Glorious, detailed, sweet, balanced, gripping musical reproduction. Solid built, no design flaws, great remote.

Really none. If one wanted to gripe, NAD doesn't believe in the time-remaining-per-track readout, probably because it can't be designed to work over about 30 tracks.

After extensive negative experiences with several Cambridge Audio Azurs, I got rid of them and bought an NAD C521BEE even though I wasn't impressed by the earlier NAD C521i. This NAD revision, after play-in (it takes a while to reveal itself fully), extracts the genuine passion and drive of performances from CDs, creating really gripping musical experiences for the listener, not unlike good live music. It has depth, clarity, sweetness, detail, amazing speed of response, accuracy of vocal and instrumental color and placement: in all, that rare, indefinable "musicality." Unlike the competitors in this price range--the harsh, uneven, badly designed Cambridge Audio Azurs, the NAD is a breath of fresh air. Moreover, it is built like a tank and the remote is fast, ergonomic, and instinctive. The NAD C521BEE just sounds and behaves *right.* After so many revisions of this design, it seems that NAD has found a sweet spot. One hopes they will now leave it alone. It's even hard to imagine that the more expensive NAD C542i is a lot better.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Audio Azur 540C--phooey Cambridge Audio 640C--ditto Harman Kardon HD-710-lovely Harman Kardon HD-720--amazingly bad Teac CDP-1250-garbage Toshibs SD-1800--surprisingly good

Fantastic imaging; huge soundstage; detailed yet not fatiguing in the least; Deep, detailed bass; plays CD-R's & CD-RW's; the price!!!

Any critcisms would be reaching.

I bought this unit as a "critical" listening player, to compliment the Marantz CC3000 changer already in my system. I like having the convenience of a changer, but also like having a single-disc unit for better sound quality. Upon first hooking up the NAD, there seemed to be a recessed midrange and treble rolloff, something I had encountered in the NAD 5240 I had previously owned. After about a 2 week break in, the 521 sang. The midrange was no longer recessed, but full and VERY smooth. The bass was detailed and deep without being boomy. The treble was "pristine" without being fatiguing. The soundstage was huge. I've listened to this machine with music from Mozart to Metallica to Muddy. Classical music is rendered beautifully, while heavy metal just POUNDS, while Muddy Waters wails away as if he's in the room. I auditioned several players (Rotel, Marantz, Arcam, Sony ES, Harman Kardon, Creek) before deciding on the NAD. I simply can't believe how terrific this player sponds reagrdless of the type of music you throw at it. If you're looking for a phenomenal "audiophile" spounding cd player without breaking the bank, I can't recommend the NAD C521 BEE highly enough. It's simply astounding, especially for under $300. My music never sounded this sweet. System: Acurus A150 power amp B & K Pro-10MC pre-amp Marantz CC3000 cd changer NHT 2.5 speakers Kimber PBJ inerconnects Apeture speaker wire

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi MB-2S, Marantz CC3000, Marantz CD5000, Rotel CD-2