NAD - Arcam - Cambridge Audio CD players advice needed
Daniel34
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I'm considering buying one of the following CD players. NAD 521BEE or NAD542 (is 542 worth the extra money) Arcam Diva 73T (more expensive than NAD 542) Cambridge Audio Azur 640C (not sure about the price)
They all have pretty good reviews.
I haven't listened to any of these (will do over the next few days) but I absolutelly loved the sound of Arcam Alpha 7SE. If anybody has any experience with these, any feedback is welcome.
The Arcam sounds better yhan the other 2. If you can afford it that's the way I'd go. Next is the NAD C542 which sounds significantly better than the 521BEE. Ultimately if you can listen to them yourself that should help you decide.
The Arcam does everything that the NAD C542 does well, even better.
Daniel34
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I found price for Arcam, and I don't think that's what I want to spend (30% more than both 542 and Cambridge Audio - and we all have to draw the line somewhere don't we ;-)
Since I'm buying NAD C352 at the same time, perhaps NAD 542 is the way to go. The local dealer that carries both, NAD and Cambridge Audio, swears by Cambridge Audio (perhaps better profit margin on this one ;-) who knows ;-), they are exactly the same price at this place. The good thing is that I will be able to hear them both at the same time. According to other reviews, seems like most of the people like NAD better.
I like the NAD better than the Cambridge. The NAD will be a good fit in your system. Enjoy!
Daniel34
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Hey Art, thanks again... or just thanks ;-) (I was sure I did say thanks in my previous message, now I see I'm wrong... how rude) I've heard all the best about NAD, hope I won't get dissapointed tomorrow.
A set of quality interconnects can improve your sound also. Take a $400 player and $200 interconnects and get $1000 in sound. **I had the Arcam Apha 8SE, which I prefered over the 7 & 9. It was very difficult to part with until I got the Arcam FMJ DV27 which is a heck of a CD player for a DVD unit. That enabled me to let go of the 8SE and go to the Shanling Tube Output CD player which gives a warmer sound aproaching vinyl.
Daniel34
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Cambridge against NAD.
I'm just about to do this tomorrow, will let you know how it goes. New Arcam I'm looking into has the same DAC as Cambridge, then again, NAD 542 has exactly the same one that older Arcam's had (Alpha series) and to my ears Arcam sounds way better, so not sure if you can conclude much from DAC type without listening.
I tried 542 against older Arcam Alpha 7SE and it doesn't sound nearly as good (to my ears at least) as Arcam. Not to say that it sounded bad, but it wasn't as good match for my speakers I think. Tried all kinds of music, blind tests... could always tell I liked Arcam better, more natural and warmer sound. Didn't like the highs on NAD all that much, a bit harsh for my taste.
Is there such a think as Arcam sound?? Would new Diva 73T sound anything close to the older Alpha series I seem to like so much, of course I'll demo it, but perhaps somebody has experience with this ??
BTW in older thread on Amps, I read that somebody said that NAD c352 was too bright after they brought it home and matched with 542 CD player. I'm almost certain now that this is CD player sound, which sounded way brighter than Arcam on my setup at least (same amp, NAD 352).
TSH
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I went 352 and 542 - value for dollar could not be beat in my opinion. The Arcam was better, no doubt. But with my speakers, the dollar difference may not have been justified. Some day, I may own an Arcam, but until that extra $300 means nothing to me, I will be happy with the NAD.
I love my Arcam! I had the Alpha 8SE which I preferred over the 7SE & Alpha 9. It was robust, yet warm, and played everything with ease. Along with the Burr Brown DAC, the Torriodal Power Supply is excellent! When matched up well, you would have to spend Double or Triple to match that sound. I now have the FMJ DV27, and found this DVD player to be even better with CD than the Alpha Line, but it was also $4000CAD compared to $1800CAD for the Alpha8SE. If you like a warmer sound, closer to Vinyl, research some Tube Output Players. I traded my 8SE up for a Shanling CD-T100, and it's a beautiful thing!!
Daniel34
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To my ears, Arcam sound is worth the extra money. It's not cheap that's for sure, but I honestly think it's worth it. All matter of taste I guess. Cambridge Audio Azur 640C and NAD 542 are too close to call, both sound great but Arcam is warmer and again, to my ears more natural sounding. So I spent the extra cash and got one. Blew the budget just like everybody else does I guess ;-)
One thing though. I played with different interconnects, and seem to hear more difference/improvement on older Arcam with great interconnects (Van Den Hul D102 III) Vs. average (Nordost Black Knight) than any of the newer models mentioned in this thread. Could be just my ears playing tricks on me, hard to tell ;-)
Dont be fooled, go with NAD C542 and just replace capacitors for power with black gates ,and that cd player will be cheaper than arcam and it will sound better. After that take good interconnect cables and enjoy.
Daniel34
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Posted on
Different people different taste I guess. NAD c542 is decent player, no question about it, but it's not in the same league as Arcam, to my ears at least. To be honest, maybe it's not fair to compare them given the price diff.
I'm not sure how much replacing capacitors improves it, but it's not something I would know how to or even wanted to do. After experimenting with interconnects, and finding out that they really do matter - though you really need to spend some time on picking right interconnects, I'm really happy with Arcam now.
"...though you really need to spend some time on picking right interconnects..."
