NAD CD Players

C 538 Compact Disc Player

NAD has an enviable reputation for creating great sounding products at very affordable prices and nowhere is this more evident than in NAD’s CD Players. NAD’s veteran engineers know exactly where to spend just a little extra money for a better quality part, in order to extract the very best sound from the Compact Disc. CD Players use mechanical, digital, and analog technology to produce sound, and all three forms of engineering greatly affect the end result and require careful design and engineering.

Careful Design and Engineering

NAD has an enviable reputation for creating great sounding products at very affordable prices and nowhere is this more evident than in NAD’s CD Players. NAD’s veteran engineers know exactly where to spend just a little extra money for a better quality part, in order to extract the very best sound from the Compact Disc. CD Players use mechanical, digital, and analog technology to produce sound, and all three forms of engineering greatly affect the end result and require careful design and engineering.

A solid mechanical foundation is paramount in reducing external vibration and providing precise location of the CD drive mechanism. This allows smooth operation and a minimum of tracking errors. Heavy gauge steel and non-resonant plastic moldings are carefully engineered to provide optimum results. The transport is mounted on reinforced steel rails and over 30 fasteners are used to lock the assembly together and maintain precise dimensional integrity.

Precise clocking of the digital data stream allows the Wolfson 24 bit DAC to provide accurate linearity for the PCM data conversion to analog waveform. Audio OP Amps buffer the output without adding noise or distortion to the music. Multi-layer PCBs using surface mount components allow for an enhanced circuit layout with very short signal paths. Powering these elements is a custom designed active power supply that provides multiple regulated voltages to the transport, digital circuits, analog circuits, and the control and display circuits. The result of this careful engineering is a sound that is at once both detailed and natural, with dramatic dynamic contrasts.

The NAD C 538 includes many desirable features that enhance listening pleasure. Front panel controls are duplicated on the hand held remote allowing Play, Pause, Skip, and Scan functions. In addition, many more features are available from the remote handset, such as RANDOM: Tracks/files are played at random mode, PROGRAM: Enter or exit program mode, REPEAT: Track, file, folder or whole disc is repeated, RPT A-B: Playback sequence is repeated. The dimmable dot matrix display shows tracks, total playing time. Track time, disc time, and remaining time are all available. The C 538 also can play CD-R/CD-RW discs allowing you to burn songs from your computer for playback on your CD Playing system.

Because these songs are encoded in MP3 or WMA format, you can fit up to 10 hours of music on a single disc which is great for party mixes and ambient listening. There are also both optical and coaxial digital outputs that allow connection to an external DAC or digital component (like an AVR) to provide the most efficient and best sounding system setups.

Although music downloads and streaming continue to grow in popularity, CDs are still the primary listening source for millions of people around the world. NAD continues to innovate and improve its CD Players to get improved performance while keeping prices low. Whether you are creating your first home system, or upgrading your current CD Player, you should consider NAD’s 45 year record of excellence, and its commitment to music lovers everywhere, when selecting a new player.

SPECIFICATIONS

GENERAL PARAMETERS

• Output level
• Analog: 2.2 ± 0.1 V
• Frequency response
• ±0.5 dB (ref. 0 dB 20 Hz-20 kHz)
• Total harmonic distortion
• ≤0.01% (ref. 1 kHz, Audio LPF)c
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio
• ≥110 dB (ref. 1 kHz, A-weighted)
• Channel balance
• ±0.5 dB (ref. 0dB 1kHz)
• Channel separation
• -4.6 ±0.8 dB (ref. 0dB 1 kHz, 5 kHz)
• -9.0 ±1.0 dB (ref. 0dB 1 kHz, 16 kHz)
• Standby power
• <0.5W
• Idle power
• <7.5W

DIMENSION AND WEIGHT

• Gross dimensions (W x H x D)
• 435 x 70 x 249 mm (Gross)*
• 17 3/16 x 2 13/16 x 9 13/16 inches
• Net Weight
• 3.0 kg
• 6.6 lbs
• Shipping Weight
• 4.3 kg
• 9.5 lbs

C 568 Compact Disc Player

The C 568 takes the superb performance of our 5-star rated C 565BEE and steps it up to the next level. Every aspect of sonic performance is enhanced and refined, making the C 568 the ideal companion to our C 368 amplifier, or any system in need of a performance upgrade.

Every aspect of sonic performance, enhanced and refined.

Although CDs are often dismissed as relics of the past, we here at NAD recognize the pride and joy one feels when combing through a personal CD collection. Whether it’s peeling away the plastic or marvelling at the album artwork, the process of buying and opening a CD is both intimate and sacred. With our C 568 CD Player, your CDs finally get the attention they deserve. Whether it’s a newly bought CD or a personal mix you made for yourself, the C 568 will seamlessly play the disc without any skips or glitches. Building on the success of our C 565BEE, the C 568 includes all the features you need for an easy and joyous CD-listening experience. Complete with the new NAD CD-8 remote control, the C 568 delivers a high level performance worthy of your music library.

Modern and Refined

The C 568 takes the superb performance of our 5-star rated C 565BEE and steps it up to the next level. Every aspect of sonic performance is enhanced and refined, making the C 568 the ideal companion to our C 368 amplifier, or any system in need of a performance upgrade.

