TMC
1000+ Head-Fier
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- Dec 27, 2002
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I've spent a couple of hours during the past 2 days to (finally) find myself a good < $500 stationary cdplayer and have some impressions that might be useful for someone in a similar situation as me. The store I visited allowed me to use my own gear to audition the cdplayers (Meta42 and CD1700) and they had a couple of players that have received very good reviews in audio magazines: NAD 521BEE, NAD 542, Cambridge Azure 540C and 640C. Just a note before I reveal my impressions. The players used might or might not have been burned in properly due to lack of info on how much playtime each player had when I tried them. FWIW they all sounded fine from my gear without any glaring faults.
NAD 521BEE: This is the cheapest of all the players I tried, but don't write it off quite yet. It's a really nice player for the money with a pretty warm sound and powerful bass-response. I think the treble and low bass could have needed a little bit more detail, but that's when I try to be as spoiled as possible by the more expensive players.
NAD 542: Quite similar to 521BEE as one might expect, with stronger and more detailed low bass. With my gear I found it a bit too similar to quite justify the $200 difference for me. The HDCD feature surprised me as it lit up on the display on one particular song on my mixed cd I had no idea was a from a HDCD at all.
Azur 540C: Like its' big brother 640C this player leans more towards bright than the NADs and are what I would consider more neutral. Both Azures have a bit wider soundstage than the NADs and not as strong in bass-response. It's quite similar to 640C but a tad too bright for my taste with some lack of control in treble. This is the only player that had me wondering if it might benefit from more burn-in and maybe end up being almost equal to the 640C. But since 640C is just $85 more I felt I might aswell go for that instead.
Azur 640C: This is the player I ended up taking home. Balanced sound, tight bass, detailed treble and the wider, "airy" soundstage won me over a step at a time that I ended up listening for longer and longer periods on the 640C before I could make myself switch to another player during my auditioning. In the end I was certain this was the winner for me. Just a tip if you're getting this player but feel uncertain if you should go for the silver or black version. Silver all the way, the black colour really ruins its' great looks. This is from a guy that usually goes for black whenever he can
To round things up, if you want a warm player with quite powerful bass NAD is the way to go. If you're looking for something with a bit wider soundstage and more detailed treble, I think Azur 640C is an excellent buy. Overall all these players are very good, only with a recommendation to go with the 640C instead of 540C if the price is fairly close. And if you're on a tight budget the 521BEE is also very good value. As always YMMV and all the regular disclaimers
NAD 521BEE: This is the cheapest of all the players I tried, but don't write it off quite yet. It's a really nice player for the money with a pretty warm sound and powerful bass-response. I think the treble and low bass could have needed a little bit more detail, but that's when I try to be as spoiled as possible by the more expensive players.
NAD 542: Quite similar to 521BEE as one might expect, with stronger and more detailed low bass. With my gear I found it a bit too similar to quite justify the $200 difference for me. The HDCD feature surprised me as it lit up on the display on one particular song on my mixed cd I had no idea was a from a HDCD at all.
Azur 540C: Like its' big brother 640C this player leans more towards bright than the NADs and are what I would consider more neutral. Both Azures have a bit wider soundstage than the NADs and not as strong in bass-response. It's quite similar to 640C but a tad too bright for my taste with some lack of control in treble. This is the only player that had me wondering if it might benefit from more burn-in and maybe end up being almost equal to the 640C. But since 640C is just $85 more I felt I might aswell go for that instead.
Azur 640C: This is the player I ended up taking home. Balanced sound, tight bass, detailed treble and the wider, "airy" soundstage won me over a step at a time that I ended up listening for longer and longer periods on the 640C before I could make myself switch to another player during my auditioning. In the end I was certain this was the winner for me. Just a tip if you're getting this player but feel uncertain if you should go for the silver or black version. Silver all the way, the black colour really ruins its' great looks. This is from a guy that usually goes for black whenever he can
To round things up, if you want a warm player with quite powerful bass NAD is the way to go. If you're looking for something with a bit wider soundstage and more detailed treble, I think Azur 640C is an excellent buy. Overall all these players are very good, only with a recommendation to go with the 640C instead of 540C if the price is fairly close. And if you're on a tight budget the 521BEE is also very good value. As always YMMV and all the regular disclaimers