-Great sound to price ratio if you spend some time experimenting with cabling. (see review body) -Attractive look and good build quality

-Very sensitive to cabling (see review body)If you just use any cable you are wasting the potential of this player. You need to experiment. --Now some minor quibbles-- -I do not like the 1-9 then 10 then 10+ track selection/program system -Does not display remaining time of track or total time of program. -Can not random play a program -Other reviwers have said that it acts fast but IMO it takes a long time to initially load a disk and goto a particular track on direct track selection.

This player is replacing a Panasonic RP 62 DVD player that has been doing double duty. Supporting Equip -Paradigm Studio 100 V3 Loudspeakers -Paradigm Servo 15 Subwoofer -Acurus RL 11 Pre-amp -Aragon 8008 ST 2 CH Amplifier (200 into 8 ohms, 400 into 2 ohms) -------------------------- The physical appearance of the player is quite attractive and IMO it grows on you as it sits in your rack. I really like the feel of the buttons even better than my Arcam FMJ. The drawer operates smoothly and with reasonable authority. It has some nice programming features and the remote is decent. My unit has no issues playing CDRs but I have not yet tried any CDRWs. Inside the box is a large Torrodial power supply and a single circuit board which covers the majority of the insides of the unit. Upon initial installation of this player I have to say I was disappointed. It sounded OK but I was expecting a large upgrade over the cheap RP 62 DVD player. Initially I got the impression that the RP62 actually sounded a little better. (for the record the RP62 uses a 24/192 audio Dac) After further listening and some A/B comparisons I came to the conclusion that the RP62 is in fact more detailed in the high end of the spectrum but also a little muddy and boomy in the bass as well as a little brittle in the high end. This can help on certain material but is fatiguing in the long run. The NAD certainly is less fatiguing and OVERALL and an improvement IMO. I can listen to my system at much higher volumes with the NAD than I could with the RP62 due to the laid back (compared to the DVDP) nature. After some cable swapping I have been able to improve the sound of this player 100% and would now say that it ALMOST approaches my old FMJ CD23. I'm not talking about throwing high end cabling at it. I'm talking about experimenting with various mid-fi cabling until you find the ones that make it sing for YOU in YOUR system. I would describe the sound of the C542 as laid back in the higher freq and male vocals. This makes for a non-fatiguing sound but also gives the impression of less detail. The detail is there but just pushed back some. I corrected this with some interconnect changes and now it sounds detailed and reasonably smooth with the vocals in the correct depth in the soundstage. I have tried a couple of HDCD disks and these are a significant improvement but I only have a couple of them so it’s a little hard to reach a solid conclusion with respect to the HDCD performance of the player. Perhaps I’m a little spoiled, as the last stand-alone CDP player to grace my audio rack was an Arcam FMJ CD23. That player outperformed the C542 in every way but then it should considering it is over 3X the price. The NAD was close to the performance of the FMJ in bass response and with some cable experimentation provides a very pleasing sound. I have minor quibbles that I'll list in the negative.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam FMJ CD23 Cambridge Audio D300 Audio Research CD-1 Panasonic RP62 DVD player

Speed and timing. Bass. Detail retrieval. Looks.

Someone else said draw is too fast, I agree only with concerns for wear. Blinding fast song scan rate could bother some people, I like it.

We bought our NAD C542 last December and have not stopped playing it. It is Titanium in color and all comments are that it looks like a 'serious bit of kit', I don't know why so many people think NAD's look bland. Must be the grey ones! I've had Marantz and Sony CD players before and were addicted to that smooth lazy Marantz sound. The Sony's were harsh and not me at all. The NAD has moved me on with it's still engaging sound, but much faster timing and sharp firm bass. If you like the Marantz sound, NAD is the same type of addictive, but with kick. For rock music with slam, look no further. It stop/starts real quick and kick drums, hi-hats and bass combo's are just sensational. We play a loy of softer Country as well like Travis Tritt, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, Alan Jackson and the reproduction is silky smooth. HDCD mode is a bonus and works very well. It reads them all too, not all HDCD enabled gear can put its hand up there I have found. I agree with others that it picks up tremendous detail and I too hear new sounds on old discs. On one Billy Joel disc, on a soft passage, the C542 reveals the inside hammering of the piano and its pedals. That is amazing to discover. We couldn't be happier with it and are now going to buy more NAD gear to match it - a T533, C352CT, and a T773. I seriously give it five stars, not just because I own it. As do most awards.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz and Sony various models.

Great Sound, and I like the austere NAD look.

