NAD C 588 Manual Belt-Drive Turntable with Cartridge

Description

NAD 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

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 electronically 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 tolerances to
eliminate any eccentricity or vibration in the drive system.

TONEARM AND CARTRIDGE

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.

CLOSING THE TRIANGLE

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

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 loudspeakers 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?

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 performance 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.

FEATURES & DETAILS

• Belt
  Driven Turntable 33/45

• 10mm
  Glass Plater with Felt Pad

• Precision
  Alloy Sub Platter

• Precision
  AC Motor

• Isolated
  AC Power Supply with Universal Voltage

• 9”
  Carbon Fibre Tonearm with Fixed Head Shell

• Ortofon
  2M Red Cartridge Preinstalled

• Vertical
  Tracking Angle and Azimuth Adjustment

• Rigid
  MDF Plinth

• Metal
  Feet with Tuned Isolation

• Low
  Resonance Dustcover

• Detachable
  High Quality RCA Cable with separate Ground

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Nominal
  speed

• 33/45
  rpm, manual speed change

• 
  (78 rpm possible with special pulley

• Speed
  variance

• 33
  rpm: < ± 0.35 %, 45 rpm: < ± 0.30 %

• Wow
  and flutter

• <0.01%
  (ref. 1 kHz, Audio LPF)

• Signal/Noise
  ratio

• – 70
  dB

• Downforce
  range

• 0 – 30
  mN

• 
  0 – 3.0 grams

• Supplied
  counterweight system

• 95dB

• Supplied
  counterweight system

• Counterweight
  for cartridges: 6 – 13 g

• Voltage

• Universal
  switch mode power supply

• 
  15 V DC/0,8 A, 100-240 V AC, 47 – 63Hz

• Power
  consumption

• 5 W
  max/ 0.3W standby

TONEARM

• Effective
  tonearm mass

• 9.5 g

• Effective
  tonearm length

• 230 mm

• Overhang

• 18 mm

ORTOFON 2M RED CARTRIDGE

• Frequency
  range

• 20-22.000Hz

• Channel
  separation

• 22dB/1kHz

• Output
  voltage

• 5.5 mV

• Recommended
  load impedance

• 47
  kohms/Amplifier connection: MM-input

• Compliance/stylus
  type

• 20μm/mN
  – elliptical

• Recommended
  tracking force

• 18 mN

• Weight

• 7.2g

DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT

• Gross
  Dimensions (W x H X D)

• 17 1/8
  x 13 7/16 x 4 15/16” (435 x 340 x 125mm)

• Shipping
  Weight

• 9.2 kg(20.3 lbs)