NAD C542 or the Lite CD 15 player?

[kool bubba ice]

I'm leaning towards the CD15 cause it's 100.00 cheaper & the Analogue
outputs are balanced..& claims to uses the 20 bit AD 1853 Stereo converter chip thats in the Benchmark DAC..opinions & impressions welcome..

 

[nelamvr6]

I haven't heard the CD15, but I've been using a C542 for a year now and it sounds superb. Does a great job with HDCD's too.

 

[bluemeteor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nelamvr6 I haven't heard the CD15, but I've been using a C542 for a year now and it sounds superb. Does a great job with HDCD's too.

Go with the Lite. It is the best CD transport I have ever seen / heard. I use it with all my DACs. It plays with authority.

The sound is never harsh - smooth - compared with the rough sounding and soemehat constricted NAD (I had both, sold the NAD about a year ago)

The reviews on this thing are pretty acurate. Over-all the deal of the century. It even sounds better than a stock DAC 60.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Wowzer..Thank you.. I assume, I won't need to use my Great march DAC with the player? I'm thinking the CD player has a better DAC??

 

[bluemeteor]

I have not heard the Great March Modified.

I use a Pacific Valve Modded DAC 60. I like the Modded DAC 60 better than the straight CD 15.

But, on a desert island with a CD player - if I had to chose a CD player for $399 - It would be the CD 15 - no question.

 

[vapman]

NAD, man. If you can pay for it, go for it. NADs are amazing. I used my NAD tape deck nonstop until I broke it, and my 3155 amplifier is still going strong.

 

[bluemeteor]

NAD is good, do not get me wrong - but a CD player with an AD 1853 and no OP AMPS for $399.00

C'mon.....

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nelamvr6 I haven't heard the CD15, but I've been using a C542 for a year now and it sounds superb. Does a great job with HDCD's too.

There's a guy on audiogon that had a Jolida JD100 ($900+) which is a giant killer itself. He got a used NAD 542 and says it sounds better than the Jolida and others. That blew me away cuz the Jolida is one of my favorites at $1K.

Talk about value.

Read the second post from the bottom

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr...enflup&21&4#21

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 There's a guy on audiogon that had a Jolida JD100 ($900+) which is a giant killer itself. He got a used NAD 542 and says it sounds better than the Jolida and others. That blew me away cuz the Jolida is one of my favorites at $1K. Talk about value.

Interesting, I have a NAD C542 and a Philips DVP642 and personally I cant really tell much difference between the NAD and the Philips - I really like the NAD incidentally but use the Philips almost exclusively. That makes the Philips more or less as good as the Jolida ?

My mantra is listen with your ears and soul and not with your eyes or your wallet

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hciman77 Interesting, I have a NAD C542 and a Philips DVP642 and personally I cant really tell much difference between the NAD and the Philips - I really like the NAD incidentally but use the Philips almost exclusively. That makes the Philips more or less as good as the Jolida ? My mantra is listen with your ears and soul and not with your eyes or your wallet

I agree with you. Heck I even upgraded the NAD C542 to an Arcam CD73 and it is hard to tell. When I use the Lite Dac-Ah I can not tell the difference.

 

[taimurmalik]

I heard the NAD at a hi-fi shop earlier this year. It sounded wonderful. However, I was almost ready to buy one when I read reports of it facing a lot of problems with skipping. Has anyone who owns a C542 experienced this?

 

[jpr703]

I have the 542 and it's served me well. I've auditioned other players (although not the one you're asking about) and found that I'd really have to cough up some bucks to get a substantial improvement in sound. If I happen to come into some money, I'll probably buy a Naim CD5x. Until then, the 542 sounds pretty darn good.

PS-If you audition the 542, try some Chord interconnects. For some reason, they really brought out the best in mine.

 

[nelamvr6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taimurmalik I heard the NAD at a hi-fi shop earlier this year. It sounded wonderful. However, I was almost ready to buy one when I read reports of it facing a lot of problems with skipping. Has anyone who owns a C542 experienced this?

I have not had even one skip.

 

[hciman77]

Mine has never skipped either.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpr703 I have the 542 and it's served me well. I've auditioned other players (although not the one you're asking about) and found that I'd really have to cough up some bucks to get a substantial improvement in sound. If I happen to come into some money, I'll probably buy a Naim CD5x. Until then, the 542 sounds pretty darn good. PS-If you audition the 542, try some Chord interconnects. For some reason, they really brought out the best in mine.

The reason I ended up with the Arcam is that I had to send back two NAD C542 (under warranty) due to skipping and funny noises coming from the headphones and the unit. A pity because it sounds great!