Choosing CD player - NAD, Denon, Sony

Hello Have you considered adding the Cambridge to your list?

My nad 521bee died.. so after a lot of thinking and posting a quick note on hear went out today Sunday to richer sounds and bought a Cambridge 640c was very impressed. Right from opening the box, you find the cd not in the normal plastic bag. But in a special blue sack made of cloth. So is the remote. When i plugged it in I found the remote control worked my musical fidelity x-80 amp from the volume to the switching of inputs and more. The Cd player sounds lovely with the Music fidelity
 
I've not heard a NAD/B&W combination, but I can say that the C521BEE CD player and C320BEE amp sound excellent as a combination. Might also be worth looking at either Monitor Audio or Accoustic Energy, as they are supposed to have good synergy with NAD gear.
 
You need to hear your choice of player with your system . Buying blind is risky. Dont forget to budget for a decent set of interconnects.
 
Thanks people. I've managed to hear the Rotel RA-02 and NADC320BEE today with the C321BEE and DM601s. I decided that the Rotel sounds that bit better than the NAD, I prefer the tighter bass it had, it'll be the RA-01 i'd buy though, supposed to sound very similar to the 02. If anyones wondering, B&W and NAD amplifier do sound good together. The detail is good, but I wasn't personally so keen on the slightly loose bass and there was a bit of a resonating effect going on with vocal sibalances.
 
I had the Sony '570 player and it was really very very good for the cash. Saying that, I would try looking round for some 3-5 year old models second hand.
 
To preface this post, I need to say that I will be focusing on two specific CD players, but since this is my FIRST post, (well, second after the hello one, technically) I just want to give a bit of info on my current gear, and that of which I'll be buying very soon, which I think is relevant to the CD player obviously.

Hey everyone, I found this forum doing a google search, because I've been looking for an appropriate place to pose some questions about the new system I'm putting together. First off, I realize that this is a U.K. based site, so you guys might not have heard of the company which I'm buying the receiver from. I currently have an Onkyo TX Sv515 receiver, and a Fisher 60 CD changer, (though I've been using my Toshiba DVD player more and more for CD playback) and they're going through some really aweful speakers, which come from Radio Shack !

I also own a pair of Energy C3 speakers, but refused to hook them up to the Onkyo, because I was having issues with surges that caused the unit to go to protect mode, and from time to time, one or the other speaker would just cut out, and I'd have to raise the volume rather quickly to get it to pop back in. Something I won't dare subject my Energy's to.

Here is what I have pretty much been looking at for my new rig:

Outlaw Audio RR 2150 As seen here I'm able to audition it for 30 days and return it if I don't like it at all, and Outlaw is very well known for excellence in customer service, so I'm not worried about the return policy, seeing as how you can only purchase their stuff online.

Next on the list is the CD player, which is why I'm really posting. Since the Outlaw receiver does not have an optical IN/OUT, I don't really need to spend extra $$ on a source which happens to have the OUTs. Now, I've been looking at the NAD C521BEE and the NAD C542. The only obvious differences I can make out between the two, is that the former does not have optical ports. If this is indeed the case, and the DAC's are the same, then this pretty much answers my question as far as which one to buy. Of course I'd rather not spend an extra $200 on something I'll not utilize anytime soon.

I'm also buying a Music Hall MMF-5, but that's for another thread. So, I'd really appreciate it if anyone can answer this question for me. Are those two CD players identical besides the in/out ports ?

Thanks a lot. :)
 
Sorry, I don't know anything about that player really. I will almosty certainly be getting the NAD C521BEE though, thanks for the help all :thumbsup:

Still a bit undecided on amps, I can budget for the Rotel RA-01 quite easily, which was good, but to be honest niether of the amps I demoed were as good as I might have hoped (NAD C320BEE being the other, both had thier strong points and weak ones) Does anybody know much about the Rotel RA-1062 or the RA-03? I can budget for either, but its clearly a lot more. Is there a lot to be gained?
 
Ok, well, apparently its not worth getting a more expensive amp without a similar priced player, so its a bit out of my budget. I have ordered the NADC521BEE and Rotel RA-01, thanks for all your help :thumbsup:
 
I have a NAD C521 as well, (upgraded from a Yamaha DVD S795 deck) and i can say with hand on heart that i was expecting a noticeable upgrade, but i was totally blown away with everything i played, from hard house, to delicate jazz (katie melua / joss stone) not only did it drive my speakers (Alesis Monitor One MK II's) a lot better, with more authority, but also drives my sub a lot better too!
I've had quite a few CD Players hooked up to this amp, and none have touched this NAD521, Im so glad i got talked into buying one :D Now just to upgrade the amp maybe
 
Nice, that sounds promising. I will be getting the CD before the amp, so I can judge the difference it makes by itself for a week or two while its still connected to my Pioneer A109.
 
Does anyone know if NAD are due to bring out any new players as the C521BEE was first reviewed in What HiFi in 2004 - which seems an age ago in HiFi terms ?
 
Well I finally took the plunge and bought a Cambridge Azur 640C V2 - first thoughts after 1 day of ownership are very favourable :thumbsup:
 
Hope you're happy with your purchase and it gives many hundreds of hours of incredible listening!. Im having to listen to all my CDs again, and just really realising how much difference a good source (ie CD Player) makes, playing through my PC is so crap, its the shove i need to make the purchase of a new soundcard :D... Now... which soundcard? :cool: Probably be an M Audio
 
I've got my NAD C521BEE and Rotel RA-01 now. CD definately sounds good, not completely convinced about the amp, but the speakers are poorly set up, so its hard to judge either way (not for too much longer hopefully). Good points, got a lot more detail coming through, better soundstage and more control over the bass.
 

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