NAD C 3050 The New VINTAGE STEREO I've Been Waiting For!
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- Опубліковано 1 лют 2025
- AllEliteAudio.com
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Finally HiFi Companies Are Making NEW Vintage HiFi! The NAD C 3050 may just be the best amplifier of 2023 for many reasons!
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Years ago I had an NAD 7175PE receiver. The manager of a local hi end store introduced me to the model, saying it sounds so much like one the sweet warm tone of the high end McIntosh integrated amps. Sure enough,more than an hour A/B comparing the two convinced me sonically you couldn't tell them apart. Being old friends for years, he discount sold it to me, brand new in factory sealed box as a "demo" unit!! The deal of a lifetime!!
I loved everything about that unit with vinyl, CD's and the FM receiver picked up distant FM stations with ease. Yes, there was a time that FM radio was worth listening to.
A shame this new 3050 sounds perfect IF ONLY it had included the FM receiver of the 7175PE. Yeah, I do still listen to the local classic and jazz station that include live performances weekly.
That is very 'purdy!' And not a terrible price, either hi or low. Thanks for showing this one off, and to NAD for making such a great 21st Century callback to an earlier hi-fi era!
nad was so famous in the 90´s with their grey looking depressed series that i never forget a seller going for a cassette deck to show it´s quality and some of the key´s just fall to the ground of well built it was
What a gorgeous amp! With only 1972 made, I sure hope this does not sell out before I can scrounge up some coin for this one. I'd love to own it.
They are releasing the same version but without the real wood on top, just vinyl later this month, this version won’t be limited
Class D.
So half the time you called it a receiver and sometimes an integrated. Without an AM/FM tuner, it’s not a receiver, but I guess it does technically “receive” Bluetooth and WiFi so it’s a modern equivalent. If I were in the market for an integrated, this might be the one. I still use my NAD 3050 from 1984 in my garage system!
I was thinking the same thing. I'd say a vast majority of the videos that he does are him talking about receivers, so I have to give him a bit of a pass because it is force of habit.
Maybe he was thinking the blue OS app could pick up Digital radio stations lol..
Nice to see homage paid and retro/modern touches, should sell well.
Love your videos..because of your emphasis on audio history and your attention to design and function of products. Very cool, informative and entertaining. Thanks again
What speakers are those. They look stunning
More manufacturers need to embrace the vintage look & it's a shame that production is limited to only 1972 units.
There are plenty coming without the wood. I still wish they did more wood though! Make it an add on!
@@LennyFlorentine The regular model will have a vinyl wrap that looks like wood, so while not as nice, it will maintain the vintage look.
You can still have the unit . Just no LE version.
Other manufacturers need to make retro styled models with modern features. I'm sure they would sell like hotcakes.
Yamaha did. The line is a bit pricey though. But I totally agree. Hifi equipment without VU meters is just boring to look at. ;)
@@jerichoremitio265 there is a previous series from yamaha that a amplifier with real 70 watts at 8 ohms r.m.s. cost last december 300€ ,i couldn´t believe with vu meters but i have enough amplifiers,oh i almost forget it had volume loudness
@1st-Harmonic true ,it might look like old style but far from it and i still have some New acoustic dimension mid 70´s integrated amplifiers and they were not like this and much better sounding but any way they look good compared with others
@1st-Harmonic i don´t have a prefered one but several for diferent types of music ,but mostly i use a pioneer SX-1050 a SA-9800, more modern a A-717MKII(97,when bought new, almost the same as the AD-91 from 89) , the yamaha C-1 as pre anmplifier and the Spec-1 from Pioneer from the mid 70´s and 80´s Luxman L-550X integrated one (can be used as a pre)also the TA-f690ES Sony (model only released in U.K and Portugal with the same specifications)this last surprised me for its phono stage, perfect, but have several others, i colect hi-fi components since i was 12
