NAD 522 manual Budget entry level CD Player with Remote Control, Low output impedance

522

Compact Disc Player

•Budget entry level CD Player with Remote Control

•Burr-Brown 20 bit SigmaDelta Digital to Analogue converter

•Low output impedance

•Separate power regulators for analogue and digital sections

•Informative display with switchable track, time and repeat

•Repeat mode for single track or entire CD

•Random play

Background

Over the years NAD has built up an enviable reputation for building fine CD players offering outstanding value for money. The Model 522 will further enhance this reputation with its excellent performance and ease of use at a very keen price.

As always, sonic performance is the first priority at NAD. Rather than adding many seldom used features or going for “overkill” on a single aspect of the design, the NAD engineers have concentrated on the design itself to offer the best performance possible at the price. Behind the deceptively modest front panel lies sophisticated circuitry.

Features and Circuitry

RANDOM gives the listener a random selection of all tracks on the disc in play and REPEAT allows repeat playing of the disc or individual tracks. Individual tracks are easily accessed by SKIP (Forward and Back). SCAN (Forward and Back) gives an aural précis of individual tracks, giving the listener the opportunity to reach specific sections of the track.

The understated yet comprehensive display gives the listener all the vital information required to access and enjoy the selected music. The track number is displayed and for those who regularly transfer CDs to cassette tape, the button displays the current time elapsed or remaining for complete CDs or individual tracks. A “calendar” type section in the display gives immediate visual information how many tracks in total there are on the CD.

The Model 522 comes supplied with a full function remote control, offering all of the features described above from the comfort of your listening chair. On top of that, the remote control handset gives you direct track access as well.

Separate power regulators for the digital and analogue sections isolate the two electrically, and furthermore, careful layout of the PCB tracks around the Digital-to Analogue converter helps to contain RF interference.

For the NAD 522 a Burr-Brown 20 bit SigmaDelta Digital-to-Analogue converter chip was chosen for its excellent low level linearity. Metal film resistors and polypropylene capacitors are used in key areas to ensure a highly accurate frequency response. Unusual at this price level, high quality 5532 op-amps are used instead of the much lower grade and type normally found at this price level and higher. Apart from the single output capacitor, no other capacitors are used in the signal path.

The output impedance is very low at 120 , making the NAD 522 less sensitive to cables or the ancillary equipment it is partnered with.

Truly excellent sound quality is difficult to find at this price, let alone with the added convenience of remote control. Anyone interested in a high performance CD player without frills should put the NAD 522 at the top of their shortlist.