Price Paid:  $450.00 from Sound Advice, Clearw

Summary:
Overll, a very open and smooth sounding player. Very low noise. until recently, was basically trouble-free (see ''weaknesses'') but luckily a fix was possible at home for practically zero cost. When I bought this (1995-ish) I had looked at the comparable Adcom but judged this to sound a bit smoother when compared to the Adcom. Anyway, it seems to me to be a pretty honest player - it does a fine job with classical, opera, metal, jazz, funk, punk, metal etc. No real complaints at all. I''ve been very impressed in the playback of some older analog to CD variants (i.e. Doobie Brothers'' ''What were once Vices...'' and many others). Overall, very smooth. The rest of my system is as follows: a dB-1A preamplifier (incredibly spartan but very, very low noise - especially the phono section), dB-6A amplifier (for the ''top''), Velodyne F-1200 sub (I use the crossover in the sub for bi-amplification), Sony ES 44 tuner (?) and an ADS 10-10 digital time delay. Back speakers are Boston Acoustics ''5''s'' (can''t recall the exact model number) while the main speakers are B&W 805 Matrix. As for Video, I have a Sony DVP-S550D DVD player (which ironically won''t play CD-Rs..but the NAD does so...what the hey)as well as a 1998-ish Sony Hi-Fi VCR. Recently I had to remove the dB Systems tone control module due to a fair amount of 120 and 180 Hz noise (still trying to track it down) that cropped up all of the sudden, but the B&W''s need so little correction that I really don''t miss the tone controls. However, the tone control modules allows some ''old fashion'' tools, like mono, mono to L, mono to R, blend, Reverse and normal. Also has the oddball (but cool) feature of having line level sum (phase inverted) and difference outputs. As for my turntable...It''s a Sony PS-X500 Biotracer. I know...what was I thinking...but so little of my stuff is on vinyl these days that I have not had any urge to upgrade. Perhaps if I find a nice Linn on ebay...Also have a dB Systems moving coil phono preamp kicking around that I have never had the opportunity to use. Maybe someday...

Strengths:
I am not an audiophile, but I like to think I know what sounds good (to me anyway). I have found this player to have a very nice soundstage, very low noise, well-defined bass as well. Have used it with outborad DACs and noticed an improvement. However, the DAC itself is (seems) pretty good to me. Simplicity of design. I love the fact that true to NAD philosophy, the player has a very uncluttered appearance. I just can''t stand electronics that look like the Ginza on a moonless night. I also think that visually (overall) it is a nice piece. Suprisingly (maybe not), this even plays the CD-Rs that I write on my burner on my home PC. Previously, I had noticed that seldom would it accept a CD-R, but after the fix (see ''weaknesses'') it plays CD-Rs just fine.

Weaknesses:
The remote control. All buttons are the same size and shape and under less than ideal lighting conditions (i.e. low light, which is how I do most ''critical'' listening), it''s easy to press the wrong button. It is clear to see that the remote was designed before remote controls permeated every aspect of consumer electronics and society in general. Compared to the DVD and VCR remotes (which are way intuitive and tactilly-recognizable) it''s a pain. Noise radiated (mechanical) when discs are changed. Track hesitation / disc recognition: I thought the player was just tired as it would often take an inordinate amount of time to recognize tracks and CDs. Some would never get recognized. However, I recently cleaned the lens). The treatment (windex on a Q-tip applied to the lens) worked flawlessly and now the unit functions as it did on day one.

Similar Products Used:
Another NAD...I can''t recall the model number, but it was a single-disc variant. Loved it, lost it (long story).

Price Paid:  $120.00 from EBay

Summary:
I bought this unit used on Ebay about two months ago. I cannot believe the wonderful sound it produces. I still have my 2001 Sony CDP-CE345 hooked up and have done side by side A/B comparisons between the two using original cds.(Same interconnects on same receiver.) The NAD specs a much wider dynamic range with lower harmonic distortion, and you can hear it right away. Even friends who are not really into music can readily hear differences. Two tracks were astounding in their difference: Mark Knopfler's "What it is" and BB King's "Bad Case of Love". Both songs just came alive on the NAD. The 517 has the same basic circuitry as the 515, which has a very high rating. It's kind of sad others haven't written in to do this player justice! The largest downfall is when I go to exchange disks the one playing skips about 50% of the time. I'm not sure if this is a design flaw, or a result of the fact the player is used. One other minor irritation is my NAD receiver's remote does not work the "play" button, but everything else works. If you get the chance to buy a 517 used, especially in the range of what I paid, jump at the chance. If you are used to "mass production" cd players, you won't believe the difference in sound! (I'm rating the player a "5" because I'm not sure either flaw would be present in a brand new model.)

Strengths:
Warm sound. No frills design.

Weaknesses:
When drawer opens, disk playing skips.

Similar Products Used:
Sony. Magnavox.

Summary:
Just bought the 517 and am very pleased. You should be able to pick this player up relatively cheap in the next little while as I believe they are updating this model. Very clean, full sound with NAD's famous straightforward design. Technically, this is a very nice machine with one small flaw (IMHO) - the "next disc" button should have been put beside the table, not under it. Otherwise, a great audio buy for the serious, but not loaded, audiophile.