@1st-Harmonicthank you , for sure you´ll find a good component for a good price ,as an example in a local site of selling everything in second hand i found a entire system by rotel ,even the 80´s furnitura for the system by components was rotel as the speakers ,only the cd player wasn´t available because the owner at the time didn´t bought it ,the price of one cd in the mid 80´s was the same as today but cds then were made of a more resistant material, i have several that because i used to clean them in the kitchen with the same i used to clean pots or other kitchen aplience s they have no brightness anymore but not one skips todays cds are made of a cheaper material that made possible to be bought by anyone in early 90´s ,when i started to buy more cds ,this because with the money one could buy a cd it was the same of buying two imported LP´s so i prefer to buy two lp´s i had a good turntable so the sound was perfect ,only some years later i discovered that the cds were worst in sound compared to old Lp´s ,one could listen to the cd and when playing the same album in vinyl as it is called today had much better and real sound compared to their versions in cd ,several problems at the begining no one would think that the records were better than the new format digital ,the cd but it was far from the truth, the main problem were the guitars didn´t sound at all like theyb were recorded later i discovered that the same with all the recording ,levels much lower in the cd being a part of the drum kick and the bass if not with efects would sound much louder than any ther source of sound in the cd recording ,some would say it was much better because they never had a diamod tip stylus on their old turntables or so cheap that would sound like a project turntable today around 1.000€ but at the time people had more money and a cheap turntable would coast what today is 40€ every technics model from the 80´s were sold around what today is 100€, this in late 80´s till early 90´s, NEW and cartridges were much cheaper and the ones that came with the turntables were already very good ,now they would cost a lot of money
NAD makes great products and reason why they are celebrating 50 years. I'm sold on anything with dancing Vu meters. Great review Lenny
Just got my C-3050 with BluOS that I preordered months ago! It’s not the LE version but I’m liking it so far.
It has the wood case?
Very cool! The classic look with new guts. Go NAD!
Do you think this amp would pair nice with some Klipsch heresy iv’s?
I LOVE those meters!
which PSB speakers are used here in this video ? Thanks...
I’m also curious
They look like the Passif 50
Great content! If you had to choose between the NAD 3050 and the Yamaha NR2000a for best sound quality which would you pick? Thanks!
I think you'd go Yamaha, but it's in a different price tier. On that note I love my 3050 as well.
Mr. Justin I've been a subscriber for a while now I have a vintage sansui 8010 with to Maine's and an active sub there was a point in my life where I had friends that worked at a stereo shop and they taught me a lot about stereo equipment but that was back in my teens and I'm now 57 but the reason I mentioned all of that is that until a while back I didn't know what a DAC was I'd heard them mentioned even on your channel but I had never heard anybody explain what they were the sound on this system back during days of CD is amazing I inherited the system I thought there was something wrong with my memory on how this thing sounded for many years because I've been using my phone to drive the amp using music on UA-cam I've been taught digital is better than analog which is true but back in the days of CD they had a DAC built-in as I'm sure you know through the years I've lost a few speakers and I've just had them replaced I'm not trying to ramble but my subwoofer I think it's got a blown speaker in it right now but believe it or not it's not my fault or anybody else's it sets on the floor 6 in from the wall with two ports aimed into the wall turning the wall into the subwoofer but I think a mouse or a rat went into one of those ports and has chewed one of them speakers up or possibly both but when I'm outside working in my backyard I'll leave the back door open and I think that's when it got in the house but I do have a question now that I'm learning all of this after doing some research I went to Spotify I do not have a paid account at Spotify until I can afford a DAC in settings how should I set that up I growed up around a stereo shop for a little while in my life and when I look in the settings at Spotify it's overwhelming for me so for somebody that hasn't got that background it's definitely going to be overwhelming for them I know DAC even the $250 one that you reviewed recently it was talked about having a big transformer and a very stable power supply it's very important because a DAC needs lots of power but are they turning my phone into a rudimentary DAC when I download the app into my phone and how should I set all of those settings all I'm doing for the time being is coming out of headphone jack wire to tape in or auxiliary and of course now I know why it don't have the Fidelity I once remember I'm sorry the question was so long okay be blessed
Back in the day, I was one of the first NAD dealers. We sold the amazing 3020's like pop corn. Glad and amazed to see this piece. We wore custom made T-Shirts that said "GO-NAD"! The early stuff used to blow up often, but they got more reliable in time. The 3020 was the biggest selling amp of it's time. I'd like to find another one, and a pair of large advents, and an old AR turntable with a good Grado cartridge... Re-live my youth!
