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NAD C541

 

Britt
Bronze Member
Username: Brittho

Frisco, TX USA

Post Number: 34
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
Anyone have experience with this unit? I really like the C542 hooked up to the NAD720BEE at the store but the budget is getting too thin. My main problem is that the sound from the C542 was better than the C521BEE IMO. So I am looking for the same performance for the cost of the C521BEE.

Confused yet?

Well in short I am trying to buy a player that will be closer to the performance to the C542 at the C521 price point. Spearit Sound has the C541 on hold for me for the next few days while I make up my mind if I want it or not. Anyone have any info or opinion on this player? I will not be able to hear it since it cannot be found new for me to try it out.

It is the C541 and not the C541i if that helps. And I will be using Rega R5's with the set up.

Thanks much!

Britt
 

Edster922
Gold Member
Username: Edster922

Abubala, Ababala The Occupation

Post Number: 1379
Registered: Mar-05
Posted on   
I never figured out what the difference was between the 541 and 541i myself...

What I wonder about is how big the difference is between the 542 and the Marantz cc-4300 (see My Rantz's thread on the second).
 

Britt
Bronze Member
Username: Brittho

Frisco, TX USA

Post Number: 35
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
How is the weather in Abubala today? :-) hehe...I'll read up on the Marantz thread and have a good weekend. The price for the C541 is about half of what a 542 would be with shipping so it is tempting.
 

Stu Pitt
Silver Member
Username: Stu_pitt

NYC, NY

Post Number: 321
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
Britt - I could be wrong, but I think I saw somewhere that the difference between the 541 and 541i was that the i read cd-r and cd-r/w better. I believe the 541 had problems reading these and NAD addressed the issue with the 541i. I don't think their were any real sound quality improvements. Look through the archieves in the cd section. I think I saw it there. The 542 is supposed to be an improvement in sound quality and a few other bells and whistles (seperate buttons of rewind and ff instead of a rocker switch, time remaining, etc). I haven't heard either one, so I couldn't say any more than this.
 

unbridled id
Silver Member
Username: Unbridled_id

ChicagoUsa

Post Number: 116
Registered: Mar-04
Posted on   
I think the 541i has a better transport mechanism and has better overall tracking. In addition I also agree with the above post and have read the 541 has issues with cdr's... Try audiogon, I have seen at
least 2 541i's on there. DCM. electronics.com also has the 542 refurb for $349, just something to consider. I would spend more and get the latest unit if I was you...
 

Britt
Bronze Member
Username: Brittho

Frisco, TX USA

Post Number: 36
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
Well I don't play cdr's. My computer that I have now has the capability to make a CD-R but I have only done 1 and it took this poor 7 year old system nearly an hour to make it. What I really need is a new PC. Nah. :-)

If the only difference is the CD-R playback and a few other cosmetic tweaks then the 541 seems to be an OK deal.

So no one has heard of any build quality issues other than the CD-R problem? If not then I will pull the trigger by end of week.
 

Me
Bronze Member
Username: Alexfromholland

Post Number: 37
Registered: Aug-04
Posted on   
Hi,

I own a NAD 541 and it plays CD-R's flawlessly. It doesn't play CD-RW however (who needs it anyway ?).

Sound is superb for this price. I bought one secondhand, and it's worth it!

Alex
 

Britt
Bronze Member
Username: Brittho

Frisco, TX USA

Post Number: 41
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
Thanks for the input. I am going to go ahead and pick up a C542 at the end of the month after another paycheck or two come in. I really wish that I could not hear a difference between the C521BEE and the C542 as I would rather spend the $200.00 on new HDCD's.
 

Art Kyle
Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 1410
Registered: Feb-05
Posted on   
Good choice Britt. No sense in selling your system short at the source end. The C541i is very good but lacks a few components that give the C542 better bass and transparency. I would avoid the C541.
 

Britt
Bronze Member
Username: Brittho

Frisco, TX USA

Post Number: 42
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
Off the subject but...

Are HDCD's out there to find in stores. I cannot remember ever seeing one for sale? Amazon has like 5 or something pitiful like that. Is it a format that just did not take off or what is the deal? There is a sampler CD that was done locally I think here in Dallas on Amazon for cheap but the rest of the HDCD's on Amazon I just could care less for. Where should I go to find these for sale. I am a bit leery of buying stuff on EBay so a brick and morter or online site would be helpful.

Thanks for any help! And I am looking forward to the C542 and at least I have settled my decision on two parts of the equation. I am still working on making a final decision on speakers.
 

