An EXCELLENT unit for the money. I recently decided to invest in some high quality gear after suffering through mass-marketed gear for far too long. Very warm. Very musical. I use good interconnects and the bass is quite good. Good build quality from NAD. PLUS, you'd be suprised at what you can actually get this unit for if you shop around a little !!! Overall, a great place to start building your first high end system.

The NAD 514 delivers a warm, natural and yet distinct sound. A CD-player for those who don't like the harsh-digital sound, itmakes your CD's sound more like vinyl (more warmth and musical feeling) Very balanced with real deep bass (if used with
quality interconnects). It has a unique CDR function which will enhance the lower parts of a song, that means you won't loose
the dynamic-sound (or your neighbours) when listening at low volume. It has Digital-Out, for future upgrades.
The lack of Random-play, headphone output and perhaps a digital volume control puts this player on an overall rating of 4
stars.
Otherwise it would definately be a 5 star. It competes with much more expensive players on the market. Just listen to it!

The first cd player i heard for less than £500 that actually sounded different

Lost a laser and it hasnt sounded quite the same since i put in a new one

Just a cracking cd player. The best in the sub silly money price range

Similar Products Used:

All NAD for me bar TDL speakers

I had one week back home in New Jersey to put together a "high-end" audio system before returning to Chicago for med school. Armed with about $2500 set aside for this purpose and about a year and a half of reading Stereophile, Stereophile, Home Theater Magazine, and a little Audio, I set out to find the perfect CD player for my ears. So I got the phone book out and looked around at some high end dealers in the NJ area (there are a ton) and began to demo single disk players in the $500 price range with Bruce Springsteen's Human Touch, Dvorak's New World Symphony, and Pet Shop Boys Discography for good measure. These CDs were all relatively well produced, represented my musical tastes, and contained a wide range of tracks that I thought would adequately flesh out the capabilities of a component. After listening to quite a few CD players, some in this range, some not, (i.e. some awesome beast from Sonic Frontiers) I finally narrowed it down to the Marantz CD67SE or the NAD 514. Both players had their good and bad points. I'll start with the CD67SE. I demoed it with the NAD317 integrated amp and PSB Stratus Minis. (note: not my system.) The midrange was extremely clear; I could hear the phlegm in Springsteen's voice. The bass was good, a tiny bit boomy, and the upper treble range sounded kind of bright. I think this is what appeals to people who end up getting the CD67SE; everything sounds very clear, but not necessarily musical. (a very subjective term) The 67SE also has a few more features than the 514, including, I believe, a headphone jack and volume control. Both come with remotes. At the Marantz dealer I went to, they didn't have a 63SE for me to demo, and although they are supposed to be cosmetically different only, the reviews at this website lead me to conclude otherwise, and I actually wish I could have heard one.
The NAD 514 didn't stand out as much as the CD67SE, but for some reason I liked it better. On the same setup as above, Dvorak's New World Symphony had a warmer , more natural sound, which is not to say that it was lacking in detail. The strings were very accurate; (I played violin for several years)you could hear the tones reverberating through the wood. Pet Shop Boys techno stuff sounded decent, but was probably better suited for the 67SE. Springsteen sounded musical, not phlegmy. Personally, I don't really like it when everything is too clear, I tend to regard that as falling into the BOSE "trap" where the treble is really bright and showy. The soundstaging was pretty good in both players; everything sounded like where it should be, and in both cases, I felt like there was some three dimensionality to the sound.
Because my musical tastes are leaning towards acoustic, I eventually ended up with the 514. Coupled with the Jolida SJ202A integrated tube amp and B&W's much lauded DM602 speakers, I am quite satisfied with my system. If you're into acoustic music, classical, jazz etc. and like the "tube" sound, I would definitely recommend the 514. It is much more musical, IMHO, than the Marantz players and allows the listener to be drawn into the music, which is really what this is all about.