NAD C515 BEE or Cambridge Audio 340C

[admin_exported]

I would like to upgrade my 8 years old Yamaha CDX-493 CD player which is partnering with Yamaha AV-530 receiver, Mission suround loudspeakers, Chord Carnival Silver Plus speaker cables and Chord Siren interconnect. Also have Pioneer DVD player plugged to receiver with Chord Cobra 3 analogue interconnect and QED SR75 digital interconnect.

I´m considering to buy NAD C515 BEE or Cambridge Audio 340C CD player but I need some opinion which will suit best into my system. Please, need some useful advice.

 

[Cypher]

It (C515bee) got 5 stars in the latest What Hifi issue so I think it's a good player. My only concern is the reliability, I read so much bad stuff about NAD CD players on the net. Some people here with NAD CD players want to share their opinions ?

 

[matthewpiano]

I don't have any issues with my C521BEE and it gets a lot of use. I read about reliability issues with all sorts of equipment - the bad stuff is more likely to get written on the internet than the good stuff. Its the same with cars. If you look you can find plenty of dreadful reviews of most cars regarding reliability but we aren't all breaking down every five minutes. In this way the internet can be a bad thing - it tends to breed dissatisfaction IMO.

 

[Andy Clough]

[quote user="bojanisimo"]Iïm considering to buy NAD C515 BEE or Cambridge Audio 340C CD player but I need some opinion which will suit best into my system.[/quote]

Well, it depends what sort of sound you want from your system. The Cambridge Audio will give you more guts and bass kick, while the NAD will focus more on detail and analysis. The Yamaha receiver has quite a neutral sound, so think about the type of music you intend to listen to on the CD player.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks.

Should I also consider the Marantz 5001 CD player? Allegedly it doesnït have very natural sound and has harsh top-end, but this is a good all-rounder. Could the 5001 OSE version be a better choice?

As the Cambridge Audio CD player cocern, if I could strech my budget I think I should rather go for the 540C.

There is a one major doubt about all of those mentioned players in the way that only the NAD can play MP3 and WMA files, so this is one step ahead the others.