first thing I tried was simply to clean them. Suprised that I could hear a difference then got me thinking of replacement links.

I tried a number of alteratives, the best of which are...

1 make two very small IC cables wih decent plugs,
Very worthwhile but fiddly and time consuming and expensive.

2 take a length of 25-30 amp earth cable, strip the insulation and make a copper version of the u links. I recall it used to be a single solid core, but now seems to be a multi strand. The last one I made I needed to loose several strands to make the thing fit.

3 single cooper strip cut from a pipe, and bent to shape.

4 Which I intend to try when pennies are not so tight. 4mm fine silver rod from a jewlery supplier, cut and bent. This was recommended back in the dim past, HiFi Answers I think ?

5 You may say why not just close the link internally, and I'd say yes good one, except I've a pair of power amps that sometimes need a preamp. So that why I keep the link open.



So if there are any 3020 users still out there one of the best modds I done, beating everything else put together.............. I changed the volume pot to a Bourns conductive plastic. Wow the typical NAD warm haze it casts over the music is gone to be replaced with a suprising neutral clarity.

 

Same on my 370 zanash - i've been aware that the links are something which can be potentially improved upon. the default ones they use, are some crap like steel or something?? However, i have been too lazy and unenthusiastic to undertake such pursuits. There are a few commercially available alternatives on the market, pretty scarce though and pricey.

But reading this thread has reminded me that i have never even cleaned the wee little buggers before. i think i could stretch to that, maybe give em a bit of deoxit or summin.

cheers.

 

guys,
this is somewhat similar to the arrangement on the back of the nait 5 (3 too?) except here it's a little more complex as the same socket transmits 24v dc to the pre section (so the pre can be powered by an off board psu getting that nasty vibrating, magnetic lump of metal as far away from the delicate pre as possible).

as the signals are line level the plugs use what look like circuit tracks printed onto some sort of flexible plastic. this is no longer part of my kit and sits in a little baggie off to one side but when it was i was very tempted to mess but dins are a bugger to get large cable into.
cheers

julian

 

Are you using the "standard" Din IC for your Naim,
as I've put together a souped up version for MrSukebe, he seems very pleased with the prototype.
Previously he had been using a cobra.

The full version will I hope have bullets with 4n silver wire ptfe sleeve and a techflex jacket.

What does the discarded din plug look like or which pins connect to which pins ? I've made a couple of similar linking dins before [ Nytech ] with sucsess, If you use fine wire its amazing what you can squeeze into the thing.

 

Gosh Julian, they're rather expensive to be as bad as that aren't they, and coming from a Naimee too....



Cheers

 

tim,
this is the case with the nait (which is a 'cheap' integrated after all). all of naims dedicated pre's are powered either parasiticly from the power amp or from a dedicated psu you should know this after all you have been a naim owner in the past. still if you want to push your line level source signal into such a hostile environment and call it hi-fi then it;'s your perogative... at least i have a choice :gary:

zanash,
the nait link is a 4 pin din with 4 tracks both input and output are marked the same which is looking AT the SOCKET on the back of the nait going CLOCKWISE round the plug from tghe 3 o'clock position are chanel 1, +ve, -ve, chanel 2 (at 9 o'clock). is this any help... the signal sockets are again clockwise from 3 oclock to 9 o'clock n/c, n/c, -ve, ch 2, ch1.... just for completenes the link cable from the psu to the pre (or cd) is.... 5 pin (240 degree) starting at 2 o'clock +v in, ch1, -ve (at 6 o'clock), ch2, +vin at 10 o'clock...... hope that helps... there are on line manuals on the naim site which detail these (except the link) which may make things clearer.

cheers


julian