Copland 266 vs NAD 541i CDP


I've wanted to upgrade my CD player for a couple months now, and I've recently come across an older (98') Copland 266 CD player for about $1k CDN (about $650 US) I was curious if this would be a move up, or simply buying into an older generation CDP with a better name?

The seller says the Copland is using better K-DAC's and would be a step up. I'm weary though because the Copland is now 6yrs old, and the NAD 541i is only 1 year old. I dont have the ability to listen to the Copland so I'll be taking a risk. At 1k CDN it isn't huge, but by the same token I want to make sure its a setup from the NAD, even though its older technology.

Is this a good move? I'll be hooking up this Copland to my SimAudio Moon i-5080. Some people say the really good stuff is good for a long long time. Such as Califorina Audio Labs stuff...its dated but still holds up. Others contend that newer cd players from NAD and rotel have really risen the bar and have closed the gap by a wide margin in the last couple of years.

I've also found a Classe' CDP-10 for 2k but I'm not eager to part with that kinda dough at the moment.
pbawcutt294c

Showing 2 responses by jewel_hasan

Hey Bamboo - I've had my Copland CDA-289 for a couple of years but I've never tried opening the box myself and therefore, the tweaks you recommend, is this something an end user can do at home with simple instructions from you or is this more involved requiring special tools etc? If you have a minute, would you elaborate it bit in layman's terms? I appreciate your help. Thanks a lot.

If you prefer, you can email me directly at zhasan@lehman.com.

pbawcutt@hotmail.com - my apologies for riding your thread:-)
Hi Bambadoo - Thanks a lot for the details & pictures. It took some searching but I just placed an order for 2 pieces of Mundorf Supreme silver/oil 0.47 uf. The LClock X03 is too pricey a modification at $260 for now, and especially since I don't know what I'm doing just yet.