I'd like to find a Go NAD shirt haha
Yes, but now they are class D amps…
This is brochure reading not a review.
Looks to be a awesome forward-thinking piece. However, I am wondering how they stack up sound wise against the classic pieces produced in the 70's and 80's. I do not dislike Class D amplification per se, but I would have preferred to see them do a high-parts quality reissue of the designs I grew up with rather than all the bells and whistles.
Agreed
yeah should've been a 3080 and been non current limited class a/b like their original powerhouse that put them on the map. i still have an original 3080 and if you hook that thing up to some old school speakers with 12" woofers, that thing would give you theatre sound you could feel! sub woofer optional. i think them making this a class d is just a smack in the face to purists and a cheap money grab more than anything else. and unlike what the commercial said it wasn't the 3030 that put them on the map, it was the 3080
How do the Passif 50 speakers sound with the NAD 3050 le?
Smooth!
Wow that thing is nice forealz what speakers vintage or modern day would be a good match for it? Forgive my ignorance but what are those speakers that are seen in this video?
Yes I would like to know what speakers are those also .
PSB Passif 50
From Denmark,
I think it's a shame that they didn't make a copy of the NAD 3020 at 30 watts that we could maybe pay for, instead of making this C 3050 for so much money.
After all, it was the 3020 that NAD became very famous
I myself have NAD 200Dolby, and NAD 7030, 7060, 7080, NAD 2200, and many others.
Sadly it's virtually impossible to get one...I'm working in a HIFI Store which has quite a reputation in germany and the store owner told me that he ordered as many 3050 LE's as possible and they're all gone already :(
If only Pioneer would follow their lead with their classic receivers, SMH.
Pioneer is now owned by Onkyo.. so don't hold your breath.
@@B38pooljunky Pioneer would make a great unit and being owned by Klipsch now, has the resources I would think.. I long for the good old Pioneer days.
I would like to replace my old Onkyo CD Tuner Amplifier CR-70. Hesitating between Cambridge CXA61 (dedicated with streamer but boring looks) and NAD 3050 (beautiful retro looks). My Onkyo is hooked up with REL T/5x subwoofer, B&W 685 S2 speakers, Cambridge CXN V2 streamer & TV. Always felt I am not getting the most out of this system because of the old Onkyo amplifier. I would prefer the NAD 3050 but I am no expert. I only know the NAD is a class D amplifier and the Cambridge is class AB amplifier. Does this matter for the listening experience concerning the B&W speakers? Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome for the right choice. Cheers, Pascal.
How does this amplifier sound with a gramophon? What cheap bookshelf speakers do you recommend for this amplifier for a small room? Will KEF LS50 be a good choice?
Thanks for the close-up look at the NAD C 3050. How well would it pair with the KLH Model 3 or 5?
Thanks for the review ! I have a pair of Lintons and I am thinking to get the 3050LE. What do you think. Are they a match ? What speaker cables should i use ? Thanks again !
I have that match, pairs well. We have some 3050s in stock if you are in the US.
if there is no tuner, this is an integrated amp,. Not a receiver.
Correct. Don't know why he didn't know this.....
can you add radio on this
Actually, he's probably referring to it as a receiver, as others have suggested, because it has some digital tuning or streaming and such.....
Isn’t it having streaming capability the modern version of having a tuner? Like who’s listening to FM at all the quality you get on higher end streaming is way better than FM and no ads. I know we all love audio, but we’re gonna have to update some terminology.
