NAD C520 User Manual

C520 CD Player

• Single disc CD Player with Full Function Remote Control

• Burr-Brown Sigma-Delta 20 bit Digital to Analog converter

• Coaxial Digital output • Low output impedance • Separate power regulators
for analog and digital sections • Informative display with switchable track, time and
repeat • Repeat mode for single track or entire CD • Random play • Remote control

Over the years NAD has built up an enviable reputation for building fine CD
players offering outstanding value for money. The Model C520 will further
enhance this reputation with its excellent performance and ease of use at a
very keen price.

As always, sonic performance is the first priority at NAD. Rather than
adding many seldom used features or going for "overkill" on a single
aspect of the design, the NAD engineers have concentrated on the design
itself to offer the best performance possible at the price. Behind the decep­tively modest front panel lies sophisticated circuitry.

Features RANDOM gives the listener a random selection of all tracks on the
disc in play and REPEAT allows repeat playing of the disc or individual
tracks. Individual tracks are easily accessed by SKIP (Forward and Back).
SCAN (Forward and Back) gives an audio sampling of individual tracks,
giving the listener the opportunity to reach specific sections of the track.

Using Electro-Luminescent back lighting, the display provides clear and
understated yet comprehensive information to the listener. The track num­ber is displayed and for those who regularly transfer CDs to cassette tape,
the button displays the current time elapsed or remaining for complete CDs
or individual tracks. A "calendar" type section in the display gives immedi­ate visual information how many tracks in total there are on the CD.

The Model C520 comes supplied with a full function remote control, offer­ing all of the features described above from the comfort of your listening
chair. On top of that, the remote control handset gives you direct track
access as well.

Metal film resistors and polypropylene capacitors are used in key areas to
ensure a highly accurate frequency response. Unusual at this price level,
high quality 5532 op-amps are used instead of the much lower grade and
type normally found at this price level and higher. Apart from the single
output capacitor, no other capacitors are used in the signal path.

The output impedance is very low at 300 ohms, making the NAD C520 less
sensitive to cables or the ancillary equipment it is partnered with.

Not all digital outputs are equal. In the case of the NAD C520 careful atten­tion has been paid so that best use can be made of the ever increasing
number of products becoming available with digital inputs (DAT, DCC, MD
recorders, outboard D to A converters, etc.). The coaxial output is
buffered and isolated by a transformer from the converter itself and the
output impedance has been carefully tailored to produce a precise 75*
impedance to ensure perfect matching.

Truly excellent sound quality is difficult to find at this price, let alone with
the added convenience of remote control. Anyone interested in a high per­formance CD player without frills should put the NAD C520 at the top of
their shortlist.

Circuitry

Separate power regulators for the digital and analog sections isolate the
two electrically, and furthermore, careful layout of the PCB tracks around
the Digital-to Analog converter helps to contain RF interference.

For the NAD C520 the 20 bit high resolution Burr-Brown Sigma-Delta
Digital-to-Analog converter chip was chosen for its excellent low level lin­earity and detail retrieving capabilities.

SPECIFICATIONS - NAD C520

Disc capacity Single disc 120mm or 80mm
Digital-to-Analog conversion S - D, 20 bit resolution
Digital filter 8 x oversampled
Analog filter 4 pole active
Frequency response 5Hz-20kHz 0.5dB
De-emphasis error 0.5dB
THD (at 0dB, 1kHz) 0.0035%
Dynamic rang 96dB
Linearity +/- 0.5dB; 0 to -90dB
Signal to noise ratio, A-weighted 108dB
Channel separation @ 1kHz 110dB

@ 10kHz 80dB
Wow and Flutter Unmeasurable (Quartz accuracy)
Output impedance 300ohm
Output level @ 0dB 2.2V rms.
Digital error correction CIRC, double error correction in C1 and C2
Remote control yes

Physical Specifications

Dimensions (W x H x D) 435 x 70 x 285mm 17 1/8" x 2 7/8" x 11 1/4"
Net weight 4.1kg 9.0 lbs
Shipping weight 4.9kg 10.8 lbs

MASH is a registered trademark of Matsushita Laboratories Ltd. Burr-Brown is a registered trademark of the Burr-Brown corporation.

NAD reserves the right to change specifications or design at any time without notice. All specifications are those in effect at time of printing.

Printed in Canada.