Beware of NAD M3 Fire Hazard

Looking at the service manual again that capacitor is a 22,000 uF 80 volt polarized aluminum electrolytic. As can be expected it is connected to the output of a diode-based full wave rectifier. But based on what you (pwb) were told it sounds like something else failed in the power supply which caused that cap to explode. If so, that something else could have been a lot of things, as there are a great many parts in that circuit.

However, although the schematic is a little hard to interpret I’m fairly certain that the DC voltage appearing across that capacitor in normal operation (and across the other three similar capacitors, each channel having two of them, one for a + voltage and one for a - voltage) is between 70 and 74 volts. If so, that seems to me to be a failure waiting to happen, as a cap should be run at a voltage that is much less than its rating, IMO. Preferably at something like half of the rating.

Regards,
-- Al

I agree with edcyn. NAD needs to know about this. 

My old tech friends refer to the dead NAD as a boat anchor.  We use to play golf with am/fm Delcoes in the late 70's, you will need a good sludge hammer.  Very sad to hear of your plight, glad you were home.  I always consider NAD as a really good brand-I have no experience with their equipment.  My good buddy Chrisopher Coffin, superb audio tech, had this to say about fuses.  A 200 picture tube will blow and save the life of a 25 cent fuse(1979).  Not quite his original saying, but you get the drift.

1. Contact NAD
2.Contact who you bought this junk from.
3 Tell Millercaarbon to piss off.
3 Buy some real gear like Simaudio.