Nice tone. Classic NAD look. Should be pretty cheap these days.

Build quality.

Just bought this on craiglist after reading the reviews on here. I figured that for $60, I couldn't go wrong. I agree with people about the build quality, but I also like the tone. In 2007, it's definetely getting a little dated, but if you can find one that works at a good price, it's still a goood value.

Great sound

reliability and design

Having previously owned the Nad 7020 receiver it was with great anticipation that I purchased the 513 and the 6340 cassette deck. Great sounding CD player with a very poor build quality. Mine is still going however after a friend fixed the main wire set which moves everytime the door is opened and closed. Very stupid design mistake. Curiously another friend bought a higher priced single play unit in the same series and the display burned out and he tossed it out to the curb. The cassette deck worked for about a year and then worked when it wanted to. Dissapointing products compared to the 7020.

I bought the player in 1994 and it has finally made me mad enough to unplug it. The sound quality was always enough to make me hold on to it but after the display blinked out, the drawer took on sentient life, random play randomly shut off, and the whole unit would have a hissy fit for days rendering it impossible to turn on, I decided to have it fixed by the NAD authorized dealer. He told me it's not worth fixing, buy a new one. I also learned, too late, that NAD was offering a trade for the "lemon" 513 units. Sucks to be me, I suppose

When I bought my first system 4 years ago or so, I initially had an NAD 513...the first one had a failed power supply...I returned it and was given a brand new one...the display then failed on the next one and the machine stopped playing...when it worked, it sounded very good for the price...I spoke with NAD directly and they said the 513 was manufactured by a new partner and they were discontinuing the model and that relationship...I paid the dealer $200 and traded up to the 517, which has not had any mechanical problems...and sounds pretty good...although I now wish I had a single disk machine...

I have owned my 513 for approx a year. I have found it to be a great sounding unit, (running through an NAD AV 713, and Polk LS 50 speakers). The only problem that I have had with it, is that the CD draw has never opened smoothly, and rarely all the way. I would look for something better next time though.

The sound!

A somewhat awkward disc drawer. It's annoyingly slow.

OK, the design of the disc drawer is perhaps not the most intelligent one, and it's really quite awkward to use. But this dosen't change the fact that the sound is great! I especially enjoy the detailed and engaging sound when listening to jazz-recordings with e.g. Miles Davis or Dave Brubeck from the late fifties and early sixties. In playing these discs the NAD really shines, with excellent snappy bass presentation, and clear and crisp treble. I love this CD-player, and it will probably be the last thing I upgrade in my system, even though it's a bit slow sometimes.

As for the technical problems, that I've heard of, my player has had none. Perhaps I was just lucky.

Similar Products Used:

Denon DCM-595 (?)

I love my NAD 513. The sound quality is excellent, souding every bit as good as players priced hundreds of dollars more. I do not mind the fact that it only holds 3 discs as I rarely listen to more that 2 in one sitting. It makes searching for a particular disc that much easier. I had a problem with the display going dim after the warranty expired but it was fixed at no charge by my dealer, Salon One Audio, in Wisconsin Rapids. I would buy another one in a second, especially at the discounted prices that I see in other reviews.

NAD-"not a good disc player", I find this product too high and bright w/ out a dynamic midrange and bad base extension. rega planet is better

I have a 513 CD player currently and I am getting close to replacing it. I don't mind the sound quality, infact I quite like it. But I also agree that the drawer design is not so good and I don't like how close the CD's are positioned together. I'm curious to know what Martin Budd bought as a replacement for his. And the display on my unit has also gone dim to one side when I do get rid of it I think I'm going to try the 515 instead as Stereo Review had alot of good things to say about it.

I have used the NAD 513 in a budget system for awhile. Taking it for what it is,e.g. an entry-level budget player it is a fine sounding unit. OK, the mech is slow,but it plays virtually all discs,even badly marked ones. It is definately less troublesome than many similarly priced 5 disc play players.But on the subject of 5 disc players,try out the new NAD523,which is faster,better sounding and very reliable