I just purchased one and I did not have the luck. The motor has big noise and the sound is 'broken' and the worst part is 'the needle jumped around on the record' no matter what bias I put. It was such an disappointment for me. It's made in the England. What a poor quality control.I've returned it already. The feel and the look is really 'cheap'.
Try other more professional brand for turntables is my advice.

VALUE VALUE VALUE

Mediocre construction, CRAPPY interconnect

While I have not used many turntables myself, especially high end ones, I have heard enough beginner-level tables to spot a bright one out of the bunch. The NAD 533 is a great table on a budget to start out with. It's virtually identical to the Rega Planar 2 apart from a different platter material; Rega actually OEM's it for NAD. I don't know how substantiated the claims about an RB250 tonearm are in the previous reviews, but it sure does look like one. Very low noise, no turntable rumble, and good engineering. One thing to note is that the dust cover has plastic joints - continued fatigue will just crack them right off... That may be an important issue in longevity. Also, the cartridge sucks - I recommend the Blue Point as a replacement as soon as it comes out of the box. Use the Elektra as a back-up.

The thing about this table (echoed by the first reviewer, Mike), is that it comes somewhat crippled. There is no vertical adjustment on the arm, the vibration dampening leaves something to be desired, and the built-in interconnect is JUNK. Many of Mike's suggestions are good, but I think the biggest thing you can do for your table is to replace the interconnect with something at least more decent than el cheapo radio shack variety that is included. I wanted tighter bass and more accurate highs, and I figured a better cable could do it.

What I did was this:
- hacked off a the cable, leaving 15cm leeway
- bought 2-dollar gold-plated rca jacks at radio hut
- soldered em on and mounted them to the plinth
- attached at least somewhat decent, properly shielded interconnects (Monster 400MKii in my case)

What I heard made a WORLD of difference. I've never heard such a difference when replacing interconnects. The bass was tight, and the highs.... wow. high velocity sounds (cymbal taps, wood blocks) were airier and sat in space much more accurately. Timing of notes was now accurate instead of being smoothed out; you can say the sound is more aggressive, but maintaining the mellow feel of the table. The next step will be removing the mount for the interconnect and replacing the connection to the jacks with silver wire.

About vibration dampening, adding some vibrapods and then sticking big cones under them will bring the table to the proper height and make a big difference for noise and vibrations during playback.

If you've got this table and are not afraid to toy around with it (and drastically drop resale value), I definitely recommend you do something like this. 400-dollar table becomes something more like 800. And you will enjoy it so much more.

For the budding audiophile on a budget, this is where to go. Resale value may be near nothing, but it is really worth its potential in sound. As long as you make some modifications, 4 stars is it... I reserve 5 stars to multi-thousand dollar systems that require mad maintenance and constant babying in order to get sound out of them.

I aquired this turntable from a friend who told me it was a bargain, I have to agree with his opinion on this. I did some listening using my VPI HW 19 MK III as a reference but first, let me give you some findings from some research I did on this table. The NAD 533 is made in England and bears a striking resemblance to the Rega Planar 2, with the exception of the platter which on the NAD is made out of a black coated MDF of all things where the Rega has a 3/8 in. thick glass platter. I contacted the importers of the Rega table and they verified my findings. The NAD has the same plinth, [3/4" MDF] the same tonearm,[the excellent RB 250] the same motor, belt, feet, sub platter and bearing as the Rega Planar 2.The only differences are the platter, which is the same platter used on the Moth table imported a few years ago and the way the motor is mounted. On the Rega the motor is suspended from rubber mounts, where on the NAD the motor is mounted using adhesive foam. There is however one othe difference that should be mentioned, the tolerances. I was informed that these tolerance differences are on the tonearm and can be dealt with if you are handy. The bearing that allows vertical movement of the tonearm is often loose with the NAD units. This can be easily corrected by removing one of the little black plastic caps that cover the bearing. Using a correctly sized blade screwdriver, tighten the bearing [it will turn hard] until this bearing slop is eliminated. There are a couple of other things you can do to get the most out of this table. The rubber feet that are screwed to the table's plinth are too tight for best sound. Loosen the feet until they just hang freely. Another thing that seems to make a difference is to make sure the tonearm and platter bearing are nice and tight on the plinth. Another thing I don't understand is that if you remove the little plastic clamp that holds the cable to the plinth, it seems to make the table more quiet and more dynamic. It also does not hurt to get a better cartridge than the one supplied with the table. The included cartridge is th Goldring Electra. While this is a nice enough cartridge for the money, you may appreciate a better one. The Sumiko Blue Point and the Rega Elys both worked very well. If you use a Grado use the shielded version or it will hum. THE SOUND??? Well, you won't feel compelled to throw away your Goldmund for this table however, it does offer alot for the money. [I almost forgot, $399!] Compared to a Rega Planar 2 on hand, the NAD was more laid back, actually more neutral. The only shortcoming I could detect compared to the Rega was the dynamic presentation. The Rega has a more up front, dynamic, alive sound, where the NAD was more laid back with more depth more quiet with a less "tipped up" top end. More like the VPI !!!! Compared to the VPI the NAD did not unravel the music's textures as well and the NAD also had much less resolution. I found that I could listen to the NAD for long, long periods of time, like I could the VPI where at times, the Rega, while it is a good table, by comparison could get tiresome. The NAD is an excellent introduction to some of vinyl's wonders as well as an excellent music making instrument for $399. I hope the boys from STEREOPHILE see this and check one out. My only reservation is that you MUST "fine tune" the NAD to get the best from it. I feel that once the NAD is fine tuned, for $399, it deserves a 5 star rating. One note, the reference VPI was also equipted with a Sumiko Blue Point and a Rega RB 250 arm.