@@mikecast20 Well, I actually still listen to FM at home and in the car - but at home, it's primarily a jazz station that doesn't have commercials. I absolutely LOATHE commercials, whether on TV or the radio.....
What an excellent amp this is. Amongst other things, it shows just how far my Klipsch RP-600M's can really scale. Can't wait to get the Dynaudio Evoke 20's and see what this does with more 'price appropriate' speakers..
Is it really a good amp/receiver ? Are there any others that compete with it in this 1200-1500 price range? What would you recommend that’s comparable?
Hello, What power cables do you recommend for connecting the PSB Passif 50 with the NAD C3050?
There was also a NAD 3080, witch was the top of the line with 90+90 W. Such a beast is stil in perfect condition, after restoring it myself, in my living room. Perfect sound for me, even better than my Marantz 2026b, Sansui 661 or HK 440 in my opinion. Great job this reedition!,,,
Very nice!!! Thanks for sharing
Love your channel and your job!!! You do a very nice job letting the people know how great machines these are
I have an original 1978, 3060, that I love.
I'm wondering what Marantz are waiting for, to put on the market a serie of 'comemorative' Vintage Edition of their famous receivers.. keeping the designs originals though.. no switching power supplies and gizmos.. I'd buy one this time.. ;-)
I'd rather have an original 3030. Reason: Much less in it that could fail, and repairable if it did.
The anniversary model looks nice, but when its digital circuits develop problems, they will not be so easily corrected.
I think this has more chance of being made obsolete through software in future years, rather than components failing.
Personally I want an amplifier to be an amplifier and not a box of tricks controlled by an app.
Awesome videos good Sir`s!!
Just found your channel and are now in "good stuff" heaven!
Glad you like them!
But how does it sound compared to other recent amps?
Very very nice, good job NAD.
All new NADs sounds the same. Class D amps…
@ws5613 a lot of the new and improved class D amps and receivers are definitely better than alot of the old AB and A designs, side by side comparison, and I'm a vintage guy, but the truth is the truth. The secrets in the preamp.
I’ve heard NAD M33 for a lot of people it sounds good almost perfect. Do I like this synthetic clean, flat, extremely neutral sound? NO. Maybe perfection is not what humans ear prefers.
@@ws5613 I do agree with that, sometimes perfect isn't always the answer, preference is. I've had some British speakers and Snells speakers I prefer over 3-5k speakers I've had, on paper they aren't as good but the ears tell me different. Same with some amps.
Can this be hooked up to a Avr and used as a power amp for LR listening?
I got "lucky" and got hold of one but sent it straight back. It's Totally underpowered!! 100w is a total joke, no way is that real world power. Also had to hardwire it to the router to get it to going. Tidal Connect wouldn't connect. Those binding posts are so cheap and should not be anywhere near a £1700+ amp. All in all EXTREMELY disappointing.
Very interesting results, thanks for sharing!
That's Made in China for you.
Reading that, on the back panel, a total letdown for me.
Unfortunately it's not 3020 germanium transistors are absent, buy a 3020 restore it and you will hear the music, the face plate was plastic and was made in Tiawan, but the sound is really something to behold.
The 3020 was all silicone transistors..
Regardless of what transistors were in it, good luck finding one that works or more importantly keeping it working. I got mine a few years ago and it was working when I got it but within 6 months something failed and then got that fixed and then a few months later something else failed and then again and again, one thing right after the other kept going. Luckily I have a place about 40 miles away that is very competent in terms of electronic repair, but the guy finally looked at me and said" hey maybe it's time to put this one to bed".
Exellent . About time somebody tried past vs modern head to head. Can you get your hands on a pair of Kenwood L-08m monoblocks? They had an external (PS) pack , thier hard to find. People dont realize Sigma servo high speed DC was way ahead of its time . My favorite was the Sony VFET equipment , be it integrated or seperates . I owned a 100v Sony TA-E7B and the tech stole it once he heard it restored and my LO-5m's . Any cartridge basically can be played with this pre and its gorgeous. The L series turntable by Kenwood is top 5 holy grail ever .