Power cord is not detachable, no EMI filtering, RFI noise.

I think this player outputs a good analog rendition of my music. I have not used the digital outputs, coaxial or optical. Poorly recorded CDs sound awful, and well-recorded CDs sound wonderful. I have read reviews that stated that the bass output of some earlier NAD CD players seemed to come up short. That is certainly not the case here – bass output on the C542 sounds really good. I imagine this will be my last redbook CD player. All the functions work perfectly, with the only desire being a “time left on present track function.” Music starts and stops with no audible pops, and it sits in standby mode without a peep. The transport mechanism is fairly quiet, but at $500, I think it ought to be still less noisy than it is. When playing a track the mechanism makes virtually no noise at all, but when jumping to a new track in “Random Play” mode, it is slow and makes a substantial amount of noise. I have tried quieting the mechanism, but with limited success. The HDCD feature works well, and HDCD material sounds great and very transparent. I was not expecting the HDCD format to sound better than redbook, but now I have changed my mind on that. My real complaint with this unit is that it seems to put out a substantial RF noise floor that makes its way to my indoor FM antenna, and thereby gets into my FM tuner. When listening to the tuner, I have had to turn this CD player off, otherwise I hear low-level “whishy – whooshy” sounds in the background below the music. I have studied the situation on an Agilent spectrum analyzer, and have tried to improve the situation. There is a general rise in the noise floor throughout the FM spectrum, and a strong spur at approximately 84 MHz outside the band. All this stuff seems to be floating around on the C542 chassis, the shells of the RCA jacks on the back, and I also see it come down the non-detachable power cord. I suspect that there is nothing wrong with my unit and that they all do it. So far as I can tell, it has no impact whatsoever on the audio output of the player. When I am not using the player I can simply turn it off so that it does not impact my FM tuner. Leaving the player in standby mode did not help – it had to be turned off. For all I know, all modern cd/dvd players might do something similar. My modifications (including inserting an EMI filter inside the unit between the power supply transformer and the non-detachable power cable) may have improved the situation somewhat, but my spectrum analyzer shows there is still a lot of noise. At least I can listen to the FM tuner while leaving the player powered up now. I don’t think the RF noise is a big deal, but I do think that for a player costing $500 new, it should not be doing it! I found no EMI filtering that I recognized inside, and I think at this price point, this player ought to come with a detachable power cord connector, and an EMI filter on the other side of that connector. I opened a cheap JVC DVD player once, and found multiple instances of RFI filtering inside.

Simple, honest and convincing sound (in the best british tradition).

Very slow track information/selection, overall styling is a bit drab (NAD grey again).

Simple, honest engaging sound. When I compare this to my marantz65mk2 it's easy to see how far cd players have evolved. When I reviewed this player it was a "toss-up" between the cambrige 640c and Nad c542. There's not much difference, except the Nad had the edge on price and it sounded warmer via my NAD amp. It's amazing how much detail this player has picked up from my cd collection... it's able to extract nuances that I've never heard before. But best of all, it characterises the best in british audio... that honest, no nonsence, uncomplicated sound that gives music its unfatiguing sound - no over-emphasis on any part of the audio spectrum. I think anyone can buy this player with confidence and it shouldn't dissapoint. When I compare it to so many dvd "audio hifi pretenders" this just gets it right and in a straight forward manner. A true joy to listen to.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz 65mk2, Cambridge 540c and 640c, Nad 521BEE, Sony, Akai, Yamaha, Sherwood, Panasonic CD players.

Nice sound for the money. Also some cheap caracteristics appears but no harsh-sounding. Detailed. Nice bass and guitars. Very dynamic and also fast.

Very forward, edgy. Sometimes you feel that there is no deapth. If you add little more Euros or $ you will find much more capable players that C352 amp is looking for. Also buy a very good interconnect (I prefer Kimber Hero or SilverStreak) cause C352 sounds warm and it presents detail very well.

