Sharply defined musical passages, great S/N ratio providing clear bass and very clear highs without shrillness or that irritating digitalized white-out sound of highs on most CD players found at this price range.

Won't play some CDR's but who gives a sh*t? The factory made CD's sound the best anyway.

The NAD C520 replaced a 7 year old Sony changer that needed to be put down. Immediately after installing the C520 I was impressed with the clarity of the sound reproduced on all of my CD's. The rich, full sound coming out of my Bang and Olufsen Beovox S35 loudspeakers reminded me of how good my LP's sounded some 15 years earlier with a new Audio Technica AT130E cartridge on my late Sony direct drive turntable, now replaced by a 1980 vintage Technics SL-D2. The muddiness and distortion plaguing so many of my CD's using my Sony changer disappeared, and I heard passages on songs I'd never heard before and so clear, and also so well-defined. Nick Drake's remastered LP's are so life-like as are Paul Weller's solo albums. My early Beatles CD's are really sharp now and so are my Zombies' remasters. Even trashy 1980's era synthpop (New Order, Human League, Gang of Four) sounds great even though the music is still pretty awful. I really enjoy listening to CD's now with the C520. Previously, I preferred LP's but the warmness and the precise reproduction of the C520 has given my ears a new treat. I even have no more need for my Audio Control Equalizer as the C520 needs no help there. My receiver is a vintage 1980 model year Yamaha Natural Sound CR220 at 18 watts/channel @ 4 ohms. The NAD C520 paired with the Bang and Olufsen speakers and my Yamaha receiver made my great, low-budget, high- end sounding, but aging stereo system Leap Greatly Forward into the 21st Century (the British NAD player is made in the People's Republic of China folks). And after installing just basic (goal here is great sound without a Bill Gates pocketbook) Monster Interlink Junior cables to all the components and Monster XPHP speaker wire with gold-end cables, the sound REALLY got cleaned up for less than a $100.00 hit for the new cables and wire. The end result of the cabling upgrade was no hiss, pops, buzzes or any loss of signal when playing the NAD C520 even at very high volume. Budget stereo owners take note. It really does help the sound to get rid of those cheap cables and speaker wires and just replace them with Monster Cable, even the 100 series and XP speaker wire. At least those frayed wires and bent RCA connectors won't be there anymore to detract from your expensive gear's potential sound you're probably not getting, but can easily get. What an awfully good buy this NAD player is! I got another C520 for $129.00 on a close out special and a friend absolutely loves how it sounds, replacing his crummy Sony player also from the mid-90's. Overall, the C520 just sounds so clear, rich in all frequencies, and paired with my components that are vintage 1980, the C520 provided the greatest upgrade I could buy without trashing any of my present components or dropping $1000.00 for another receiver that I thought was the culprit. Wrong! My CD player was the weakest link. Not with the C520. As with your LP's the heart of the sound is the stylus and the bit/laser is now with your CD player. The NAD C520 is a rare find indeed. I've since bought a 2nd C520 and I'm looking to get another. What an awesome sounding player and a really cool, almost Bauhaus design and so wickedly simplistic, hiding behind that dull looking cover and funky blue output meters is a very high-end player with the latest in sound reproduction for your CD's for under $200.00. Deservedly a Best Buy and probably the best player for under $300.00 you will ever get to hear. NAD, not found at Best Buy, WalMart, Circuit City or at Sears.

Similar Products Used:

Sony CDP -C225 CD Changer (1993 era dinosaur).