Long live Kenwood Labs division.
I have a NAD 3130 Amp mid 80s 90s ish. I bought a Marantz PM7000N to replace it, good detail in the mid range but a total lack of base. I was wondering if anyone had thoughts on weather I should get the NAD 3130 serviced or buy a new one like the NAD C368 or C399
Buy what sounds good for you not someone's else advice.
Since this amp is so hard to obtain what other non retro modern NAD amp is equivlant to the C 3050 that has the same electronics? Thanks.
We have these in stock right now at ShopJustAudio.com
I have a NAD receiver 360 bought in the seventeenth in Germany with original papers and measuring curves
why does everybody i see with this amp run the same speakers? is their a reason they are paired with this amp as opposed to smoothing like the klipsch Heresy?
I run a C3050LE with a pair of Tannoy SRM 12x, and I can say, at least for me, it's an end-game setup.
Vintage Beauty
Purifi/Hypex amp inside?
Yes it’s for appearance only
@@cpg8000 Their website makes no bones about the use of Hybrid UcD amplifier modules, to what exactly does only for appearance refer?
@@fonkenful no, thank you.
@@cpg8000 Sorry, but still not getting your point. If you mean that you’ve not been satisfied with other UcD products that you may have heard, and wouldn’t consider a piece such as this for that specific reason - even though unless you have heard this one, that’s essentially contempt without investigation- that’s perfectly fine.
If it’s the cost, yes, as at least one other comment notes, the selling price for this special anniversary edition might seem a bit steep, until you do the maths on what separate components with equivalentfeatures and performance as well as the associated “audiophile grade” interconnects etc could easily amount to.
If it’s the appearance, as an old fart (71) who’s been in this hobby since well before my teens and owned many pieces of NAD in the late ‘70s to mid ‘80s, I think they did a pretty nice job of capturing the aesthetics of their earliest models.
But at the end of the day, the only person who needs to justify your entertainment equipment decisions is you.
I usually don’t give a rats ass about money. If I have it I spend it BUT in this case NAD is offering a whale of an integrated amp especially for the $. I’ve never owned a NAD product before but this is crazy great value from a company that is known quality. Someone already noted their desire for Pioneer to go down this road and that’s a terrific idea but my guess is a similar Pioneer amp would teeter around 3000bucks. Nice review nice product.
Even without the wood case this model is AWESOME. I did this video with mine that I've been using at home. This is a steal with or without BluOS
Best video you've made and you make some awesome content.
Pretty NAD, Bummer it's Made in China. ✌🏼
And class D
I had a 3030. Bought new in 1980, traded for a yamaha motorcycle in 1988....wish i had that amp back.
N.A.D er det beste man kan få vild godt ❤❤🎉
What are those peakers next to the NAD?
This unit is rated at 100Wpc, but what is its RMS rating (if you are going to do a head-to-head with the original model)?
They should have gone all the way and made it AB...
Yes! This is the most disappointing part, and the reason I"m not interested. A big miss in my opinion.
just curious why the tweeters are mounted differently .
Helps with dispersion/edge diffraction on wider baffle speakers.
It's not a receiver it's an integrated amp if it had a built-in FM tuner
One major flaw is that it does not use a linear power supply.
Co to za kolumny?
Did anybody else notice the tweeters are not clocked the same direction? I can't see anything else after I noticed.
They should just make the case black aluminum on the standard. The vinyl faux walnut wrap kills it for me 😢
Great 👍
Dude, It’s not a receiver. It’s a Integrated amplifier.
I bought my NAD 7155 receiver in 1985.
No.. the onkyo integra m-504 power amp. has MASSIVE power meters!!!
Loudness is missing...
Would’ve liked to see a loudness button as well. At lease there is a pre-out/main in loop where you can add something like a Schiit Loki and simulate a loudness compensation curve. Also not enough analogue inputs.
