OK, so what's the skinny on this puppy? Reviews are hard to come by, no one in my area has it for an audition....i'm thinking my M3 needs a proper digital mate. I currently have a Marantz SA8001, which for the bread is a good value. My speakers are fairly high res (dynaudio s3.4), and my tastes are eclectic from jazz to metallica and classical --no rap or country though, I do have my limits ;)
THere is that Rega Apollo which would be easier on the wallet and has mass appeal...but the allure that the M5 would be the better choice...is well alluring!!
Nuck, Hopefully 10-ish days. By then the M3 should be well on its way to proper run-in. Then, the cycle begins anew with the M5. I always wanted and M3 or an M5 in my life, but BMW charges too much for their versions.
There are more reviews for the M55 universal player, and they are very very positive w.r.t. redbook and sacd. The M5 being a dedicated cd audio player has additional design elements to further enhance the foundation of the M55 implementation. I was considering the Marantz SA11, or an Ayre CX7E, or an older ARC CD2, but the M5 is the latest technology, uses the class A preamp modules in the M3 (which sounds superb), has a boatload of features, looks killer and will likely be the perfect mate for the M3, oh yeah it's also much less expensive.
I would love to hear ANYTHING good or bad (hopefully all good) about the M5 as i'm buying this sight unseen (unheard too). But, I am somewhat relaxed about this situation based on how great my speakers sound with the M3 at the helm. NAD has always been my favorite overacheiver and it sure sounds like they hit the ball solidly into real high end territory, but once again at prices that are far more tractable than some other offerings. my 0.02 Regards, Dave
This weekend I compared the M5 to the Rega Apollo, as I want to upgrade my current NAD 521. Both players are obvious upgrades over my current gear. I expected the Apollo to be stunning, given everything I've read about it in these forums and elsewhere. I didn't know what to expect from the NAD (given the paucity of reviews or comments). Both CD players were connected to the same system (not an M3).
I listened to a good recording (Hotel California) and a relatively bad one (Rubber Soul). The M5 was noticeably better than the Apollo with the good recording, but *much* better with the poor CD. While not the only way to judge a CD player, making the most out of less than ideal CD's is a priority of mine. The M5 sounded wonderful in this dimension.
I then listened to an SACD (Dark Side of the Moon), and was even more impressed. I wouldn't buy the M5 on the primary basis of SACD capabilities, but it is a real bonus.
I should also add that the M5 is built like a tank. As good as the Apollo sounds, I wouldn't describe it that way: there is a lot of plastic, and I did not like the top-loading design.
In any event, it should be remembered that the M5 is considerably more expensive than the Apollo (which also sounded great, by the way). It may well be worth comparing the M5 to more expensive CD players. For example, I had once listened to an ARCAM Diva 192, which is similarly priced. To the extent I can compare, I prefered the NAD.
In the end, I also decided to buy one -- it seemed well worth the premium to me.
Thanks for the healthy response! Your experience with the M5's better delivery of poor recordings is hugely encouraging. In general this is the main reason why I moved from separates to the M3 integrated. I was growing annoyed with the massive amounts of resolution but subsequent reduction in enjoyment of the 'rest' of my collection. I have actually been on this exact cycle 10 years ago, when I replaced my then separates with an NAD 314 and shoot I think it was the 502 cdp? This time around though the M3 is an intgrated that also has the nth degree of resolution as well as flexibility to deal with bright cd's or what have you.
So far the M3 tells me its posible to have beautiful velvety sound, detail, all the power one could wish for (in home setting), without sacrificing much at all.
I still can't get over how open and transparent the mids are to my ears. It is scary close to the ARC separates I replaced...
Yeah! Finally got the M5 and set it up over lunch. So far, at least it plays but no critical listening yet. Things sound promising but i'm sure it has a ways to go...
It is a tank. Beautiful to handle and to look at.
Looks really sweet above the M3
BTW: I realized that the M3 has a dedicated c-core transformer for its preamp section. Very cool.
I have recently bought NAD player particularly M5 SACD. I'm happy with this player however I do have found that if I play a disc with normal CD layer and it has been recorded at disc at once etc: all songs without gaps I do get a little click (noise) when player changing the songs. I do have some other players and they seams to handle this without any clicking or so. I just would like you guys to ask if you are aware of this problem and possibly if it can be fix somehow as I would like to keep this player Thank you
