NAD C658 BluOS Streaming Pre-Amplifier and DAC

The NAD C658 is the best selling pre-amp / DAC / HiRes streamer. It has a high quality analogue section (including MM phono input), BluOs Hi Resolution Audio streaming as well as XLR balanced in and outs and is configurable to have a Home Theatre Bypass input too. The icing on the cake is the excellent DIRAC room measurement / correction software that is also included which helps bring the best possible sound into your home by compensating for non acoustically perfect rooms.

The NAD C 658 is a new kind of stereo component, one that at once changes preconceptions and opens new possibilities for audio reproduction. You see, there has never before been a component offering such a rich palette of both new and proven technology. Bold statements? Perhaps.

The C 658 uses the BluOS streaming platform, which was developed for Bluesound kit and has since expanded to other brands within the Lenbrook parent company, such as NAD, and been licensed to other manufacturers, including Dali, Cyrus, Roksan and others. The platform and its accompanying BluOS app is an access point for many streaming music and radio services, including Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, Qobuz, HDTracks, Napster, TuneIn Radio and iHeartRadio. It can also access local and networked music, supporting files up to 32-bit/192kHz and including MQA. It facilitates multi-room pairing with any other player in the BluOS ecosystem, and, thanks to a recent update, also boasts another form of multi-room and streaming for Apple devices courtesy of AirPlay 2.

There’s plenty of opportunity to use the NAD as the nucleus of a multi-source system, too, thanks to its analogue and digital inputs, which include two opticals, two coaxials and a single USB (fed to an ESS Sabre 32bit DAC), plus two RCAs and an MM phono for hooking up a compatible turntable. 

Recognising that audio industry technologies and standards are being updated all the time, NAD has taken considerable care to futureproof the C 658 through the brand’s modular construction. Its design means that all major digital circuits can be upgraded and replaced down the line, while a future expansion of functionality can be accommodated courtesy of two Modular Design Construction slots, one of which can be filled with NAD’s now-available 4K passthrough-compatible HDMI module.

FEATURES & DETAILS

• BluOS Hi Resolution Network Streaming with MQA Decoding
• ESS Sabre DAC
• Dirac Live Room Correction
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Dual Band Wi-Fi ac/n
• 2-way Qualcomm aptX HD Bluetooth
• 2 x MDC Slots for Future Expansion
• MM Phono Input
• 2 x Line Inputs
• 2 x Optical Inputs
• 2 x Coax Inputs
• Balanced Preamp Output
• Preamp Output
• Stereo Subwoofer Output
• High Current Headphone Out
• USB socket for adding optional wireless output module
• IR In with Learning Function
• Trigger Out/In