I combined this CD with a NAD C352 and Proac Tablette 2000 loudspeakers. The cables that I used for this system cost a lot but presents the heart and soul of system and reveal everything possible. I use Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cable and Kimber Silver Streak Interconnect. I let the system run for 120 hours. My conclusion is that this player sounds cheap (also with the low-end characteristics of many similar priced: forward, shinny sound with a hint of gain,lack of depth) but it has some rare highlights for the category such as dynamics and no-harsh and 'zzzz-sounding' voices and it is also very-very detailed. Indeed, my Pioneer 668AV universal player may sound fuller, warmer, bolder, with huge depth (comparing with the Nad) and soundstage beyond NADs player capabilities, detailed enough, but it sounds rough with voices especially female voices (...of course) and the bass is more-than-enough comparing with NADs CD that has a very delicate and right bass. I strongly suggest a marantz CD or something more expensive (even a Musical Fidelity X-series CD or a Cyrus 8 one) combined with NAD C352 - a very capable amplifier - than this NAD player. I like the deeper, fuller soundstage and dislike the so-much fordwardness. Also I can hear a lot more of back and front voices on some tracks with my CD playback of Pioneer than with NADs, that you may feel that they all in the front-line or that you never unlocked enough information of the music you listen to. NAD sounds a bit edgy but without annoying harshness (strange). Rock is the player's favourite music of course in this price category - I dont mean that it plays jaw-breaking rock cause we need very good depth and soundstage.

Similar Products Used:

From this price category, Pioneer, Marantz.

soundstage. Excellent for vocal jazz. Detail.

the cd drawer eject too fast.

I got it as a replacement of my Alwa DVD player. Guess what, the sound is just far better than my DVD player if listen to Jazz or Classical music. I tried to compare with Cambridge 640C cd player, but i found NAD is more musical and it is way better for vocal jazz. Within $500, these player won't let you disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

Alwa Cambridge Marantz

Pure, unadulterated sound and detail.

Not the most attractive component on the rack, but then, I would be disappointed if NAD made it prettier at the expense of sonic quality.

I purchased the C542 to replace my very tired yet capable Nakamichi OMS1 which I had purchased new in 1989. And since the Nak was beginning to act up, I also purchased the NAD because CD quality from my Sony DVD player was absolutely horrible. Anyway, I am incredibly impressed with the NAD. And like the Nak and other upper-end CD players, the NAD lacks the ridiculous bells and whistles that are predominant on mass market electronics. The lack of extras on the NAD pays off in sound quality. I was immediately taken aback by the amount of detail the NAD was able to reveal in CDs that I had been listening to for years. Amazing how much sound is on a CD that most equipment is unable to reproduce. The NAD does it with ease. I highly recommend the C542 for its ability to extract minute details in the source material. Of course, you should probably marry it to a decent amplifier or receiver, not to mention decent speakers. If you want lots of buttons, lights, and features you'll never use, then look elsewhere, but if you crave pure sonic quality then NAD is worth a look.

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi, Sony

Excellent soundstage, incredibly open for the price

none

I purchased this CD player to replace a Denon DVD changer i had been using as a CD player, and wow what a difference. Upon startup i automatically heard an improvement in soundstage and articulation. While listening to synchronicity stings voice was exceptionally smooth, yet realistic. for the $499 payed, this player in unbeatable

Good bass, HDCD decoder Not fatiguing at all

even cheaper in the US

Bought this player to replace a Marantz cd67OSE. Main reason was that the remote of my amplifier was messing with the marantz output settings. Compared the player with an Arcam 73T (650 euros) and a Cambridge Audio 640C (469 euros) I liked this one the best. The Arcam may have had a little more oomph, but highs/mids were about the same. HDCD encoded CD's (only have 3 of them though) sounded better with the NAD then with eiter other player. In the end the Arcam wasn't worth the 150 euro's extra (for me at least) Too bad the NAD is much more expensive in europe (in US only U$350), this amount of money make the player even better value.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CD67OSE Arcam CD73T Cambridge Audio 640C

excellent sound, great price

none at this price

My existing player quit, so I started searching for a reasonbly priced replacement. I had read favorable reviews of the C540i so I started to research NAD products. AudioEnz.com had a nice review of the C542, so I rolled the dice and ordered one. Boy, am I glad that I did. This player is outstanding, especially with a MSRP of $499. The two-channel portion of my system is a Conrad Johnson PV-14 preamp, a Coda/Continuum Stage amplifier, and VonSchweikert VR-4 speakers. I've also spent a considerable sum on cabling (which does make a difference if you have good components). My system is very detailed and the C542 really shines. Normally, a $499 player is reviewed in conjunction with less expensive equipment, so it's hard to know just how good the player would work with my system. I'm not a audio reviewer, but I've been an audio fanatic for over 20 years. (The review on AudioEnz.com was well done, check it out). All I can say is that the player makes the music sound as if the musicians are in my listening room. Everything sounds real. The player is detailed, but not harsh. The soundstage is large and deep with the vocalist centered between the speakers. I think that I would need to spend a lot more money to get a better player.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam Alpha 7, Ultech UCD-100, Revox S22, Pioneer DV-45i, Technics DVD-A10, other Japanese players