In most cases, loudness is helpful at low volume, but with a class D (or even hybrid like this one) amplifier, you have power at every level, so...
🤘
Why not make this in silver?
Sorry, what brand are the speakers?
PSB Passif 50
No USB Dac 😢😢😢😢
I would like to see how NAD 3050 sound compared to Yamaha A-S801. Anyone?
Good question.
One of the tweeters in the speakers is improperly clocked.
Nice catch
Hello, which speakers are these in the video?
shopjustaudio.com/products/psb-passif-50
Do you guys refurbish by way of shipping if so any information would be nice ✌️
ShopJustAudio.com
Limited edition but made in China. Come on NAD
Maybe manufacturing will move away from China in the process of 'de-risking' and cost-cutting. NAD is owned by Lenbrook, which appears to be a privately owned Canadian company, their other brands are Bluesound and PSB. Also, many former UK audio companies (Wharfedale, Audiolab, Quad, Mission, Leak, Castle, 8Audio, Luxman and Ecko) are now owned by Taiwanese IAG group and a lot of their manufacturing is done in China.
What about vs the Yamaha r-n1000a ?
One analog input, besides the phono. no bueno
Almost perfect for me but no WIFI hard wire to used ?
Did I miss the promised comparisons to the original 3030? A lot about features, almost nothing about performance. Hmmm...a "push piece" for NAD?
Receiver looks tight
Hey Lenny where's Squiggy?
I happened to audition this C3050 recently. The VU meters are more like toys, not done properly. They just dance around, too sensitive. The lights are like car headlamps too bright, can't be switched off, the other LEDs are cheap lights hardly dimmed but can be switched off. NAD learn from Yamaha AS series as there 701, 801, 2200 are around your system. The SQ is very clean, but to me, sounds digital, not AB like amplifier. The only reason to buy this amp is if you like BluOS want room correction, etc, I ended up getting the Yamaha 801.
Had this amplifier had VU lights switch able on off I may have considered given the price, they are just too too bright for night listening. Other LEDs are comical, not elegant like Yamas.
So to add to the meter comment. Whomever let you audition the amp did not update the amp. This fixes the meter issue. On that note you can't got wrong with an as801 or rn800! Thanks for sharing!
Is this up date available publicly? Can the VU lights be now switched off for night listening sessions? Oh yes, the left right balance doesn't function properly in this amp. There is sound leakage from opposite side if turned full to one side...
The Yamaha is my secondary system for another room. My primary is Lxman 509, now that is a proper amplifier. Not that Yamaha for the price is bad😊.
i still prefer the older ,which i own one , and this one lost my interest when i notice it didn´t have loudness or better volume loudness or they think that one can listen to loud music at home early in the morining like from 24h to 4 in the morning, i don´t like earplugs or headphones with cable or not
What are those speakers?
shopjustaudio.com/products/psb-passif-50
Love nad stuff
No.1 you're too loud bro, tone it down a bit
No.2 the unit is labeled an amplifier but you're calling it a receiver 🤯
Otherwise nice review of this beautiful piece of equipment
Only the LE edition has real wood veneer. The non LE has a laminate finish. So the features are not the same
So, Lenny...What did You really think ...😂
Buatifull
Awasome
Nice
Nice but a bit pricey
Not a Receiver, it’s an Integrated amp
What speakers are they
PSB Passif 50
Anyone know how this sounds with Heresy 2’s?
Leak audio stereo 130 in wood
The 230 is ridiculous as well. One of the best values in HiFi right now.
I'm not a technician, but were or how to connect my cassette deck and cd player also?
There is only one 'line in' input, so you can connect either the cd player or the cassette deck but if your cd player has digital out, you could use that.
What speakers are in the video please...
PSB Passif 50
@@LennyFlorentine ok thanks 👍
€2500 here in EU (= $2744) 😢
Probably still a good price but it hurts to know that it's $1972 over there, lol
What are the loudspeakers?
PSB Passif 50 ?@@erwindeleon618
That was a loud advert.