Dead Stereo

[Troy]

Arrrrrrgh!

My main rig NAD rcvr died . . . on March 1st.

I took it to the repair shop. Said they'd have an estimate in a couple of days.

My buddy tells me I can borrow his old 5.1 Yamaha rcvr. I say thanks, but the ammount of BS involved with re-wiring from my 2 way to 5.1 and moving all the 1000 pounds of shelving etc , I can live without for a week or 2.

A week goes by.

I call them, he says it's a left channel thingamabob. $200 and 10 days.

2 weeks go by.

I call him.

Says "10 days means 10 working days, but maybe 3 weeks".

Another week goes by.

He says 10 more days.

Buddy says, "Sure you don't want this stereo?" I say, "No, I can go another week."

TWO weeks later I call again. "It's been 5 weeks man, where's my hi-fi?" "Oh, I just found out I have to order a part. It'll be at least another 2 weeks" Can you see the vein pulsing on my forehead? I chewed the guy a new one.

I hang up and call my buddy "Give me the Yamaha".

I spend 3 hours hooking it up that afternoon. It really sounds crappy compared to the NAD. No bottom end.

4PM, that VERY afternoon, the repair guy calls me back, says the NAD is fixed. Says he used the part scheduled for another NAD that was ahead of mine because I sounded so aggrivated.

I pick it up the next day and spend 3 hours uninstalling the Yamaha and reinstalling the NAD.

It sounds WONDERFULL.

2 days later it fries again.

I take it back, smoke coming out of my ears. He says "Give me a few days."

I don't bother hooking up the Yamaha.

A week later I call him.

He says "Give me a few more days."

A week later (today) I get a call from him. "It's the power supply and amplifier, it will cost more than the stereo is worth to fix."

In the mean time, I've been without the livingroom rig for nearly 2 months. And now I have no rcver at all. Man, am I annoyed or what?

I gotta find me a good used unit for under $500. Where do I turn to?

[tentoze]

I gotta find me a good used unit for under $500. Where do I turn to?

If you want to PM or email me with more specific details about what you want/need, I have some resources to draw on and will do what I can. I know how bad it sux..."

et

[Troy]

If you want to PM or email me with more specific details about what you want/need, I have some resources to draw on and will do what I can. I know how bad it sux..."

et

I sentcha an e-mail, thanks.

[Swish]

Arrrrrrgh!

My main rig NAD rcvr died . . . on March 1st.I gotta find me a good used unit for under $500. Where do I turn to?

it only plays Elton John music recorded after 1976. Doh!

Swish

[Troy]

it only plays Elton John music recorded after 1976. Doh!

Swish

LOL, you really know how to hurt a guy.

[Troy]

Does this seem like a good buy?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...768914883&rd=1

Closes in 3 hours.

In Oakland= no shipping.

[newtrix1]

that's the unit you bought after an extensive post here awile back right? How long ago was it actually? I've heard NAD units were supposed to last forever, guess there's always one in the bunch...
Hope that repair guy didn't milk you too bad (although I know how much those people charge!). My H/K component burner has been erratically skipping (mostly during the burn process), I called a local repair guy who would not even wager a repair quote w/o brining it in. That was in Feb. and I still haven't gotten the courage to part with it. After your story I'm even less inclined

Good luck bro, I feel your pain. Too bad we're not closer, I have an old 2-channel H/K receiver in my basement that would get you thru your dark period.

[newtrix1]

Does this seem like a good buy?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...768914883&rd=1

Closes in 3 hours.

In Oakland= no shipping.

kinda low power, your old one was 100 watts if I remember right. Me thinks you'll miss the 75 watt difference. Besides you'd be bidding against "ElvisCostello" (he's probably got deep pockets)

[Swish]

Does this seem like a good buy?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...768914883&rd=1

Closes in 3 hours.

In Oakland= no shipping.

I mean, what do you have to lose? I'd think $125.00 max would be an excellent buy. I think one of my bestest buddies has that same model, and he's quite happy with it and, as far as I know, it's never given him any trouble. I think it will play more than post '76 E.J. music too!

Swish

[kexodusc]

Troy buddy,
I'm no pro technician, but I've tinkered around with a few of these things enough to know that the odds of the PSU and Amp going at the same time in a NAD are not very high, I'd almost want a second opinion...especially since this guy seems like a bit of a goof. Sounds like he didn't know how to fix it the first time and didn't want the trouble the 2nd time.
What NAD model was it...I've owned 2 for over 20 years (well, okay I inherited them from my Dad), the newest one is from 1983...3140 and the legendary 3020...They took a beating over the college years. The more recent C272 and 2200 weren't as good to me, but NAD's since emerged from the dark-times again and is making good stuff for the most part.
You can get the 3020's for $100-$150 on Audiogon or ebay, btw...

Just avoid the 320Bee..

