nad 3020 vs advent 300

They're both good "Classic" pieces. Provided the 3020 is in good working order, it would be my choice since it does have more power and the phono stage allows for flexibility.
I own the pair myself having purchased both new some many years ago. I still use the Advent in my office because of the tuner section included.

thanks bigtee. what do i gain in terms of flexiblity? and what exactly is it? i do think the advent has a very cool retro look. i have a tivoli table radio with a very similar "henry kloss look"

I've owned both the Advent 300 and the NAD 7140, which probably has a phono preamp section very similar to your 3020. As long as you're using a moving magnet or high output moving coil cartridge, I'd go with the Advent as Holman's preamp section is pretty amazing, plus you get the Schotz tuner. If you find you need more power, you can always add a power amp later.

The phono preamp in the 3020 is very good, but IMO not quite up the Advent for MM/HOMC. If you're planning on using a low output moving coil, the NAD would be your only choice, but I found my 7140 to be a little noisy and rough at the high gain setting.

I gave my 300 to a friend years ago, and I've missed it ever since. Henry Kloss was the man!

dear armstrod,
thanks for the info. what do you think about using the advent as pre amp and begging my uncle for the nad 3020 as the power amp? (i am his favorite nephew)the cartridge on my inherited turntable is an ortofon x-1 mc. not sure about its output.

The 3020 is the clear choice and yes I know both well. Clean up the pots AND bridge the pre-out/amp-in with decent connectors to upgrade the sound tremendously. If you really get ambitious you can bypass the treble/bass pots to open it up. It will run away from the Advent (which is also a nice piece).

Tda44,

The Ortofon is 2.2mv, which should work fine with either the Advent or the NAD. For the small bump in power I'm not sure it would be worth using the power amp section of the 3020, but if you had both in house you could do your own comparison between all aspects of both units and make your judgment with your own ears. That's always the best way.

celtic 66,
thanks for the advice. this question will show what a rookie i am at this whole biz, but here goes: how do you clean up the pots? is it just opening up the unit and blasting the inside portion of the knobs with condensed air? or do you use some other spray product? i know this is audio repair 101 but it's all new to me. i do appreciate the help.

armstrod,
i hope i can get both units here for a little "battle of the old timers" action! thanks for taking the time to help me out!

I was wondering if you are not taking the advent i would be interested for a gift to my fauther. He used to have one. Thanks Paul

Just a minor correction to Armstrod's post. I have Advent 300 literature and it doesn't mention a Schotz tuner. This was a feature of Nakamichi receivers, not Advents.

The Advent 300 is wonderful,it works really good for a small 2 channel AV amp.