TONY ENDERS

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $787.00 from AUDIO CLASSICS

Summary:
I HAVE OWNED NUMEROUS CD, SACD, AND UNIVERSAL PLAYERS, NOT TO MENTION ADD ON DACS. MY MOST RECENT UNIVERSAL PLAYER WAS A DENON DVD 5910. A SUPERB VIDEO MACHINE. HOWEVER, AS A 2 CHANNEL SOURCE, IT WAS MISSING THE WARMTH AND LOW END CONTROL THAT I HAD EXPERIENCED ON MANY HIGH END STAND ALONE CD PLAYER. SO OUT THE DOOR IT WENT. i HAD READ MANY NICE REVIEWS ON THE M55 AND THE LOCAL DEALER PREFERRED IT OVER ANY UNIVERSAL PLAYER AND SEVERAL STAND ALONE PLAYERS. I FOUND MY M55 ONLINE WITH A DEALER THAT I HAD PURCHASED OTHER AUDIOPHILE ITEMS IN THE PAST. HAVING USED THIS PLAYER FOR ALL OF IT'S INTENDED PURPOSES, I FOUND THE FOLLOWING RESULTS VS. THE 5910. VIDEO-DEAD EVEN. THE M55 HAS A WONDERFULLY RICH PICTURE THAT UPCONVERTS TO NEAR HD QUALITY. I HAVE A NICE BLU RAY PLAYER FOR COMPARITIVE PURPOSES AND THE M55 GETS DARN CLOSE TO BLURAY. 2 CHANNEL CD (REDBOOK) THE M55 IS MY CLEAR CHOICE OVER THE 5910. VERY RESOLVING WITH FABULOUS BASS CONTROL. ALL THE DETAIL IS THERE WITHOUT THROWING IT IN YOUR FACE. EASY TO LISTSEN TO FOR HOURS. REMINDS ME OF THE REGA JUPITER 2000. SACD PLAYBACK IS AS IT SHOULD BE, ANALOG IN NATURE, SWEET IN PRESENTATION. I DO NOT HAVE ANY DVD-A MATERIAL. THE M55 IS A BARGAIN AT IT'S RETAIL PRICE. MY LOCAL DEALER SELLS THEM FOR $1350. ON THE USED MARKET, THIS UNIVERSAL PLAYER IS A STEAL. IF YOUR ARE LOOKING FOR A ONE BOX SOLUTION, THE M55 IS WORTH YOUR TIME TO AUDITION.

Strengths:
POERFUL CONTROLLED BASS. RESOLVING DETAIL. BETTERS UNITS TWICE IT'S PRICE.

Weaknesses:
SLOW READ TIMES. SOFT USED MARKET PRICE.

Similar Products Used:
DENON DVD 5910, DENON DVD 3910, SONY SACD 777ES, REGA JUPITER 2000, SONY DVP-NS9000ES, SONY SACD 9000ES.

Price Paid:  $787.00 from AUDIO CLASSICS

Summary:
I HAVE OWNED NUMEROUS CD, SACD, AND UNIVERSAL PLAYERS, NOT TO MENTION ADD ON DACS. MY MOST RECENT UNIVERSAL PLAYER WAS A DENON DVD 5910. A SUPERB VIDEO MACHINE. HOWEVER, AS A 2 CHANNEL SOURCE, IT WAS MISSING THE WARMTH AND LOW END CONTROL THAT I HAD EXPERIENCED ON MANY HIGH END STAND ALONE CD PLAYER. SO OUT THE DOOR IT WENT. i HAD READ MANY NICE REVIEWS ON THE M55 AND THE LOCAL DEALER PREFERRED IT OVER ANY UNIVERSAL PLAYER AND SEVERAL STAND ALONE PLAYERS. I FOUND MY M55 ONLINE WITH A DEALER THAT I HAD PURCHASED OTHER AUDIOPHILE ITEMS IN THE PAST. HAVING USED THIS PLAYER FOR ALL OF IT'S INTENDED PURPOSES, I FOUND THE FOLLOWING RESULTS VS. THE 5910. VIDEO-DEAD EVEN. THE M55 HAS A WONDERFULLY RICH PICTURE THAT UPCONVERTS TO NEAR HD QUALITY. I HAVE A NICE BLU RAY PLAYER FOR COMPARITIVE PURPOSES AND THE M55 GETS DARN CLOSE TO BLURAY. 2 CHANNEL CD (REDBOOK) THE M55 IS MY CLEAR CHOICE OVER THE 5910. VERY RESOLVING WITH FABULOUS BASS CONTROL. ALL THE DETAIL IS THERE WITHOUT THROWING IT IN YOUR FACE. EASY TO LISTSEN TO FOR HOURS. REMINDS ME OF THE REGA JUPITER 2000. SACD PLAYBACK IS AS IT SHOULD BE, ANALOG IN NATURE, SWEET IN PRESENTATION. I DO NOT HAVE ANY DVD-A MATERIAL. THE M55 IS A BARGAIN AT IT'S RETAIL PRICE. MY LOCAL DEALER SELLS THEM FOR $1350. ON THE USED MARKET, THIS UNIVERSAL PLAYER IS A STEAL. IF YOUR ARE LOOKING FOR A ONE BOX SOLUTION, THE M55 IS WORTH YOUR TIME TO AUDITION.

Strengths:
POERFUL CONTROLLED BASS. RESOLVING DETAIL. BETTERS UNITS TWICE IT'S PRICE.

