Maybe you guys don't know the pleasure to bring to life a "vintage" cdp like this Nad 5425, but i tell you this:
It's a completly different pleasure than when buy a new unit. It's very rewarding inside.
It's just ######ing great.

Tanx for the input Dingus, Danger boy and Speakerman1.

One more pic from the modded Nad and my heavely modded Super-Tamp.

Nad 5425 cdp Small Review

Like always, the first impressions whatever we like it or not, has always a great impact on everything we do, or in this case, in what we're listen to. And the first impressions were very good and unexpected, indeed.
Without messing around with the true characteristics of this player – cap by-passes, opamp changes etc.) because that was not my intention at all, i'd put my mojo working - like my friend Muddy use to sang - and put another laser pickup (with a little help from my friend – tanx Julio), recap ALL the caps with ELNA (my fave caps) and Nichicon gold, I'd also decoupled the chassis via rubber grommets to reduce vibrations, and add another ground wire from the board to chassis.

I'd like to call these little mods, upgrades instead of mods. After all, that's really what this is…

I 'd listening to the Nad 5425 with the upgraded Super T-amp ( I talk about these mods in another topic ) with the heavily upgraded MF tube buffer X-10D, than trough the Behringer Ultra Fex Pro and also through the slightly upgraded Yaqin tube buffer, and with the B&W CDM1 SE set of speakers.

I'm very content with this Nad player. It was a lot of fun recover it from the dead and because of these results I'm serious thinking to do some upgrades also in my other cd player the Nad C521 BEE, and why not even taking it a little further, we'll see..?!

The sound is fat, warm, clean ('cause of the one bit MASH dac?!) and with very smooth mid-highs and high freqs IMO, resulting of Elna caps. Very musical and not at all cold, harsh or analytic. I'd listen to it during hours and I felt no fatigue whatsoever. It's very easy "follow the tune" maybe because the music detail (Nichicon effect) are all in the soundstage spectrum and not splashed in our face like most players (even some expensive ones) do.

And, like I'd posted before, it's a different kind of pleasure, when you do something with your hands instead of go running to the nearest shop – sorry Speakerman1 - and buy something new with a lot of over-sampling…the cost of a few more bits are imo too much…
Nowadays, I felt that most audio enthusiasts instead of given credit to what they have and take some pleasure out of it, are always searching for the next big thing …loosing the great pleasure of listening to good music.

Just one more thing:
I also find the red display very cool.

nicely done Alvaro. maybe someday i'll learn to read a schematic and then i can do some of these upgrades myself.

Tanx Scott.
I'm no expert either, but i'm a fast learner. And this is nothing much, really. Of course you have to have a little knowledge, common sense and a little skill with an iron and of course be an ST member.