You can read my description/opinion on NAD’s new C658 Preamp/DAC/Streamer elsewhere on our site. There, I’ve spelled out its nuts and bolts.

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What I wanted to wax on about here a bit is, how happily surprised I am that NAD came up with this piece to begin with!

First of all, to be in the FIRST WAVE of technology is really tough to do. Almost always THE FIRST guys to bask in the sun of cool new tech- are the huge companies from Asia.

Now, NAD isn’t small potatoes. But for THEM to come up with so much tech in an affordable package, AND sound like iconic NAD, at a downright inexpensive price, is pretty close to RIDICULOUS.

NAD has been a long time AUDIO company. Their biz was really, never to be the first at anything. But when they came out with a product, it has invariably been well thought out and hits the right target.

If we look back to the 1970s, NAD literally shook up our industry with high performance integrated amps. They did and DO drive low impedances and inefficient speakers much better than the big names of our biz, who offered many more FEATURES. Even today, NAD integrated amps are comfortable into demanding speakers with low impedances while the big boys put loads of warnings right on the back of their products. “Must be 8 ohms!”

Typical of NAD’s future, they had very strong audio performance, even if they might have been a day late on the bells & whistles. Make no mistake, these bells/whistles/hats & horns often drive sales. NAD never worried about the gizmos. No Eqs. No midrange sliders. No time delays. No reverb or phasing tricks. NAD always emphasized musical performance per dollar spent.

In the early 80s when CD players took over the earth, NAD wasn’t in the first wave. They were a year behind. When they ultimately did jump in the ballgame, Sony and the big boys already had a strong hold on market share. NAD DID win a lot of biz for its outstanding audio performance. NAD’s implementation of the format was typical NAD. It had conspicuously better sound than similarly priced Sonys/Pioneers etc. NAD still wins a lot of CD biz for price/performance. C538 & C568 are smokin’ values. We’re delighted to represent them.

Yet in C658…. Now we’re talking about a totally different animal. We’re not JUST talking about
strong analog audio performance. We ARE talking about a superb analog preamp with MM phono to start things off. That doesn’t surprise me. Buttt,

To add in a fine DAC- not so tough any more, but I wouldn’t even have been sure NAD would DO THAT. They have been perennially back ordered on C165BEE, their $1100 fully analog preamp for six months. It is a class leader for about a grand. Who’d have thunk they would literally leap frog C165 in technology?! I’ve been in the hobby since 1970 and in the biz since 1974. I sure didn’t see it coming. If you did, you’re a lot more insightful than I am.

I would have been perfectly happy with C658 being a terrific analog preamp with on board MM phono & DAC. That would have given us a lot to crow about and an excellent piece to sell for $2000.

However, that wouldn’t have addressed the most dynamic factor in our audio world now, which is STREAMING. For NAD to build in streaming is a major step. Yet, a few other folks have done that.

Butttt,

To include FULL MQA decoding (not just rendering)- now we’re talking absolute FIRST WAVE bragging rights! And that just isn’t NAD’s history. To offer such important, cutting edge technology in the first wave is downright thrilling!

To take it a notch further, C658 has Dirac Room Correction which is just another tool in the audiophile belt.

And… to provide a BALANCED OUTPUT just knocks me on my tail. I didn’t see that coming at $2000 any more than I inferred the streamer with MQA could have been included as well. BALANCED outs- provide a new level of performance and move you into the big leagues of power amps! Oh, by the way, NAD already introduced the C268 power amp which, of course, is BALANCED and offers BRIDGED MODE operation so you can go nuts now, or later.

The audio market is a competitive beast, a real bucking bronco for sure. There will be other companies, sooner than later, that offer bits and pieces of what C658 does. But will they check ALL these boxes? Will they do it with NAD’s dead quiet/clean sound quality and audiophile panache?

I sincerely doubt it.