nad 3020 vs advent 300

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!

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.