GOODSOUND!GoodSound! "Equipment" Archives

Published October 1, 2007

 

GOODSOUND! GREAT BUY

NAD C525BEE CD Player

Once, budget equipment such as that made by NAD might have meant fatally compromised sound, but that was long ago. These days, in my not so humble opinion, NAD gear is one of the best ways to hear true high fidelity at an affordable price. The C525BEE CD player ($299 USD) typifies that approach.

Description

The C525BEE will look familiar to many. Its case and front are gray, with light gray legends for the various buttons. The CD tray, to the left of center, opens and closes quickly and positively. The central LCD display shows the disc’s track number, time, and total number of tracks. To the right of the display, in two rows of five each, are ten small buttons: on the top are Play/Pause, Stop, Random play, and Skip back and forward; on the bottom are Open/close, Time (elapsed on track, elapsed on disc, or remaining), Repeat (track or disc), and Scan back and forward. It’s all very simple, very straightforward, and very easy to use.

The supplied remote control offers all the functions found on the front panel as well as direct track access and the ability to program up to 20 tracks, or to delete tracks you don’t want to hear. The C525BEE can also be fully controlled by the remote that accompanies NAD’s C325BEE integrated amplifier.

The C525BEE’s rear panel couldn’t be simpler: two analog line outputs plus a coaxial digital output. NAD notes that the digital output is buffered and isolated by a transformer from the D/A converter itself -- an unusual feature at this price. NAD claims that this reduces jitter that might distort the datastream. While I imagine that few people buying a $299 CD player are likely to fork out for an outboard DAC, it’s nice to know that NAD has paid attention to the details.

The C525BEE has an 8x-oversampling digital filter and a 20-bit, low-noise Burr-Brown DAC. The analog output is handled by B-B op-amps that, NAD claims (as do other manufacturers who use these chips), are of much higher quality than the norm. NAD claims that the C525BEE’s 300-ohm output impedance makes it insensitive to anomalies in cables and partnering gear.

System

I used the C525BEE with NAD’s C325BEE integrated, which fed, via 14-gauge cable, PSB Alpha A/V speakers and a 5i subwoofer. I also used it in a system comprising a McIntosh C27 preamp, Carver TFM-15cb power amp, Celestion 3 speakers, and an Advent powered subwoofer with a 12" cone. Connections were 16-guage AR speaker cable. The latter system is in our home office and consists mostly of gear that’s no longer in my reference system but that I can’t bear to part with. Its counterpart in this system was a Sony CDP-X303ES player from the 1990s.

Sound

Some would say that a CD player is a CD player is a CD player -- one sounds pretty much like another. In broad strokes, I’d probably agree -- but I’d also venture that there are differences in the details of those sounds that I can’t easily explain. Perhaps they’re the result of better components, or tighter quality control, or more attention paid to circuit-board topology, but for whatever reason or reasons, the differences are there.

The C525BEE’s overall sound was "tight" -- not in a bad way (i.e., not "up tight"), but in the manner of a big band whose members are all playing tightly together. For instance, on "Rhythm Is Our Business," from John Pizzarelli’s Our Love Is Here to Stay [CD, RCA 67501-2], after several call-and-response verses (including some great solos), the tune climaxes with a rap spoken by members of the backing Don Sebesky Big Band and a full-on run to the finish. With so much going on, this track has sounded disjointed and been lost in the racket with more than one system. Not so with the C525BEE -- through the NAD, it sounded full and spot on.

As I mentioned in my recent review of NAD’s companion C325BEE integrated amplifier, with highly percussive music -- the bass lines on Fourplay’s "Bali Run," from Fourplay [Warner Bros. 26656-2]; or Paul Simon’s "You Can Call Me Al," from Graceland [Warner Bros. R2 78904]; or the snap of the snare roll in the opening of the title track of Steve Winwood’s Roll With It [Virgin V2 90946] -- there was a real sense of what British audio writers often call "rhythm" and "slam." This is no wimp machine. When it played a tune, all of the tune’s sound came through.

