I purchased this cd player without a chance to demo it first, due to the fact there is no dealer within a 150 miles of where I live. Based on the favorable reviews by the "established" audio press, and by owners comments in sites like this one, I sprang ahead and shelled out the clams for this unit. Indeed, there a fair number of negative comments concerning skipping transports, and just plain not reading many cd's upon insertion. From what I can gather, the transport is manufactured by Sanko, and was selected for it's jitter reduction capabilities. However, it would appear it makes this unit overly sensative to even the smallest speck of dust, fingerprints, or scratches. My cd's are next to flawless in condition, and yet it will sometimes skip anyhow. One fellow on a internet site mentioned keeping the lens on the laser clean. I have a discwasher cleaning cd, and it does seem to help.
OK, enough on the skipping problem already.( It rarely happens).
This unit is all about it's wonderful sonics. Quite amazing for a player in this price range. Typical of NAD products, it's what's under the hood that counts.The unit is rather bland looking, though I do like it's clean lines and un-cluttered appearence. The display is a brillent blue, and easy to read from across the room. No extras here however. Just basic information such as track #, time, and a music calendar. The on chasis transport controls are straight forword and offer just the usual functions. The remote is small and kind of a weird shape, but it has neat litle rubber feat that keep it from flying off surfaces.
But inside this baby comes into it's own. 24 bit Burr-Brown dac, independent power supplies for the digital and analog sections, and high quality parts through-out. Included are Burr-Brown 2604 op-amps, which if you dont know, are never found in this price range. It all adds up to top-notch reproduction, and gives you a real bang the buck. Just a few short years ago, this kind of sound came with a price tag in the 4 digits.
It's always tuff to describe sound quality in terms which can truly relay the experiance. Surfice it ti say that it is very detailed, lots of space around the instruments, with a "soft" character. No brittle and sharp highs that sear the ears here. Sweet and smooth. The bass is firm, deep, tight, and very solid. This player has that special ability to make you quit evaluating and just get lost in the music. And for me, that's the ultimate test of good audio equipment. Forget the gear, get envolved with the music.
There you have it. I have owned and listened to a good number of cd players, and I think this one is a keeper. Hopefully the transport will behave itself and not have some of the problems I have read about from other owners.
Besides, a two year warranty makes me feel a bit better, and NAD is a company you can usually trust.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 255 (Ebay)