Just picked up a used in-store demo NAD M5 SACD player as I wanted a universal player to replace my aging Pioneer Elite DV-47A. The DV-47A will be pressed back into video duties. The M5 also decodes HDCD disks, which I have many, which helped in the buying decision.
I have owned a BAT VK-D5SE, Arcam FMJ CD23 and the aforementioned DV-47A...and have listened to Audio Research's CD3, the McIntosh MDA1000 DAC as well as the new Mc MCD500 SACD player. I like live recordings that give you the sense of "being there". In studio recordings I look for those that deliver some sort of "live" ambiance.
While not quite Esoteric quality, the M5 is well built and the case is fairly thick. I removed the lid to take a peek inside and it did not seem like it would be prone to vibrate as easily as some of the typical construction guage seen in other mid-fi offerings.
Moving inside. it has two power supplies...a SMPS for the digital and a C-core transformer to handle the analog.
They use a PCM1794 for the DAC and claim seperate filtration for DSD and PCM...neither of which I reckonized.
Circuit layout is nice and neat. The player has XLR outputs (pin 2 hot) as well as an AES/EBU digital out which is nice to have if you want to run an external DAC.
I spent about 4 hours listening to the M5 last nite...and with no fatigue I might add
Material listened to was tracks off the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over", Tarik O'Regan's "Threshold of Night" SACD, Metheny/Mehldau Quartet (JP Import) Steely Dan "Deacon Blues, FM, etc..." off disk 4 of the box set, disk 4 from the Police box set (mostly tunes from Synchronicity), some Rick Braun, the live version of Neil Young's "Down by the River" off Buddy Miles Greatest Hits and a few tracks off the latest live offering from Michael Landau (HDCD).
I have read reviews saying this player lacks bass and I expect that is more due to listening material or system synergy as I found the bass to reach down well (further than my CD23!) and in a way that neither impressed me as "tight" nor "flabby"....natural would be the best description and very close to that I have heard from other far more expensive players.
The CD layer offers two filters, normal and slow, and I found the "slow" to provide a slighty larger soundstage and more relaxed pace. The normal sounded somewhat closed in.
I listened for string, piano and cymbal decays and they were all there though perhaps at times rolling off sooner than what I've heard through far costlier systems mentioned below.
To cut to the chase, this player is slightly "warm" by nature (in my system at least) and in doing so gives up a slight bit of resolution as I mentioned regarding decay rolling off.
Painting with broad strokes I would say if you look at two extremes....at one end you have that hyper-detailed retrieval that ends up destroying the musical interplay because it isolates to such a degree that you loose the emotion....
and at the other extreme you have a very relaxed presentation that strays into the mud and makes critical solos and nuances tangled & indistinguishable.
...what I look for is playback that finds a middleground where the solos and nuances are highlighted with correct weight yet allowed to maintain proper interplay between musicians such that a vivid emotional performance emerges.
On a scale of 1 to 10, if a 1 is clinical, 10 is mud and 5 being the perfect balance... I'd rate the M5 somewhere between a 6 and 7 depending on the quality of the recording. I actually prefer erring to this side as it allows me to enjoy a much larger selection of my redbook collection
Imo, you have to shop selected offerings in the $4-6K range before you get into something that will provide consistently better performance.
The downsides are flimsy disk tray which the majority of sub $5K players are plagued with and the intialization time for SACDs is like waiting for a 286/10 with 4mb ram to boot Windows 3.0...I get up and microwave water for tea.
The M5 sits in my rack atop #2 Vibrapods and I used Kimber KS-1130 to connect to my Parasound JC 2 preamp, Kimber KS-1121 from the preamp to McIntosh MC501 monoblocks and Analysis Plus Oval 9 off the 8 ohm taps running to Thiel CS7.2s. PS Audio Punch AC cords on amps and Parasound 12AWG AC cords on all else. Furman IT-Reference 15i for power conditioning/surge protection...amps plugged into PF outlets on Furman. All running off a dedicated 20A line and a PS Audio outlet. Line voltage is typically 122.5V +/- 0.3V
The front wall is acoustically "dead" using GIK pillar traps in both corners with large wicker baskets stuffed with rockwool on top. Two GIK 244 bass traps on wall behind speakers, two more 244s in the upper wall-ceiling corner and three GIK 242 panels on the ceiling at the first reflection point. EchoBuster "corner busters" in all 4 upper tri-corners. Acoustically absorbing drapes and cellular blinds in the listening room, wall-to-wall carpeting, large 11' x 8' rug between listening chair and speakers. The room is 24L x 12W x 9H and I sit approx 12' from the speakers which are ~ 8' apart