Crisp and clear sound, minimalist looks

Random skipping

After reading the reviews on this website and in magazines, I decided to buy a NAD C521 CD player (which has replaced the older C520) to partner my NAD C350 amp. I did have some reservations after reading some of the above reviews, but I was assured that the NAD C521 had some significant improvements on its predecessor, in that it had a sturdier transport and was more tolerant of damaged CD's.
Initially I found the player bright, if not harsh, but after severals hours of 'burn in' the sound became warmer, if still a little bright on the treble, with a good separation of instruments. Add to this that I could operate my amp and CD with one remote, and the aesthetics of the two together - I thought that I had made a wise investment. However, I placed a CD in the tray only to be greeted with an error message, as it was an older CD I gave the player the benefit of the doubt. However when it refused to read a pristine new CD and starting skipping on another, I started to change my mind. It seems that NAD haven't quite eliminated this problem which according to this site seem to afflict many of their CD players, strange given that the C521 happily played CDR's recorded on a variety of sources. If you can live with its little quirks then this may be the CD player for you, but its not for me, so it's gone back to the dealers.

simple, uncomplicated design

This is the third NAD cd player I've tried over the past two months. A NAD 513 (a 3-disk player) and then a NAD 522 were purchased as refurbished and demo units, respectively, from a dealer. Both were returned (without incident) as defective--the 513 tray mechanism jammed; the 522 would not play at all. The c520 was purchased new. Its sound output is fine, but the unit itself emits an anoying high-pitched tone. This noise does not come throught the lines, but from the box itself. It is not a mechanical sound, and it doesn't matter if a CD is loaded/playing or not. It is an electronic noise of some sort that is present whenever the unit is powered up. While the noise is not very loud, it is discernable when the system volume is low and the listener is close to the CD player. This is not tolerable, and given my experience with the other two CD players, a third strike against NAD. I will seek my money back and look into purchasing another brand. My low scores are influenced by overall disatisfaction with the quality of the other NAD products described above.

Similar Products Used:

NAD 522, NAD 513, magnavox changer

Price to win, an invitation card to the High-end world.

I have to agree with the gentleman 'aks' for his comments posted below. It was really a bias judgement for the quality of this player from the enthusiast 'Mike' since he evaluated those refurbished or demo NAD's units that he purchased. Severe faults of those NADs may seriously disservice to other consumers who are skimming the ratings to get an idea about the sonic performance of this player. It's performance might not up to par.

Be honest, I believe myself is a serious audiophile, any of NAD's products may not interest me very much, but I am a curious guy who is always looking for opportunity of auditions on any famous HiFi gears, I will have a chance soon to make comparisons for the three famous gears, NAD C-520, Rotel RC-951 as well as Marantz CD-17D. My review will be posted here once the comparison has been done.

(PS: I would rate this product no star if it is that worst! To balance the rating, I have to give 5 stars first.)

Thanks for looking.

Similar Products Used:

Krell Transport + Krell D/A, Pioneer HL-5 Transport + ds/d D/A, Marantz CD-17D, Rotel RC-971/xLC Clock + Muse D/A, Rotel RC951...etc.

makes music an enjoyable experience

no programming functions, no remaining track time

After buying a DVD player (Toshiba 2109) I needed a CD player who could read CD-R and make a difference with my old Denon 800 (13 years).

My audio system :
Arcam delta 60 amplifier
JM Reynaud XO1 speakers

I first took the "budget" option and choose a Philips 523 (164 $)because it had a very good review on a french magazine.Although it had every function needed I disliked the sound, too bright,no presence, poor construction, well after 3 CD it went back to the shop.

Then took a Sony 620 (250$),heavy weight, excellent construction, but no real quality: sound was clear and dynamic but boring, sad, too electronic.Back to the shop.

Last chance was a new NAD 520 (332 $)with a curious look and feel. I knew about the reputation of this brand but was anxious about the result on my system. The moment was dramatic as there was no point of return with this one, shopkeeper being sceptic about any difference I could hear "all cd players sounds the same" was his sentence.
Well something design by englishmen can't be wrong, can it ?
ok it is built by chinese, as the Philips, so don't tell me it's an european product ! anyway the construction is good.
So more money and back home.

The first CD was techno music.
Couldn't believe it.Man how it was good !Music was there and a large smile across my face, as the rythm made me dance.

Mmmm...let's get serious with some rock.
Outstanding. Some details I never heard, more punch and presence, no disturbing trebles.Pump up the volume, no headache.

