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NAD C540 skipped out of box

I am currently in the market for a Rotel RCD-971 as Mr. Gridlock suggested, but haven't gotten to audition yet. Used, they go for around $500, and all my research suggests that this is the solid state CD player to get in this price range. If you like tubes, people rave about the Rega Planet and Ah! Tjoeb in this price range.

I auditioned the NAD C540 at home a few weeks ago because I was in a store that had them. I used my Nakamichi AV-8 and Monitor Audio Silver 5i mains. The C540 is a really nice sounding player--very articulate and well balanced. But I have had my concenrs about NAD reliability and build quality. Reinforcing this fear straight out of the box the player skipped on three of the 10-12 test disks I fed it, very badly on one or two of them. Never had any problems with the disks in any other player. Could probably be fixed, but in my mind this is not something you should have to deal with in a brand new product, even if it sounds great otherwise. It doesn't sound so nice when its skipping.

I'm anxious to hear the Rotel. At $700 MSRP, you should be able to work a deal to get one and stay in your price range. (One sold on Audiogon for $450 two weeks ago.)



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