It has been my experience that two of the most revealing tests of a sound system are its reproduction of the female voice and of acoustic piano. For the former, in auditioning the C525BEE I listened to a lot of Annie Ross (of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross), Rosemary Clooney, and Alison Krauss. A longtime favorite is Ross’s version of "Twisted," from LH&R’s The Hottest New Group in Jazz [Columbia/Legacy C2K 64933]. In that recording, Ross was, shall we say, intimate with the microphone (if she’d been any closer, she would have swallowed it), producing a lot of plosives that just slightly overload the mike. With the C525BEE, those plosives sounded better controlled than they do through the Sony CDP-X303ES. Yet at the same time, the NAD had a livelier presentation -- the Sony was a bit more laid-back.

Rosemary Clooney recorded Brazil [Concord Jazz CCD-4884-2] in 2000, fairly late in her career; her voice was huskier than on earlier recordings, and her range had begun to narrow. As I noted in my review of the NAD C325BEE, I’m convinced that, to hit the title song’s low opening note, she had to raise her face so that her mouth wasn’t pointing directly at the mike. As a result, there’s a very slight remoteness to that note. On the second, higher note, she returns to her normal position and her voice takes on a fuller quality. The difference between the two notes was more pronounced through the Sony, but at least similar through the less expensive NAD.

Alison Krauss’s voice is so ethereal, especially on Baby, Now That I’ve Found You [Rounder CD325], that it requires a system of equal delicacy. Again, no problem: the C325BEE CD player gave a magnificent performance. The performance was just a bit more "intimate" than through the Sony.

For the sound of acoustic piano, again I relied on 82hundred Brill [Strugglebaby SBD-2302]. As noted in my review of the NAD C325BEE amp, this disc brings together five excellent Cincinnati jazz pianists and one piano: a German Bösendorfer conservatory grand located in a residence at 8200 Brill Road, in Cincinnati’s exclusive Indian Hill section. Its owner bought it for himself as a 50th birthday present, but decided to have some pros come in, along with some guests, and record the proceedings. This is piano at its best: excellent players, a fine room acoustic, terrific miking, and a good selection of tunes. My fave is Leroy Anderson’s "Belle of the Ball," performed by Frank Vincent with Michael Sharfe on bass. A gently swinging waltz, "Belle" offers Vincent the chance to exercise his fingers as he goes from a quiet hush to full force. Often, such semi-pro recordings present problems, mostly in terms of overmodulation (on digital recordings, up to "0" is fine; anything over "0" is total distortion). That’s not a problem here, as the NAD reproduced the sound exceptionally well.

A favorite artist is guitarist and song stylist John Pizzarelli, whom I’ve heard in concert in fairly intimate surroundings. One standout on his Bossa Nova CD [Telarc CD-83591] is his recording of "Love Dance." This is another very intimate recording: It begins with just Pizzarelli’s voice, his nylon-string guitar, and a shaker. He’s then joined by a string quartet, which softly counters the melody. Pizzarelli is no great singer, but his voice transcends mere vocal quality. And his guitar playing is out of this world. With the C525BEE, either through the C325BEE amp or through my office system, the sound was clear, sweet, and true.

One of Frank Sinatra’s greatest performances, in my opinion, is his 1958 recording of "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)." The story I’ve heard is that Sinatra recorded it not long after the end of his short-lived and tempestuous marriage to Ava Gardner; at the time, the man was hurting. It may be only a story, but there’s no doubt that, as Sinatra sings the song, he’s calling up emotions from a deep hurt. I haven’t listened to this track with all of the systems I’ve auditioned, but I did hear it via the C525BEE, both through the C325BEE amp and my McIntosh-Carver rig. The emotion of the track came through with the detail and nuance intact.

Overall, compared to the Sony CDP-X303ES, the NAD C5225BEE had a livelier presentation of material, while the Sony’s sound was a bit more silky. By and large, I preferred the sound of the NAD, both with its logical companion, the C325BEE, and with my McIntosh-Carver system.

Conclusion

What I have to say about NAD’s C525BEE CD player is very similar to what I expressed about their C325BEE integrated amplifier. NAD has always impressed me as emphasizing the proper aspects of hi-fi while not bothering with frills or gimmicks. For them, it’s all about the music, and that’s borne out in the C525BEE as well.

I recommend the C525BEE to anyone looking for a good, solid, high-quality CD player. It may not have all the "go-fasters" offered by some other players, but it does have all the features most listeners need. Without any doubt, it’s a great-sounding CD player, and a steal for $299.

...Thom Moon

Price of equipment reviewed


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