Ok, after 4 CD had enough of this nobrainer music ;^)so here comes J.S Bach and the B minor Mass.
Felicity. Ah! the choir, oh! the strings, the orchestra.
The tones were superb, the voices well defined and placed, and the emotion was present.

I played and played and played many CD this day and was all excited about this strange piece of electronic.No other players gave me that.

I can't judge as an audiophile expert but my opinion is that this player is just made for music, every kind of music. It is very sharp with the quality of the recording and in classic, it shows you the bad and the excellent ones.
I like it's neutrality, presence, stereo imaging. Maybe it could be more transparent. Most reviewers here call it sweet, I guess it's the appropiate english term.

I never had the opportunity to hear high-end CD players but at this price it's a winner, so 5 stars.
Lack of some very usefull functions, I don't know what the engineers were thinking about, its a real shame so 4 stars to disapprove their omission.

I am waiting the day I can hear the 524 ! and all other NAD products.

Nice sound from the reader, specialy for the price.

Takes a few seconds to register whe you put a cd. Poor transport platoform though no problems so far.

A good choice if you are into getting the best sonic performance for less than $300, but i,m afraid of its reialibility.

Similar Products Used:

Denon cartridge, Sony caroussel

outstanding high-end entry unit

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This player is an excellent introduction to high-end CD audio. The one-star review below mine is regrettable. The author of that review acknowledged that two of his 3 NAD's were purchased as refurbished or demo units. To severely fault NAD for the performance of such units does a serious disservice to other consumers who are skimming the ratings to get a sense of the overall sound quality of this product.

Looks, clarity, functionality

CD tray is somewhat flimsy..but who treats their gear rough?

I had a full NAD setup being put together, so I went and listened to the NAD players to make a decision since they obviously do not skimp in any area. The C520 was setup at my local hifi shop, being used to demo some Meadowlark Kestrels with a full NAD setup as well. The setup blew me away. Granted these are $1500 speakers, but the source was what was clean too. With $1500 speakers you would most likely hear the difference between a crappy recording and a quality one. This is a nice clean cut component just like the rest of NADs lineup. I don't know what it is about the gray, but I love it. Looks great on my rack.

As mentioned in the weaknesses section, the CD tray is a little flimsy, but I don't think it would snap off or break easily. But would watch out if you have kids or something, you never know.

Other than that, this unit just shines. And even though people I know don't know audio anymore than thermodynamics, they will walk in and say, "Man your setup sounds great..why doesn't my Aiwa play CDs like that?" I just grin and tell them all I know, hoping to convert them into the world of REAL audio. And I am still on somewhat cheap gear :)

Mike

Similar Products Used:

Sony 5-Disc Changer from 1990 (AKA:TRASH!)

Price, quality, sound

Little slow at loading cds

I just got a c520, c740 reciever, and hooked them up to a pair of paradigm mini monitors. So far, the cd player sounds great. Definately much better than the sony and technics stuff I used to have.

Overall, quality seems pretty good. The remote is allright, but nothing special. The only thing is the cd seems to load slower than my other cd players, but overall, it works quite well and sounds great.

Similar Products Used:

Somy, technics, denon stuff

Smooth sound, excellent price.

Error correction, no programing ability.

I have really enjoyed having this CD player in my system. It replaced a 7 year old Sony unit. Basically I would describe the sound as smooth but detailed. It dredges up a lot of detail without giving you that nasty, grainy, digital sound. My only complaint is that the error correction does not appear to be as strong as on my Sony. The NAD is more likely to skip on a scratched or dirty disc, although this has not been a major problem (just an occasional annoyance). For the price the NAD C520 offers very good sound (as do most NAD components). I don't regret buying this, even with the new formats potentially on the horizon. I enjoy listening to my CDs much more now than I used to. Curiously, I noticed the most improvement on older CDs that I previously thought sounded really nasty.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Technics (can't remember model numbers).