Regular readers will probably know me as the one who got really into turntables recently; overhauling my home system (twice!) to make it vinyl-focused and running our annual Vinyl Week celebrations for the past few years.
But my vinyl obsession is really rather recent; it was CDs that I grew up with. Apart from a handful of cassettes from my childhood, my teenage years were dominated by CDs as I graduated from boy bands and pop divas to alt-rock and rap metal, to indie-folk-punk and beyond… CDs were the cornerstone of my musical education and I would pore over the little booklets (with their artwork, lyrics, hidden messages) while listening to my favourite albums on repeat.
Article continues belowAs streaming took over and then I got swept up by the turntable revival (obviously I blame my day job for the latter), CDs fell by the wayside. I still buy the odd CD – there are some albums I love so much I want them in various physical formats, from Tom Waits to Waxahatchee – while a tenner for a CD is a great way to support local musicians at a gig, even if I don't have the means to play it at home. They're cheaper and much smaller to carry home than a vinyl record, too, which helps.
Around the end of 2025 and early 2026, we were awash with a steady stream of new CD players and CD transports being launched. Physical media in general has been enjoying a resurgence, with both vinyl records and CDs enjoying an increase in sales in 2025, with CD revenue increasing by 3.1% last year to £99.6 million in the UK – its best since 2021 – according to the BPI.
I have looked fondly at the retro-tastic Quad 3CDT transport (designed to match the charming Quad 3 integrated amplifier); been puzzled by FiiO's compact and portable DM15 R2R CD player/DAC/headphone amp/CD ripper with Bluetooth; while Pro-Ject's CD Box RS2 Tube spinner even has a valve output stage to stand out from the crowd.
But it wasn't until NAD announced its new C 589 CD player last week that I really got excited. It may not be the prettiest-looking CD player around – from the press photos, it looks a rather plain, unadorned black box with a fairly ordinary display screen – but it's also a big reason why it has piqued my interest.
The C 589 may look unassuming, but CD players rely on rock-solid build quality across the board, providing a stable, noise-free basis for its optical laser to accurately read the data off the disc. Take our reference, long-running Cyrus CDi – a dinosaur in terms of design, but tremendously reliable and works without a hitch even after 12 years of use.
NAD doesn’t always shout about its designs, make lofty claims about its sound quality, or try to tempt you with superfluous features. From the legendary 3020 budget amplifier to the current Award-winning and talented NAD C 3050 (with MDC2 BluOS-D module) streaming amplifier, there is some fantastic heritage and audio knowhow behind the brand, which further makes the upcoming premium CD player an appealing proposition.
It has a sensible complement of connections and its specification is straightforward, but what’s also interesting is that it has implemented a new digital filter technology called Qrono d2a, developed by MQA Labs (which is owned by NAD’s parent company Lenbrook). This advanced filtering tech aims to help refine the internal “top tier” DAC’s timing response, which should reproduce the original recording more authentically, along with better transient accuracy and “a more natural musical flow”, says NAD.
We have already experienced this processing technology’s effects in sister-brand Bluesound, whose Award-winning Node Icon streamer won us over with its rhythmically agile and dynamic performance. .
Bluesound's products have always been competent, but we found the flagship Node Icon (£899 / $1199) delivered music with a “spark” – a sense of liveliness, snappy timing and fluid dynamics that we hadn’t heard before from the brand. If the Qrono d2a’s deployment in the NAD C 589 means we could hear similar sonic traits in these areas – we could be on to a great-sounding CD player indeed.
And that’s not all. The CD player isn’t promising any fancy features (no SACD, no hi-res streaming), simply focusing all its attention on clean, accurate playback, reliability and ease of use.
It’s hard to tell for certain until we have a sample in our test rooms to try for ourselves, but those buttons look sensible and functional, while the display looks easy to read. NAD says the C 589 player is built to the brand’s “longstanding engineering philosophy of simplicity and value” – and that sounds just fine to me.
Really good CD players are few and far between these days, and there is clearly a space in between our Award-winning Arcam CD5 (£699 / $699) and the Cyrus 40 ST (£2995 / $3995) for a fresh recommendation at the £1000/$1500 mark. (Especially when the ageing Cyrus CDi is finally put to rest.)
At £1199 / $1399, the NAD C 589 isn’t a budget option, but it's not wildly expensive either.
Don’t get me wrong; I love my turntable system at home, but I’m not one to restrict myself to a single musical format. Be it vinyl, streaming or CDs – they are all valid and enjoyable ways of listening, be it at home or on the commute or at work.
CD remains a convenient, compact, affordable physical format that is also, most crucially, yours to keep forever. As I spend more time with my turntable, playing my small collection of records over and over again, I find myself wishing I could relive this same listening experience with my CD collection.
This NAD C 589 CD player’s combination of its advanced technology, the unassuming aesthetic, and the promise of reliable operation has plenty of appeal.
I can’t wait to get it in for a review to hear how it actually sounds.
MORE:
Our guide to the best CD players we have tested
