C542 vs. C541i

I just purchased the C542 from American Theater, here at the audiogon brand new at a great price.
I just love it.

Litsa ;-)

I found a C541i on the 'gon for $275 and bought it last month. It's a good CDP for the money. I have to say, that previously I owned a NAD C521BEE CD player for all of one week. I bought the BEE used for $175 from the classifieds here and when it arrived I was thrilled with the sound. So thrilled in fact that I decided to sell it on Ebay and upgrade to a C541i that showed up in the classifieds here a couple of days later.

The C521BEE sold easily on Ebay (for more than I paid for it) and the C541i is a good but subtle upgrade to the BEE. The C521BEE is an oft overlooked good deal CDP (lots for the money like the C320BEE integrated Amp)

The C541i has a bit more air around instruments, the ability to play HDCD (which it does very well, I think) and possibly a bit tighter bass response.

I haven't heard the C542. But I have heard two opinions: 1) that it's a very small subtle improvement and 2) that it's a huge improvement that has to be heard. I have no idea which of these is true.

Thanks I really do appreciate all the info. & I will definately give them a call.

Litsa ;-)

If you are looking for an NAD 541i, go to www.saturdayaudio.com, in Chicago. They have new ones full warranty for $299. I doubt you can beat the price. I bought one a month ago.

Now the real question is: is the 542 worth $150-200 more than the 541i? It wasn't for me.

Litsa123: Try DMC electronics. It may still have some in stock. You can search on the web for the phone number. It is in the Los Angeles area. I bought many things there and I couldn't have asked for better service.

By the way, I am not the owner or in anyway related to DMC electronics.

I do agree with Andy2 on the difference between the 2 players.

By the way, I'm also looking to upgrade my 14 year old cd player. I kinda out of luck, because while returning to buy the C541i most places are sold out... I really don't wanna buy the C542 ($). Does anyone have a new one for sale?

Thanks.

Litsa ;-)

I haven't heard them side by side personally but from reading some of the British reviews, the only significant difference (well relatively anyway) is that the 542 has better bass than the 541i. You need a good system to notice the difference in most cases.

Other than that, everything else is very subtle.