Every day, somewhere in the world, someone reads a report about CD’s death at the hands of SACD, DVD-A, and MP3, usually in a glossy magazine with a pretty girl on the cover. That’s a shame, because CD replay technology is proving that 16bit/44 kHz has a lot more going for it than hard-to-please audiophiles suspected.
While painfully expensive CD players from Audionote, Linn, Wadia, and DCS have revealed new depths in CD, the best evidence that the format is finally coming of age lies at the other end of the market, in the form of NAD’s C541i. It’s nothing short of amazing that such accomplished sound should come from a box costing this little.
So, yes, I like the C541i, especially the ‘i’ for ‘improved’. I’m a regular user of NAD’s now-defunct C541, the hands down winner in its price range until now. When I powered up the updated ‘i’ version, with its new transport and revised Burr-Brown 24-bit DACs, I expected pretty much the same sound I was used to, with maybe a touch more treble refinement.
After 48 hours warm-up, I got that all right, plus improved resolution, better bass, and greater speed. The play-anything quality was still there, but that ‘i’ had lifted the performance of the 541across the board.
Listening to the 541i, you’re distracted from listening out for those musical effects you hadn’t heard before by the songs themselves. This NAD knows that music is ultimately about feeling, and it does an excellent job of communicating the emotion in everything from Björk’s Hyperballad to Elgar’s Lark Ascending. This is a quality buyer’s aren’t really entitled-to for under $2000, and it could come as a shock to folks who measure performance in dollars to hear CD’s played with genuine sensitivity by what is essentially an entry-level unit.
I was particularly impressed with the NAD’s handling of vocal inflexion and instrumental timbre, so vital in establishing a connection between the music and the listener.
The C541i has two features that will be of academic advantage to most users. Firstly, it can be integrated into a full NAD-based hi-fi system via the NAD link connectors round back. Secondly, the C541i is capable of HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) playback, which adds improved resolution and soundstaging to CDs mastered with HDCD.
Many of these are not advertised as such, including XTC’s Wasp Star, and, believe it or not, the cast album of the recently screened Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode, Once More with Feeling. Don’t ask me how I know this.
On the latter, HDCD plainly reveals the different acoustic spaces in which the vocalists and backing bands were recorded.
Good though it is, the C541i still comes a sure second to a competent vinyl replay system. My original US pressing of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours remained the preferred medium despite the 541i’s sterling efforts with a recent CD edition. But let’s play fair - this machine isn’t supposed to be the start and finish of CD reproduction.
Whichever way you look at it, the NAD remains an uninspiring grey tin. It has a certain business-like quality, but a little more structural solidity wouldn’t go amiss.
It should also be observed that the ugly end of your CD collection, the screechy, low-fi, turned up to 11 stuff, may be harder to bear through the NAD than via less revealing budget players. Band members usually have limited hearing above 8kHz thanks to those hours spent in front of their PA systems, so they shouldn’t be allowed near the mixing desk when albums are recorded. If they are, the results can be a little harrowing: as much as I like 808 State and the Chemical Brothers, the C541i still made me wish for tone controls on my amp.
And let’s not forget that NAD is not alone in this market segment. New CD players are appearing from the likes of Rotel, Arcam and Denon, any of which might offer more energy, sophistication, or insight. Whether they manage it for anything like the same price is a different matter altogether.
If you can’t audition its rivals, you can buy the C541i knowing that it does its work well, whatever your musical tastes, and should partner a broad range of amp and speaker
combinations.
http://www.audioenz.co.nz/2002/nad_541i.shtml
