NAD 2200 Vintage Amplifier Review

[monkey86]

@monkey86 QuirkAudio states that there is shortage of inventory on that size of capacitor. Seen this before and will again I am sure. Some person goes looking for the ultimate power supply capacitor only to find it's not offered or is a awkward dimension. Have you seen the power supply ripple on a O-scope? Is there a actual issue or are you swapping out capacitors for something to do?

I know it's hard to find. Caps are swollen. I like to play hard and I'm afraid that the kick will be too much tension if I mount 100V I want to renew thoroughly and these two caps are a serious problem.

 

[audio_tony]

100WV on the caps is cutting it way too fine. The rails will often sit above 100V. Consider the mains voltage only has to fluctuate by a few percent for them to be sitting outside their WV.

Not only that, since the 2200 was made, voltages across Europe have been standardized- there is no 220V and 240V, it is 230V nom. The US is 120V nom. The unit has primary tappings down to 10V trims to ensure the main caps are safe and that's with 120WV caps. And secondary rated voltage is 71-0-71V which after rectification losses, will be around 99V unloaded.

Here in the UK we are on 240v - and quite frequently I see 245vAC so those caps would be quite underrated here.

 

[monkey86]

Here in the UK we are on 240v - and quite frequently I see 245vAC so those caps would be

Here in the UK we are on 240v - and quite frequently I see 245vAC so those caps would be quite underrated here.

View attachment 156961

Mine also comes to 245V or sometimes more…

 

[Wtr]

Mine also comes to 245V or sometimes more

I do not know if I made it clear... but my point is they used 100v instead of 120v. If the capacitor voltage would be greater than 120v then ok but 20v less, is it safe?

Look for United Chemicon SMH or KMH 10000uf, they have a 125V surge and will only be used during the short power envelope peaks. Search Mouser, digikey, newark/farnell. I waited 6 months for my delivery. Don't forget to replace old relays also.

 

[EJ3]

I do not know if I made it clear... but my point is they used 100v instead of 120v. If the capacitor voltage would be greater than 120v then ok but 20v less, is it safe?

I typically run 2 of mine bridged MONO at 4 OHMs. The third on runs stereo in 2 OHMs (for my sub woofers). My home is a 2400 square foot split level (with 3 levels). The first level contains a large den, a bathroom, an office and an entry foyer. 3 steps up is the breakfast room/kitchen, the formal dining room & formal living room (the location of the stereo). Up a flight of steps with a landing, is the 3rd floor with a sewing room, a formal hallway, a master bedroom, 2 dressing rooms (one with a toilet & one with a bidet), a tub room which also has steam, 2 other bedrooms, each with a dressing room & toilet and a tub room in between the 2 dressing rooms. When I am operating my stereo, I can go anywhere in the house and anywhere within 10-15 feet of the house and clearly here the stereo. I have never had the clipping light come on during this use. I have never had a failure of any type during this use.
Take that with a grain of salt: BUT that is the Empirical Evidence that, at least for me, they haven't failed from this.
I do, however, run only off of a PAIR of 1350 watt Uninterruptable Power Supplies.

 

[EJ3]

Also, a lot has changed in the formulations of caps, their tolerances for overloading and many other things. Perhaps one should talk to the representatives from the manufacturer of the caps that you are planning to use. I think that there is newer information on newer formulations that
hold specs better and have more tolerance for voltages that are not spot on, etc. I would say: Check it out, don't just use or go by the old stuff.
It is possibly better now. On the other hand, it could be worse now. That's why you should check it out. I am happy with the choices that I accepted because there was research done that convinced me it's ok to use what was used. That is why I checked it out. As with anything that is custom, modded, restored, whatever, check it out.

 

[Powerbench]

That’s why I owned NAD 20-30 years ago. (Not hrs)

 

[EJ3]

That’s why I owned NAD 20-30 hrs ago.

YEARS?

 

[Powerbench]

Yup started with NAD 3020i , 5000 and onward!
From what I remember
3100
2100
502
5300
L53
7400
770?
7400
523
7100
D3020
390DD
So far what I can remember is NAD stuff I owned in the last 30 yrs. Might be missing a couple…

 

[Powerbench]

Oops yrs not hrs…

 

[EJ3]

Here in the UK we are on 240v - and quite frequently I see 245vAC so those caps would be quite underrated here.

View attachment 156961

On our supposed 120 V nominal on James Island, SC, I have never seen the voltage get that high. I have 2 120 V 1350 Watt USP's on plugged into separate power receptacles on separate 120 V 20 amp circuits that are typically showing 117.4-119.6 Volts incoming. I can adjust the outgoing (to the stereo equipment) between 95 Volts to 125 Volts (I run them at 110 Volts). One of my 3 NAD 2200's is a dual voltage model. But uses the same caps. The voltage transformer is what takes care of what voltage the NAD's electronics receive.

 

[jcs]

Any idea how much the update costed?

Do you reckon the price of this amp + update cost would make this worthwhile compared to modern budget amps?

Bought mine new in 1990. Been upgrading recently and decided keep this amp and have it upgraded. Peter has been great to work with. $425.

 

[SirPaulGerman]

What do you guys make of the Nad 216 ? Any good ?
Can you guys recommend a newer Nad power amp with the same qualities as the 2200 ?

 

[Angsty]

The 2200 is a product of its time. The C298 is the new NAD amp to own now. That’s from a C272 owner.

If the C298 is too pricey, I can recommend a C272 or 2200 with updates from Quirk Audio. Quirk did the mods on the 2200 for this review and they modded my C272. My modded C272 sounded a wee bit better than my stock Bryston 4BST.

 

[SneakyToaster]

I have a great relationship with this era of NAD gear and the sister company Proton is the same lineage. I have a video on YT in where I show how to replace the relays for sealed relays so it deletes the corrosion problem with exposed case relays.

 

[Snarfie]

I have a great relationship with this era of NAD gear and the sister company Proton is the same lineage. I have a video on YT in where I show how to replace the relays for sealed relays so it deletes the corrosion problem with exposed case relays.

Truly NAD fan on a mission

 

[cybernaut667]

Thank you, I was just curious. I own a Hegel H390, H190 and H80. I hope a Hegel amplifier
one day will be measured here at ASR.

Sorry for the bad news..

 

[ENG]

Sorry for the bad news..

Well, the Hegels are sold for god money and replaced by NAD C298 and NAD M22V2.

 

[SneakyToaster]

Truly NAD fan on a mission

Yessir! I will be buying a used NAD 1020B tomorrow but I don’t have any NAD amplifiers or receivers nowadays. I moved on to bigger and better but I still have a soft spot for NAD and Proton.

 

[Snarfie]

Yessir! I will be buying a used NAD 1020B tomorrow but I don’t have any NAD amplifiers or receivers nowadays. I moved on to bigger and better but I still have a soft spot for NAD and Proton.

Did bought yesterday a used NAD stereo set (c542, c325 an c532) for some people (a couple) with a very mild form of down syndrom they had a set that did broke down an where not able to change to a streaming set an hook it up to complicated. For just 150,- (still amazing sound) an just one remote