Weaknesses:
SLOW READ TIMES. SOFT USED MARKET PRICE.

Similar Products Used:
DENON DVD 5910, DENON DVD 3910, SONY SACD 777ES, REGA JUPITER 2000, SONY DVP-NS9000ES, SONY SACD 9000ES.

tonio_k

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1799.00 from Audio Alternative

Summary:
This review is for the new NAD M5, a CD/SACD only player.

I have had a new M5 in my system for two weeks now, and I am very pleased with its performance. It replaced a multi-unit digital source comprised of a Marantz SA8260, Musical Fidelity X-DACv3, X-10v3 (tube buffer), and X-PSUv3 (power supply). I am running it with Parasound Halo A51 power amp, Von Schweikert VR4jr’s and LCR-15 center, and (for now) a 5.1 channel Onkyo receiver as preamp. (The Onkyo does allow me to run everything in bypass mode.) I listen mostly to classical and jazz, along with some world music.

The most astonishing thing about the M5 is the CD reproduction. It’s just phenomenal. Definitely betters my old setup, which I had liked very much. But the CD sound coming out of the M5 is more detailed yet smoother, absolutely grain-free, more substantial, and beautifully balanced. It reduces the difference between CD and SACD almost to a vanishing point. Hard to believe. (NAD’s literature says the M5 uses PCM converters with 24b/192kHz resolution; is this “upsampling” then?) Whatever it is, it pulls out greater solidity and realism from some CDs that I previously found almost unlistenable—for example Murray Perahia’s 1994 Sony recording of the Chopin Ballades. This player decodes HDCD also, and that has allowed me to hear more of what’s really on the handful of HDCD discs that I own. Nice. Now I no longer dread putting on a CD instead of one of my growing collection of SACDs.

The NAD M5 plays both stereo and multichannel SACD—which was a primary requirement for me. Easily (and relatively quickly) locates and switches between formats. Very nice SACD sound: I immediately heard deeper yet tighter bass, extremely musical microdynamics, and impressive detail. In fact it made me more aware of the differences in engineering between various discs, especially the variations among pure dsd recordings and some of the reissues. My old Marantz, as luscious as it sounded, couldn’t always manage that. The M5 can be quite revealing, which you will either welcome or find a mixed blessing. I edit a monthly CD review column for a music professionals’ journal, so I am glad to be able to hear some of these things more clearly. Occasionally a disc comes along with way too much treble energy . . .

Regarding material matters: the M5 is built like a tank, with the insides damped and heavy aluminum casing (full metal jacket, indeed!). The remote also feels substantial and is easy to use. Setup is easy and best handled via OSD (the video circuit can be completely switched off when you are done with it). There is digital bass management and speaker-distance (i.e., channel delay) setting available. Bass management probably does not offer the most flexible array of choices out there—crossover points are 80 or 100 Hz, period—but will be adequate for typical consumer multichannel arrangements. In any case, it’s very nice to have these things built into the player itself, and I especially found the speaker-distance settings to be helpful in locking in a solid image.

The SACD and CD signal paths are kept completely separate, so both circuits need an equal bit of “run-in,” but they open up and settle down in a couple of days. You will also need separate sets of interconnects to your preamp for SACD and CD. A pair of balanced analog outs is provided for the CD signal; I’m now more eager than ever to get a preamp that will accept them. There are also digital outs for the CD, but why would anyone want to use this unit as a transport? For the money, it’s the best CD sound I’ve ever heard. And the SACD is also mighty fine.

My dealer let me hear and compare this unit with an Ayre C-5xe “universal” stereo player, both M5 and Ayre running through an all-Ayre separates system driving big floorstanding Thiels. Of course the C-5xe came out on top; it was more delicately detailed and handled climaxes a bit better. But the M5 did very well. I realized I would have to spend three times as much to get something better, and probably be limited to stereo at that price point as well. So I feel good about getting the NAD and expect to enjoy it for years to come.

Strengths:
extreme resolving power
extended bass and treble
good-looking, very sturdy housing
digital bass and speaker distance management
value for the money

Weaknesses:
resolving power = slightly cold sound sometimes (or excess treble)
limited crossover options in bass management

Similar Products Used:
Marantz SA 8260
MF X-DACv3
Oppo Digital DV-981HD

Frank F.

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.21 of 5, 14.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
The new NAD M55 is derived from their Master Series.NAD is essentially giving you superior build & parts quality for far less cash flow. The M55's Universal playback boasts 192/24 dacs, Multi-channel sonics, HDMI hookup & bass management & delivers on all counts..There is liitle to fault here. Most Uni-spinners lack excellent redbook cd playback but the M55 does not. The M55 is very similar to the attributes of the Marantz 9500 but winning out by a very small margin in redbook sonics. The HDMI picture quality on My Sharp 32" LCD is a stunner(please don't use freebee cables supplied with some dvd players) if you go this far in a/v gear why compromise with the cabling..! SACD & Dvd-Audio playback while a dying format still shines through as a class leader & no problem here with Dualdiscs. The NAD M55 really is in a class by itself when it comes to finish & buid quality,combine this with the above ingredients & have a winner...

Strengths:
Build, sonics, visuals compatability,parts quality

Weaknesses:
Price only if an issue vs far lesser machines...

Similar Products Used:
Denon 5910 Marantz 9500 Marantz 7600 Elite 59AVI Elite 47AVI Onkyo 1000