NAD C 588 User Manual

NAD’s is well known for innovative, high performance, yet affordable, turntables. While

the basic operation of a turntable seems simple, extracting all the musical energy from

the record grooves without exciting destructive resonances requires both science and art.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the elements of the C 588 with an explanation of the

choices we made.

ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROL

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Having exact pitch (speed) is important, but human hearing is much more sensitive to

momentary changes in speed which we express with the terms Wow and Flutter. As its

name sounds, Wow is a slow cyclical speed variation. The most severe example is the

sound of a severely warped record, where the stylus travels faster on the rising side of

the warp and slower on the descending side, causing abrupt changes in musical pitch.

Flutter is what we call very fast and small variations that are usually generated by the

motor. The C 588 addresses both of these problems with proven and effective solutions.

A specialized, high precision, synchronous clock motor is both very smooth and accurate,

especially when driven from a stable AC voltage. To ensure a clean and stable AC voltage

we isolate the AC Mains by first converting it to a clean DC voltage, and then electron-

ically generating the precise AC frequency to regulate the synchronous motor. Using a

specially formulated belt to drive the platter further filters and isolates any remaining

vibration. All rotating parts are made from aluminum alloy machined to very tight toler-

ances to eliminate any eccentricity or vibration in the drive system.

TONEARM AND CARTRIDGE

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The C 588 features a custom designed carbon fiber tonearm shaft with a fixed metal head

shell and features a decoupled counterweight and magnetic anti-skate compensation. An

Ortofon 2M Red cartridge is factory installed and offers superb tracking and a delicately

nuanced full range sound. The C 588 uses a longer than usual 9” tonearm to optimize

overhang and reduce the tracking angle error. To perfectly align the stylus we include

adjustments for azimuth and vertical tracking angle, and include a gauge to calibrate the

alignment, a rarity at this price point.

FEATURES & DETAILS

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Belt Driven Turntable 33/45

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10mm Glass Plater with Felt Pad

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Precision Alloy Sub Platter

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Precision AC Motor

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Isolated AC Power Supply with

Universal Voltage

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9” Carbon Fibre Tonearm with

Fixed Head Shell

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Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge Preinstalled

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Vertical Tracking Angle and

Azimuth Adjustment

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Rigid MDF Plinth

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Metal Feet with Tuned Isolation

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Low Resonance Dustcover

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Detachable High Quality RCA Cable

with separate Ground

NAD C 588 Turntable

CLOSING THE TRIANGLE

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To fully realize the micro-dynamics of music requires a very tight

mechanical coupling of the platter and the tonearm. This forms

a triangle, as vibrations can travel from record being played, to

the platter, through the shaft and bearing to the base (plinth),

up the arm mount through the arm pivot and down the arm to

the cartridge and stylus. There are many separate parts in this

path and some of them are required move relative to one another

through mechanical bearing interfaces. If there is any play in these

mechanical interfaces musical energy will be lost. This why NAD

has paid strict attention to precision machining, assembly, and

testing that is so important in a turntable.

RESONANCE CONTROL AND ISOLATION

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Reducing all spurious vibrations to a minimum is critical to

getting the best result when playing vinyl. Since these vibrations

can come from various sources, both internal and external, the

materials and dimensions must all be carefully calculated reduce

and balance all the resonances to prevent a buildup of energy at

particular frequencies. To isolate external vibrations from the loud-

speakers or footfalls bouncing the floor, we use a massive MDF

base with specially tuned vibration damping feet, along with a

thick non-resonant dust cover. The choice of glass platter, felt pad,

MDF base, and carbon fiber tonearm, were carefully considered to

work together to limit and reduce spurious vibration.

RECIPE OR INGREDIENTS?

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They say a great chef can make delicious food from very basic

ingredients, while a cook without training can make a mess of

even the finest and most exotic ingredients. NAD is a Five Star

Chef in the audio world, designing award winning products for

45 years now. We think the C 588 hits a sweet spot for perfor-

mance and value by using very simple high quality parts and

precisely engineering them to work together in perfect harmony.

We believe the result to be a feast for the ears that will last for

years and bring new life to your existing record collection while

preserving it for the future.