How about this NAD 352:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1119580240

Coming from a NAD, any Yamaha or H/K receiver/integrated isn't going to sound so as good IMO, two different target markets, NAD's still more into music, the other two tend to focus on Home Theater more now.

How about a nice Rotel like this:
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1119563291
It's a bit ugly (silver) but unless it's hot I'd say it's a good buy.
Or maybe a nice Arcam:
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1119482066

I personally like the Arcam and Rotel stuff more than NAD, but that's just me...

How much power do you need for blasting pre-1976 Elton John anyway?

[ForeverAutumn]

That's a very sad story.

RIP

[Swish]

kinda low power, your old one was 100 watts if I remember right. Me thinks you'll miss the 75 watt difference. Besides you'd be bidding against "ElvisCostello" (he's probably got deep pockets)

...since you need to go to the power of 10 to double the watts, so 75 is only a smidge more power. 25 is plenty for normal listening actually, although I would agree that most higher end equipment leans toward 100 or more.

Swish

[Troy]

that's the unit you bought after an extensive post here awile back right? How long ago was it actually? I've heard NAD units were supposed to last forever, guess there's always one in the bunch...
Hope that repair guy didn't milk you too bad (although I know how much those people charge!).

I had it for 3 years (hard to believe, innit?)

He's keeping the initial estimate charge and refunding me the rest.

[tentoze]

I had it for 3 years (hard to believe, innit?)

He's keeping the initial estimate charge and refunding me the rest.

I'm on the hunt for ya- email sent...........

[Troy]

...since you need to go to the power of 10 to double the watts, so 75 is only a smidge more power. 25 is plenty for normal listening actually, although I would agree that most higher end equipment leans toward 100 or more.

Swish

I wish I could remember the model # of the dead NAD . . .

I have big, but efficient spks to run with this thng. Klipsch KLF20s. I found that I couldn't be in the same room with it at half volume on the old NAD, so maybe I DON'T need all that power anyways . . .

[Troy]

I'm on the hunt for ya- email sent...........

THANKS!

I'm kinda at a point where I'll skip that ebay NAD and give it a few days and see what turns up . . .

Trying like hell to be patient, but wahats a few more days after 2 months?

[tentoze]

I wish I could remember the model # of the dead NAD . . .

I have big, but efficient spks to run with this thng. Klipsch KLF20s. I found that I couldn't be in the same room with it at half volume on the old NAD, so maybe I DON'T need all that power anyways . . .

Ain't no substitute for horsepower...............

[Davey]

Ouch! What a stereotypical [pun intended, just in case you had any lingering doubt] repair story. I bet you could put that one to music and have a little fun with it once that vein stops throbbing. Maybe call it "Stop Your Throbbing", and work a little of that Kinky Pretenders sound into it that I love so much

[Dave_G]

Troy,

you need a 25 WPC toob amp and a toob preamp.

Dave

[Dusty Chalk]

Bummer, Troy. :-(

Did you want a receiver (basically, an integrated amp with a built-in tuner) or an integrated amp? How much did you want to spend?

You may just want to look through here.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

I've heard of reliability issues up the wazoo with NAD, personally I'd go in a different direction...Rotel, Musical Fidelity (if you can find one for your budget). Is a receiver a must or would an integrated be OK? I'd check Audiogon everyday, I'm sure something will turn up, like this one: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1119658330 (I like Arcam), or this: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1119563291, or this Arcam: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1119482066. If you could stretch for a Creek that would be my #1 choice: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1118965530, and hers's one a little more mass-market: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....ran&1118678341 Lots of options with just a 5-minute search today. Good luck.

[Finch Platte]

Arrrrrrgh!

My main rig NAD rcvr died .I gotta find me a good used unit for under $500. Where do I turn to?

I feel your pain, you poor bastard. There ain't NO WAY I would have lasted as long as you did/have.

As previously stated in this forum, my NAD, purchased from the local hoity-toity stereo shoppe took a dump before it was a year old, I believe. POS. Did I say that loud enough??

Piece of FOCKING SH!T. NAD can suck my, well, NADS.

My Onkyo sounds just fine, thank you very much. And it WORKS.

fp

[nobody]

Nothing I hate more than junky stereo gear that costs decent money and can't work long-term. I don't give a crap how nice it sounds, if it doesn't keep working, it's not for me. 3 years and then falling apart is a bunch of crap. I've got a toothbrush older than that.

If you'd wanna go the seperate route, you could look into some Adcom stuff. I picked up a used tuner/pre-amp combo from them about 6-7 years ago that was already close to ten years old and it's just disappeared into the rack and worked like a charm for really cheap. I've known a few people who've used Adcom and had great luck with reliability. Not the most stylish stuff in the world, but durable and nice sounding. I seem to see a ton of it on ebay and the like for cheap too.

Good luck whatever you do. Let us know what you end up doing.