I am back into analog and it is fantastic. SOOO involving.



Try the Grado Reference Platinum ($300) cartridge, it is a good rich sounding match for the rather forward NAD table/arm. I haven't had any problems at all with hum, contrary to the rumor in the audio press.



I also tried the Audio Technica ML150 which was pretty damn good too, but not as involving finally. It is so analytical that I found myself always being analytical myself while listening.



Also try replacing the feet it comes with, with a set of DH cones on DH squares. The increase in low level retrieval is definitely noticeable.



Happy listening, thanks for reading... Five for value, four overall.

Just an update:



My wood floor was just passing along too much vibration. I bought a $3 piece of plywood and screwed 4 eyelet screws into the corners and then 4 more into the ceiling above, in the same configuration, and attached the board with 30 pound test fishing wire. Tricky to level.



Now no floorborne vibrations, whatsoever. Sways ever so slightly because of the turntable itself, but this doesn't affect play. There is greater detail now for sure. Only now be careful when lifting the cartridge off the record. I actually leave the dustcover off now since it is easier to operate that way.

All I can say about the previous review I read here is that this man must have gotten a big lemon out of the production line. I have had no such problems with my 533. The motor on my 'table makes amost no noise when it first starts up and when running for about ten minutes there is no noise audible to my ears. Although the 533 will not perform as well as a thousand dollar 'table it is an excellent sound for what I paid for it. The charactaristic 'Edle einfach' NAD design is so beautiful, that I am considering keeping the core of the system, and only upgrading the tonearm and cartridge.

I find the NAD 533 an incredible bargin for those far removed from vinyl since the mid to late 80's, like myself. Thanks to the 533 I can hear what I've missed for so long, the smooth, warmth of analog at a real world price. The sound complements my Martin Logan Aerius i's like Fred and Ginger gracing the dance floor. While listening to the Bill Evans Trio "My Foolish Heart", (Analogue Productions) I had to open my eyes to remind myself, I'm listening to a recording. Amazing sonic purity!
It bares close resemblance in sound and build quality to the Rega Planar 2 even sharing the same RB 250 tonenarm. Although the Rega has a tad more transparency in the midrange, I find the NAD 533 with a cartridge upgrade (Benz-Mirco, Grado) a first rate turntable that keeps up with the best of them in a 5k system. I must point out that playing with the dust-cover off does vibration, hence, improving the sound. Check out Fi magazines review November 1998 Vol.3 Issue 3.

This turntable is ultra-fantastic. The sound is indistinguishable from the Rega Planar 2! Build quality is excellent. The starter cartridge is decent, but an upgrade would be nice.

I bought the NAD 533 just almost a year ago being on a rather tight budget for a table I had chosen It over the rega planer 2. I have to say that this turntable with a few modifications performs unbelievably well with the sumiko blue point and rb250 arm combination. The few modifications were easy and really opened up the sound alot contrary to what I have read about this table having a "wooly" sound. I made sure that the nut that clamps the platter bearing to the plinth was nice and snug but not over tightened. Also on the rb250 arm the nut that clamps it to the plinth may be on too tight, for best results this should be first tightened to finger tightness then snugged up about a 1/16th turn. This adjustment I found was the most critical one and can really open up and liven up the sound. Also the bearing at the back of the arm are loose and have a bit of play to them for this adjustment read Mike Allens review for which he has it right. After these adjustments are made you will be surprised at the noticeable results. An excellent turntable at a steal of a price....

none at the price.

This is a follow-up.

I replaced the factoryiunstalled Goldring Elektra cart. (very listenable for the price), with the Goldring G1042.

WOW! Now it really SINGS! Compared with many CD reissues. The original LPs blowned the CD reissues away most of the time. The 1042 is an excellent upgrade for this deck. at reasonable costs. (Mail order from overseas. Save BIG! Even factored in Air delivery.) :-)

The Goldring 1042 is one of the very best buy in MM cart.

Don't forget to align the cart., and set the tracking force correctly by using an accurate tracking force gague like the Shure SFG-2 (@$20)

Also tried the Sumiko BPS - Hard and edgy sounding.