NAD D 3020 to D 7050 - Thoughts post upgrade.

mrk1283

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av_NAD-D-7050_1_2.jpg


Hi,

I figured it would be worth posting a thread on this having recently upgraded from the D 3020 to the 7050. I've read various comments online about these amps and people musing over what kind of speakers pair nicely with them as well as headphones.

I'll start by listing my connected equipment:

PC (USB).
Tannoy Mercury V4 floorstanders.
AKG K7XX (bass port modded).
Sony Xperia Z3 (Bluetooth aptX).
Games consoles (Optical).
(new) network streaming (Spotify/DLNA).

Before the 3020 I had the C325Bee, and C320Bee before that. I loved the "NAD sound", typically warm, spacious and full of a nicely balanced sound. These full sized amps look great and all but in the end I was getting a bit tired of the space they consumed and the heat they generated. I also wanted a once box solution for my new needs, that being wireless connectivity and going all digital so I could finally ditch the PC sound card entirely.

av_NAD-D-7050_2.jpg


Main difference I noticed going from the analogue amps to the D 3020 was that the ambient noise at high volume was zero. At 24/44.8 sample rate there's no ambient hiss when nothing is playing and the volume is ramped up to maximum. With the analogue amps there is a faint hiss, as you'd expect for analogue I guess.

The Tannoy speakers were really well suited to the 3020, bass was deep and mids and highs well controlled. I think the V4 are an easy speaker to drive for most amps, even if the amps aren't bi-wirable. If I hid the 3020 away then anyone would automatically assume there's a big amp in a cupboard powering them. The sound is big and detailed for sure.

The headphones out on the 3020 was good too, better than the 320 and 325, more detailed, louder, better detail, better vocals the list goes on. The 7050 I'm finding better still. It's not a generation ahead like the 3020 is to the analogue amps but the 7050 sounds more grown up, more refined, more detailed in all the right places. It certainly has the "bigger brother" sound over the 3020 and the extra volume from more amplification helps too since AKG cans tend to benefit from a bit more punch.

av_NAD-D-7050_K7XX-standby.jpg


The same story on the speaker front, the 7050 powers my V4s beautifully. As above, the sound is better in the right places, not leagues better but just enough to be noticed, more refined, the bass is tighter, the imaging is slightly better too.

So why the upgrade from 3020 to 7050? Sevenoaks have a deal on so I grabbed it for £649. I wanted to make use of the rotating display and the network streaming features as well as the smartphone app which is quite cool, can control everything on it from the comfort of an armchair or bed or whatever and basically have sound around the house without even touching the NAD remote, it's convenience and a show of how modern wireless technology benefits you.

av_NAD-D-7050_K7XX-2.jpg


The 7050 is quite a bit bigger than the 3020, going by online pics you'd think it was only a bit bigger but it certainly takes up a bigger footprint but still, it is compact.

I like that the front display is all VFFD, the LED based front panel of the 3020 looks cool but I prefer a proper display with a proper source select knob as opposed to touch buttons on the top (3020). The VFD also goes to sleep after 5 mins of not touching anything, a nice fetaure as it's less distracting on the desk when playing games, watching a video etc.

If anyone wants to know more, or wants me to do any tests or something, happy to oblige :)
 

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