I wouldn't spend too much time. Most people who claim to hear differences in interconnects claim that they are subtle at best. Don't believe the magazine hype.
Daniel34
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We all read about this all the time, if certain cheap interconnect (or any piece of equipment) is good enough for somebody, why bother trying diff. ones, I agree.
Well, I had some time on my hands, and wanted to have the best possible sounding system I can put together with somewhat reasonable budget so I decided to try few different interconnects just to see for myself whether this is hype or a real thing. Nice thing about new CD players is that most have two RCA outs, so you can switch back and forth between interconnects as oposed to physically having to switch them.
My belief now is that interconnects matter. Sure with some of them the difference is subtle, but lots of times you can improve a lot without spending big bucks. That said, I can't see what would make me spend much more than say, $200-$300 on single interconnect, but even at "low(er)" end there is room for improvement IMO
One area where I disagree just a little with Stu. I hear substantial differences in some interconnects. I still wouldn't spend alot of money them. Good interconnects come in many different price ranges. Good budget cables include IXOS and NXG at the low end and go up from there. Speaker wire can be had even less expensively. Like at Home Depot...no really, I'm not kidding. See below...
If you listen for a while and your connection cables would be dirty and if you change it, you will see the big difference. But, this is due to the dirty cables. 2) I measured the resistance of connection cable, I saw (It's not a joke) 100 ohm!! It must be less than 1 ohm! This orginal cable of some cd-player (I don't want to write). I changed it now it's better. AND thank you for good ideas in the forum. I like them.
Not to offend any of those die hard cable fans, but I haven't heard any interconnects and speaker cables to date that make that "big" difference "audiophiles" talk about (at least not on these moderately priced systems we are talking about here anyway). If spending $100/$200 makes you happier and gives you the illusion of better sound, by all means buy those exotic cables - why, I can sell you some if you like :-) Just be honest to yourself and try a blind test and decide for yourselves!
The fact that you don't hear the differences and I do doesn't offend me a bit. Why should it? I benefit from upgrades in both cables and gear. I'm sorry that you don't.
I have posted obvious improvements in many posts and continue to enjoy the benefits. Particularly a series of Liberty bi-wire suggested here, it's cheap, really cheap, and very effective. But hey, to each their own...
AZ, Nuck, like I said, finally what matters is what makes you happy. I never would try to convince anyone that exotic cables (or any gear for that matter) do not make a serious difference - the difference is after all what I perceive (or not). Just that I have followed some of these experiments with cables which were not successful. Some articles online claim they make these huge differences, some others say it doesn't matter at all!
Surprisingly, my dealer also agreed with me. When I asked him what improvement some of those $150 speaker cables (for 2 meter pair) would make, he said "hardly, don't waste your money. just buy a decent 12-14 ga. OFC wire and it should be fine".
Well, your dealer is wrong, as simple as that, perhaps not wrong on that particular cable, whatever it was, but if he said do not bother with cables, he is wrong.
Not all cables make "huge" difference, in fact you can jump $500 in any single component in your system and not hear "huge" difference.
Cables, power, interconnects and speaker do make the difference, they are not "huge" as you put it, but think about small gains in sound quality on two power cords, two interconnects and pair of speaker wire, it sure ads up, doesn't it ? If you do not hear it, save yourself money and get Sony or JBL.
Sorry if I'm being harsh here, but it's stunning how many people claim that there is no difference.
Now, I'm not saying buy exotic, expensive cables, but experiment a bit and if you don't hear the difference at all, go Sony, really.
Now is the difference worth $$$ to you, that's whole another question.
I pitted a CA 540D dvd player (yes dvd player) against the 542, per the review in The Absolute Sound buying guide (Oct.2006) and was impressed as how much the unit rivaled the 542's sound. You also get DVD-audio as a bonus. They are priced very right, under $300.
However, one thing to keep in mind when comparing components is what Hawk has said time and time again: The speakers used and where the system is positioned taking into the consideration the acoustics of the room can make a huge difference in what one will hear. If possible, take the demo units home and conduct your own test and see which component "fits" into your collective system and acoustics best.
Some speakers are more forward sounding in their presentation, while others are a bit more laid back. There will be components that "match" these characteristics better than others.... When building a system it is very important to pay attention to how well the kit "plays" together.
As for speaker cables, power cables and interconnects: yes they do make a difference, in most cases the difference is incremental - the biggest difference one will hear will be the initial upgrade from stock-provided interconnects, pwr cables, etc. to an upgraded version. The key here is when you begin to add up all of the incremental differences- this is when you begin to see very noticeable, night and day differences.
I have become a big fan of SignalCable.com. Frank the owner and designer has some great stuff for the money. His belief is the cable industry is overly hyped and priced accordingly. Skeptically, I bought a pair of his interconnects and placed them into the system. When I A-B tested them using the same cd, I noticed a difference. Best 50 bucks I have ever spent. I then purchased speaker cables and replacement power cords and I have been a very satisfied customer ever since.
Well said...I did try the Signal Cables and they did not work in my system. They are well constructed and I have no doubt that they will work in many systems. I found better sound with Analysis Plus. Your points are all well made and I couldn't agree more.
BTW - Frank was excellent to deal with and I found the experience to be a positive one even though his cables didn't work in my system.