Besides the new, more refined cosmetics, the circuit layout and component choices of the C 568 have been extensively updated since the C 565BEE’s reign. The cumulative effect of these changes is dramatic, improving low frequency slam and extension, while maintaining the pace and timing for which the C 565BEE was so lavishly praised. Image depth and scale are further enhanced while retaining the timbral accuracy and lucid harmonic structure of its predecessor.

Features and Circuitry

Creating one’s own favourite compilation CD-R and CD-RW’s on a CD ripper is becoming ever more popular, and unlike older CD players, the C 568 will easily play these discs, even those encoded with MP3 and WMA compression. Nearly 10 hours of music can be recorded onto one CD-R when using 128kps compression allowing ‘all day’ background music listening. We have also included a number of additional features to make your listening more enjoyable: RANDOM gives the listener a random selection of all tracks on the disc in play, and REPEAT allows repeat playing of either the entire disc or individual tracks. Individual tracks can also be quickly accessed using the SKIP function (Forward and Back), while the SCAN function (Forward and Back) gives listeners the opportunity to reach specific sections of the track.

Moreover, the Vacuum Fluorescent Display provides clear and comprehensive information to the listener. The track number is displayed, and for those who regularly record CDs, the button displays the current time elapsed or remaining for complete CDs or individual tracks.

It’s All About the Detail

In the case of the NAD C 568, careful attention has been paid so that best use of the ever-increasing number of products now available with digital inputs (outboard D to A converters, AV Receivers, etc) can be made. The coaxial output is buffered and isolated by a transformer from the converter itself, and the output impedance has been carefully tailored to produce a precise 75 Ohm impedance to ensure perfect matching. This attention to detail reduces the timing errors (jitter) that could otherwise distort the digital data stream. An optical Toslink output is also provided allowing connection to devices that only provide this option.

Supplied with the new NAD CD-8 full function remote control, the C 568 offers all the features described above from the comfort of your listening chair. On top of that, the remote control handset gives you direct track access and programming facilities, saving the user’s time when they’re storing preferred song titles. Up to 20 tracks can be programmed with the ability to delete tracks without using the program function by simply using the DELETE key.

The 24-bit high resolution Wolfson WM8741 DAC chip of the C 568 was chosen for its excellent low-level linearity and detail retrieving capabilities. Furthermore, a high precision Crystek Clock Module reduces digital jitter to unprecedented levels, making the C 568 a great platform for adding an exotic high-end DAC. Metal film resistors and polypropylene capacitors are also used in key areas to ensure a highly accurate frequency response.

SPECIFICATIONS

Key Features

• CD, CD-R and CD-RW Compatible
• USB Input supports external memory and audio rates up to 384kbps
• MP3 and WMA decoding
• NAD CD-8 full function remote control
• Ultra-High Precision Clock Module for lowest jitter
• Wolfson 24 bit Digital to Analogue Converter
• Super High-Speed OPAmps
• Coaxial Digital Output
• Optical Digital Output
• Toroid Power supply with separate power regulators for analogue and digital sections
• VFL Display with CD text
• Selectable Track, Time and Repeat
• Repeat Mode for single track or entire CD
• Program Play up to 20 tracks
• Random Play
• External IR input
• 12V Trigger input
• <0.5 watt Standby consumption
• Detachable AC cord

General Parameters

• Output level
• Analog: 2.2 ± 0.1 V
  Optical: -22.5 ±3.5dBm
  Coaxial: 650 ±150mV
• Frequency response
• ±0.3 dB (ref. 0 dB 20 Hz-1 kHz)
  ±0.5 dB (ref. 0 dB 5 kHz-20 kHz)
• Total harmonic distortion
• <0.01% (ref. 1 kHz, Audio LPF)
• Signal/Noise ratio
• 118 dB (ref. 1 kHz, A-weighted LPF Stop, Pause)
• Channel balance
• ±0.5 dB (ref. 0dB 1kHz)
• Dynamic range
• 95dB
• Channel separation
• >90dB
• De-emphasis
• -3.73 to -5.33 dB (ref. 0dB 1 kHz, 5 kHz)
  -8.04 to -10.04 dB (ref. 0dB 1 kHz, 16 kHz)
• Linearity
• ±0.01 dB (ref. 0dB 1 kHz at -3 dB)
  ±0.02 dB (ref. 0dB 1 kHz at -6 dB)
  ±0.02 dB (ref. 0dB 1 kHz at -10 dB)
  ±0.05 dB (ref. 0dB 1 kHz at -20 dB)
  ±0.15 dB (ref. 0dB 1 kHz at -60 dB)
• Standby power
• <0.5W

USB

• Output level
• 2.2 ± 0.2V
• Frequency response
• ±1dB (ref. 0dB 20Hz – 16kHz)
• Total harmonic distortion
• <0.03% (ref. 0dB 1kHz, Audio LPF)
• Signal/Noise ratio
• 118dB (ref. 0dB 1kHz, A-weighted Pause)

Weight & Dimensions

• Gross Unit Dimensions* (W x H x D)
• 435 x 80 x 306mm
  17 1/8 x 3 3/16 x 12 11/16″**
• Net weight
• 4.9kg (10.8lb)
• Shipping weight
• 6.9kg (15.2lb)

Delivering a rewarding and outstanding performance, the C 568 has set a new benchmark in the world of CD players.