Full wide ranged sound

No programming

For a change I took my time when buying my current setup. I was initially interested in the c520, and both me and my girlfriend were surprised at just how much difference there between that and the c540. The difference was enogh that we almost doubled our prior budget for the cd player.

The nearest contender we found was the Arcam 7se - compare these two and pick what you like!

Great soundstage,warm & rich sound

No programming

Lets put things in perspective. You can spend more money for better sound but it will cost you significantly. For the money this player cannot be touched. It simply blew away my older Adcom unit with greater detail, bass response and warmth. I am hearing things not previously heard. Instruments come across with greater detail and accuracy. Great value!!!

Similar Products Used:

Rotel,Denon,Adcom

Just a brief note to my original post. Others had commented on reliability and such. My little unit has been perking along without a hitch. After some "break-in", the sound seemed to improve. It is really musical (that probably means a distortion somewhere, but it is euphonious to my ears). I'm still not totally happy with the bottom end, but a good subwoofer cures most of that.

Very hard to beat in this price range.

Nice sounding equipment, simple and easy to use.

The remote control is not ergonomics. Uncomfortable to hold.

I have used it for about a year, and have never encountered any problems as described by other reviewers.

Similar Products Used:

Parasound CDP-1000

Incredible soundstage that can define each instrument from one another. I've heard more detail in both quiet and loud passages than in any other CD player. On one specific recording I found a whole percussive sequence never previously heard. Bass is strong (deep and fast) the midrange is nicely balanced and the highs are detailed but not _too_ clinical. Impressive specs as well!

Disc tray seems a little flimsy (especially when compared to my marantz cd-44s tray) but without abuse it will be okay. I have not experienced any tracking, skipping with CD-Rs or any other problems that other reviewers have described here.

This product is extremely high quality for such a decent price! When I listened to familiar tracks there were revelations in all aspects of the sound - the entire frequency range was extended and detailed. The soundstage was very immersing - with atmospherics it is a real treat. closing my eyes to the introduction to Goldie's 'mother' almost caused me to hallucinate......;) The buttons are firm, the look is simple and utilitarian, and the display is nice and mellow. A lovely component which has really boosted the quality of my system. It includes:

NAD C340 int amp
NAD C540 single disc CD player
VAF DC-X 3 driver, two way floorstanding loudspeaker (if you live in Australia and have not yet discovered VAF then I suggest you do so - factory direct, designed and assembled in Adelaide, these speakers cost me AUS 1400 are comparable to imported European models which are three time the cost.) Check out their range at www.vaf.com.au

Similar Products Used:

Owned: Marantz CD-44. Auditioned: Rotel, Marantz, Sony

Smooth, warm, excellent imaging and detail.

Extremely poor transport.

I had been looking for a good mid-fi CD player for several months, researching the likes of Marantz, Rotel, Yamaha, and NAD. I do own a fair number of HDCD-encoded discs (mostly Grateful Dead and classical titles from Reference Recordings), so the Rotel was particularly intriguing. The NAD C540 seemed to match exactly what I was looking for in a CD player, but I was still interested in HDCD. When the C541 became available, the decision was a no-brainer.

The player sounded great right out of the box. It was smooth, lush, warm, and laid back, yet all of the detail was there. Musical instruments somehow sounded more like themselves. Imaging was excellent. After a couple of days of burn in, the player sounded even more relaxed and open. The tray is sturdy enough... some of the reviews here led me to believe it would be no sturdier than my computer's CD-ROM drive. The remote is poorly designed--some of the buttons are precisely positioned so that they cannot be pressed by fingers in the hand that's holding it. I ended up having mixed feelings about HDCD. Although my HDCD discs sounded quite good, they did not sound any better than well-mastered non-HDCD discs, such as Steely Dan's Two Against Nature, or Sex Without Bodies by Dave's True Story. Although it's a nice feature to have, I no longer consider HDCD essential.

My player's first hiccup was when it skipped on a Tori Amos CD. I took out the disc and inspected it--no scratches, no dust, no fingerprints... nothing. I put the CD back, and it continued to skip. If the disc had a flaw, I would be more forgiving, but it was rather disconcerting that I had a disc skip and there was nothing I could do about it. After one week with the player, I found a few more titles in my collection that skipped. All of these discs played perfectly on my two other CD players.

