Pick-up Nad C556 Many of the world's most ardent music lovers believe that the 33 1/3 RPM Long Playing vinyl record remains the most musically communicative playback medium. NAD has a long history of producing some of the best value-for-money turntables and phono stages. The PP 2i is a legendary budget phono preamp, while the PP 3i takes the superb performance of the PP 2i and adds a simple way to convert your LPs into CDs using your computer and the internet to automate the 'CD mastering' process. While vinyl LPs can be a reference quality source of musical enjoyment, they can also sound terrible if the turntable is less than reference quality. Unlike digital sources with their foolproof error correction circuits, the turntable is like a live performance with no room for error. The same piece of vinyl can sound lush, vibrant and spacious on one turntable, but edgy, lifeless and riddled with ticks and pops on another. The difference is the mechanical precision of every aspect of the turntable. >Why Does It Sound So Good? When it comes to the C 556, NAD has spent lavishly on the parts of the turntable that define its performance, and has left off the features that do nothing to improve the sound. The result is a turntable that easily outperforms others at twice the modest asking price of the C 556. The secret to a good sounding turntable is to make a rock solid mechanical connection between the platter and the pickup stylus. Any play or vibration will either add resonant colouration (making the smack of a snare drum sound like a thud) or subtract the fine detail that is the primary benefit of well-played vinyl. To achieve this goal we use special materials and techniques. The three mechanisms that make up a turntable are the platter that supports and spins the record; the tone arm, which allows the stylus to accurately track the record; and the cartridge, which transforms the vibrations in the record groove into the electrical signals that are sent to your preamplifier. The platter of the C 556 uses a special