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Nad 5120 - a real rarity...

Dynacophil

Dynacophil

I ain't Phil, I'm 'phile
Hello!

for your interest - a rarity. I got it to check, adjust and sell for a friend, because its so rare i want to share the pictures with you!

its a really freaky player, belt driven, very light oil damped arm of carbon fibre, very simple construction in one way but completely unusual... I gave it a Ortophon F15 MK2 pickup with new stylus, adjusted it and it sounds surprisingly great.. after tuning the subchassis springs a bit - it was hanging in the right back... the arm is easy to take off, its just stuck with 4 pins in the connector which also is the arm bearing. the four pins connect also the signal lines... it looks a bit cheap and crappy, but since i know it a bit better, i guess somebody pretty innovative made this construction... the acryl cover is very easy to take off... real nice - i like it. Hope it will find a good new owner :)




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do you you like it?

Helge
 
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Thats kinda cool.It definetely has the unconventional styling NAD was known for.
Orion Blue Book
NAD 5120 Belt Drive
Semi-automatic/floating subchasis/ac synchronous motor
1983/84
Price:198
 
They are not that uncommon -- NAD sold a fair number of them. They were made in Czechoslovakia, I think, and in addition to the PC board arm had a thin sheet metal platter with a very heavy rubber covering, so the platter really was rubber not metal -- no ringing.
The idea behind the arm was that it would have one major resonant mode, which could be damped, and that otherwise the PC board material ought to be self damping. Like so many other novel ideas, the first listeners heard the absence of the normal problems of tubular arms, and so it made a bit of a stir, but later as people started noticing the arm's new and different issues, it's reputation fell. In fact NAD replaced it with a conventional tubular arm.
Its a very interesting table, with some real virtues -- the variable damping is easy to use -- NAD listed the suggested damping for a huge number of cartridges. The list is available at Vinyl Engine, and is a useful guide for anyone considering damping.
 
Hi Mat!

yes - a thin plate of Aluminum - and a thick rubberplate with a plastic centerpiece.

I just found while cleaning it that the oil filled damping unit thas has to be hanging in a needlke bearing was off this bearing, what explained the "individual" moves of the arm... now its fixed and its really nice to handle, even moving the playing TT is possible without losing contact.... the damping unit was just standing free on a thin spiral spring...

i tested it a while and it sounds just fine. was a bit crappy to adjust the floating subchassis, but after all it was easy to disassemble the unit...

I havent seen one on ebay in the last two yrs and also not seen one life yet except THIS one :) thats why its been rare for me.

were they built for europe or maybe esp. for us-market?

i'll check VE for the list immediately...!

... and is 9.8 and 2 for the Ortophon F15E MK2

Helge
 
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Hello Dynacophil,

I havent seen one on ebay in the last two yrs
Click to expand...

Strangely enough I sold one on ebay two years ago. I picked it up locally for around $50.00

The NAD 5120 is a flimsily built unit with a sound like a chainsaw on amphetimines, but then it was never designed for audio snobs like myself :music: , and probably suited the lower end market quite well.

If I recall it made around $140 on ebay.

Best regards - Forster.
 
Forster said:
Strangely enough I sold one on ebay two years ago. I picked it up locally for around $50.00

The NAD 5120 is a flimsily built unit with a sound like a chainsaw on amphetimines, but then it was never designed for audio snobs like myself :music: , and probably suited the lower end market quite well.

If I recall it made around $140 on ebay.

Best regards - Forster.
Click to expand...

Hi Forster...

then probably saw yours..
yes, it is in a way built like a Lego-set. but: i was surprised. Heard it first a few times at my friends apartment with a worn elac pickup that he ripped out of the braun console which feeds his kitchen with sound. really rotten stylus, not adjusted at all overhang and angle. And - the damping unit out of the bearing and weight on 2,5, antiskating 0.5 - even the arm wasn't zeroed before he turned the scale on 2,5... this was like chainsaw.

now, with a new pickup/stylus inside, correct adjusted arm, weights and damping, it sounds very ok to me, not chainsaw at all...

but sure i wouldn't trade for my Rega P2...
I will sell it and have to praise it's innovations :)

Helge
 
A properly adjusted 5120 with a decent cartridge doesn't sound at all like a chainsaw (or perhaps like a really good one:D ). With all that plastic and the flimsy build, it ought to sound bad, but it doesn't. It has a really easygoing sound and is quite forgiving of worn records. This player makes music, better than the cheapest players from Technics and Sony in my opinion. I'd say it's a bargain if you can find one, but perhaps not to use in your main system. Like with some other Nad products, there seems to be a slightly rolled-off treble, which might not be a bad thing in a budget system.
 
I remember reading the reviews on about this unit in the early 80s. They were praising its unconventional design. But I never saw the appeal, and bought my first Thorens instead. :thmbsp:
 
You have to consider the price as well. you can get one practically for free.
Hell, they were practically free to start with, so the second hand price can't be high. A Thorens is seldom that cheap.
 
I was thinking about getting one of those. I've seen 2 On ebay in the past month. Ended up with a Technics for free.
 
I have a NAD 5020, just got it recently for around 100 including shipping. Its a fun table and sounds pretty good. It does not feel robust, very plastic-y but the arm is nice
 
this is just a guess, but I'm thinking a hundred bucks is high for one of these.
 
They are a bit polarising in opinions. There's a couple of big threads about them over at VinylEngine.
If it's clean and complete it could be fine for the price cos you can get it to sound quite good.
Have had mine form new and have the round arm singing with MC cart.
 
I got one given to me a few years ago. Once I set it up properly, I thought it sounded pretty good. A good friend saw it and fell in love with the styling so I gave it to him.
Rick
 
Twanx said:
I have a NAD 5020, just got it recently for around 100 including shipping. Its a fun table and sounds pretty good. It does not feel robust, very plastic-y but the arm is nice
Click to expand...

that was the Idea of the player... low mass... low cost... the platter, that "arm" - limp. But, when I had i was really surprised about it's output
 
This turntable was developed by czech audio enthusiast Jirí Janda back in the late 70's. It was discovered and further refined by NAD and manufactured using NAD's instructions and with tools provided by NAD in the Tesla factory in Litovel, Czechoslovakia. (A remaining part of this factory now builds Pro-Ject turntables)

They were available here sometimes as Tesla NC470, and sometimes as NAD 5120, always with the flat arm.
 
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