Art Kyle
Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 1414
Registered: Feb-05
Posted on   
I find CD's with HDCD more by accident than anything. It's not like there will be a seperate place in the store for them.
 

Me
Bronze Member
Username: Alexfromholland

Post Number: 38
Registered: Aug-04
Posted on   
Hi Britt,

I only have one HDCD and that is Sailing to philadelphia by MArk Knopfler. Try find some online; I couldn't find one in the stores.

Alex
 

James P
Silver Member
Username: Jamesp

,

Post Number: 137
Registered: Apr-04
Posted on   
Hi Britt,

Fellow DFW'er. The NAD CDP's are top notch for the money. I have a NAD C541 and think it is a terrific CDP. However, may I give a suggestion if you are ever thinking about modding down the road. You could look into the Music HAll MMF-25 which goes for about the same price as the NAD C542 brand new. The Music Hall's opamps can be upgraded with no soldering to a BUrr Brown OPA627 which will yield a noticeable improvement. The opamp upgrade is only around $70 if you do it yourself. From reading through several diy mod posts the op amps mods usually yield the biggest improvements in sound. There are plenty of mods out there for the Music Hall. Stock the MMF-25 is comparable or even better than the NAD. So I have heard. Haven't got a chance to listen to the Music Hall but I am sure there are those who will testify.

I got my C541 really cheap and plan on upgrading the op amps myself which will require some soldering. Should be fairly easy. When I started out I never thought of modding until the upgrade bug bit. Now diy mods have really struck my interest.

If you go for the NAD C542 I am sure it will be awesome. I just wanted to throw another suggestion in the mix.
 

Edster922
Gold Member
Username: Edster922

Abubala, Ababala The Occupation

Post Number: 1509
Registered: Mar-05
Posted on   
I recently discovered that the Onix cd88-x is a rebadged Music Hall 25 and at half the price...$300. In fact they have B-stock for $250 right now at av123.com

However after today's CDP shootout I may upgrade my subwoofer first. (See new thread for the results.)
 

Curtis Tanaka
New member
Username: Musicluvr

Post Number: 3
Registered: Apr-05
Posted on   
Hi,

I saw this thread and I'm jumping in with a couple of comments.

Here is a link to a catalog of HDCD discs:

http://www.hitbutiken.com/hdcd/

You may or may not know that many HDCD discs have little or no indication that they are HDCD encoded .

This thread also mentions modifications for the NAD C542. Here's a link to a fairly simple modification that I have tried with my C542 and a Toshiba SD-3109 DVD player.

http://www.diyparadise.com/75ohmtweak.htm

The change in sound was subtle on the NAD C542 and considerably more prominent on the Toshiba SD-3109. The NAD C542 was the better sounding to begin with, and still is after adding this mod. In both cases, the bass became a bit more defined and the soundstage became slightly deeper and more layered.

The reasoning about why this tweak should work makes some sense to me. The digital out on most CD/DVD players is an "always on" circuit where a signal is being passed to the output jack whenever a disk is playing. There is no bypass switch or digital output off mode. The digital output jack is an unterminated network link, like the old coax Ethernet cable networks for computers. In those old networks the end points of the cable required a termination resistor plug with an impedance matching the cable. Improper termination of the network cable would cause reflections in the signal that would bring the network to a crashing halt. What seems to be happening is that the unterminated digital output of the CD/DVD player is having some degrading effect on the analog signal of the player. As I noted above, the effect is small, or I'm sure the manufacturers would need to address it with a bypass switch or a mode setting.

Happy listening.
 

Will
Bronze Member
Username: Willfi

Post Number: 18
Registered: Oct-05
Posted on   
From NAD website
"Not all digital outputs are equal. In the case of the NAD C 542, careful attention has been paid so that best use can be made of the ever increasing number of products now available with digital inputs (CD, MD recorders, computer sound cards, outboard D to A converters, etc.). Unusually at this price point, the coaxial output is buffered and isolated by a transformer from the converter itself and the output impedance has been carefully tailored to produce a precise 75 ohms impedance to ensure perfect matching. This attention to detail reduces the timing errors (jitter) that could otherwise distort the digital data stream. An optical TOS Link output is also provided allowing connection to devices that only provide this option. "

If the dig out is isolated from the D/A then I can't see how this mod will benefit the unit. However I will plug back in the C542 tonight and make one of these jumpers/resistors to see if there is any difference. Also there would already be a 75 ohm resistor on the output inside the unit, so in effect this plug would create a effetive 37.5 ohm resistance to the digital output.
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