The last straw came one day when I popped in a brand new copy of Chesky's Bach Orchestral Suites, hit track 8 on the remote and... nothing happened. Sitting next to the player, I could hear the mechanical sound of the player trying to get to that track, passing it, and going back for another try, again and again.

I boxed the player up and returned it to the place of purchase. Had it not been for the tracking issues, I would have given this player an absolutely stellar rating, but I simply cannot have a CD player that will not play everything in my collection. Back to the drawing board. I wonder how the new Rotel RCD-961 is going to do...

sound, price

some copied or bad quality cd's won't play at it.

It's a really great player, a lot of quality parts inside!
for this price you can't find any thing like it.
it's only not liking "cheap cd's"(like copy's)
only thing bad in side are the cap's.
change those for better once, seal the crystal in silicones, than you'll have the chaepest player that give's the rich detailed sound, for the price of a better sony player!
just go listnen to find out!

Similar Products Used:

Sony crap players, Nad 520, technics

Deep visual soundstage. Excellent resolution of detail. Sweet crisp highs. The C540 has a gorgeous tranparent sound.

None based on why it was purchase. My only goal was the best possible sound I could afford.

The only reservation I had about buying this CD player was the quality control issues that some people have experienced. I took a chance with it because I have had great success with NAD products in the past. It also has a two year warranty should anything go wrong. Enough of that, this CD player has worked fantastic. The one my dad purchased works perfectly as well. I like the design and build quality as it is a very elegant player.

And now for the important part ...

I though this unit sounded great out of the box. However the unit does need some time to break in and did sound even better after about 20 hours of play. I did not realize how harsh and digital my old player sounded. The C540 has a very natural sound. The highs are not at all harsh or fatiging. The highs are sweet and airy yet at the same time very detailed with a crisp sparkle. Midrange and bass also sound natural. They have a nice warm sound that still has excellent detail and transparency. The bass is well extended and defined.

I highly recommended the NAD C540 player. If great sound is your main priority and you need to spend less than $1000, this player should make your short list.

System:

Paradigm Reference 100 speakers
NAD C540 CD player
NAD C160 preamp
NAD 218THX amp
DH Labs BL-1 Silver Sonic interconnects
Tara Labs RCS 1000 Prime Biwire
Vibrapod isolators.

superior sound,NAD look

lack of reliability

Beautiful smooth sound,great player for the money. One problem is reliability. I use this particular unit infrequently...it is kept safely in a stereo cabinet, all my discs are shrinked wrapped brand new....yet today I tried playing the NAD C540 and all my discs read ...."no disc". Pretty poor reliability for a supposedly quality item. It is still under the 2 year parts and labor warranty so off to the shop it goes....as far as sound it is a great unit but think twice about it because of the durability.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Philips, Nakamichi

Outstanding sound quality, general build, simplicity - the money is in the components

Flimsy tray, extremely sensitive to CD scratches, doesn't play CDRs

I bought this CD player about 2 weeks ago because as an Audiophile I was not
impressed with the sound my small Hifi was making. The Denon was supposed
to be amazing with alpha processing and 24bit DAC etc. but the sound was
just awfull.
The NADC540 made a huge difference. The sound was massive. Unbelievably
clear and precise. I felt that I was now making full use of my speakers.
There was nice well-balanced bass and vocals seemed much more lively. I
have a particularily varied taste in music - Jazz/Classical/ Rock etc. so I
had to listen to everything in my collection. This is when I started to
notice some random skipping. Even the slightest scratch makes the player
skip. Since some of my CDs are quite old, they had got fairly scratched and
so half my collection wouldn't play properly on the CD PLayer. Also it
doesn't play CD-Rs which is annoying as I produce music and can't listen to
my CDs on it. So I have sent it back as the C541 promises to fix all these
problems.
However, if you have a mint
collection of CDs, this is by far the best player you can buy in its price range.

I use:
AMC 3025 Integrated amp
B&W Dm602 S2 speakers
(Denon DCD 755-AR CD Player) + Cyrus Isoplatform
Prism cables

Similar Products Used:

Denon DCD755AR