Stunningly Awesome Fantabulous Stereo Electronics For $4000!
NAD C658 Preamp/Streamer/DAC: $2000
It’s 2019 all of a sudden. How did it sneak up on us? Exciting things are happening in the electronics world- thanks to NAD. Get ready to have your socks blown off!
I predict C658 will spur a whole new world of preamps. C658 absolutely has the jump on EVERYBODY!
It isn’t because C658 is the first preamp with a few cool features. It’s because C658 is the first piece to have arguably all the RIGHT features.
*Stereo Preamp/DAC
It starts as a stereo preamp. It has an edge of the art DAC on board. So far, so good, but a lot of other companies have done this too. It has one set pre outs (R&L analog) and a single sub out, and XLR outs!
To buy a super preamp runs close to a grand. Toss in a fine DAC that has MQA- another grand!
*Streamer
It STREAMS. Hmmm. Now it’s much more interesting. With a Bluesound Node 2i on board, you just saved five bills. And yep, it has a full MQA decoder on board!
You get a preamp, with a great DAC, that streams services like Tidal that support CD & MQA quality. Yup, full MQA (not just rendering) decoding is built in! Think about the other nice streamers out there. There are some good ones. They all run $2-5k and they don’t all do full MQA processing.
The above is enough to make C658 a winner- A? Yes. But there’s more.
*MM Phono Preamp
C658 has a high quality MM phono preamp built in. NAD pays attention to the RIAA EQ circuit. It ain’t generic.
*Headphone Amp
It has an excellent headphone amp built in, not a generic. That’s it right? NOPE!
*BALANCED OUTPUTS!
C658 has BALANCED OUTS. NOW we’re talkin’! We have officially gone to another level of performance when we’re talking BALANCED. The noise floor is lower. The background is blacker. You can hear space in between the notes more clearly. But the biggest improvement, is that the upgrade in dynamic range is palpable.
Whether you choose to run an esoteric amp like a McIntosh or Bryston or… maybe something even more affordable. Read on.
*Room Correction
It has Dirac room correction. McIntosh charges $6k for its stand alone room correction component. C658 has Dirac on board. I guess you just saved another $6k.
*MDC Modules
It has more. C658 has room for two NAD MDC modules to accommodate future technology.
Such as?
Well, let’s use current technology as an example. One of the MDC options is an HDMI board. You can run the sound of one of your video sources right in. Cable/satellite, Apple TV, Roku, Blu-ray- they can all shake hands with C658.
And the sound? It’s extremely quiet and dynamic. Even single ended is good. But BALANCED makes C658 a slam dunk winner for $2000.
In Summary.
In C658 you get a stone cold quiet preamp worth about a grand.
In C658 you get a DAC competitive with the other guys for about a grand.
In C658 you get a streamer worth $600 plus. Competitors are $2-6k!
In C658 you get a quiet phono preamp, easily worth about $350.
In C658 you get a punchy yet quiet headphone amp, worth about $500.
In C658 you get Dirac room correction circuitry worth real money. $6k?!
In C658 you get optional MDC modules which vanquish the other guys.
As you tally it all up, your math might reach $10k! It certainly reaches $5k plus.
But NAD’s C658 just runs $2000!
Now that you have C658, just run it into a great power amp or better yet TWO!
What?! TWO?
NAD C268 Power Amp $1000, 300 Watts MONOBLOCK
Buy two. Stereo. Dos. Buy a pair of C268 power amps. Run them in mono, BALANCED of course, and you are ROARING with 300 watts per channel. You can run single ended, but with C658, nah!
C268 incorporates NAD’s Hybrid Digital technology. The power supply is analog so it isn’t switching. C268 sounds smoother and more more musical than the plethora of D amps on the market. C268s are fast as lightning, hit hard and will drive a challenging impedance.
You will be especially surprised at how C268s in tandem will wake up hungry speakers like B&W 800 series, Kefs, Maggies etc.
There’s another surprise I have for you. Even if you have tremendously efficient speakers like Klipsch, when you run BRIDGED C268s like this, you can definitely hear a substantial improvement. The difference is so clear that we have a comparison awaiting your visit! You can hear one C268 in stereo, then compare to BRIDGED. You’ll be amazed at how big the upgrade is. It’s so dramatic that you’ll even notice it with efficient speakers. It’s even more vital with your hungry speakers!
With this pair of C268s, AND a C658, you’re sitting at $4000 all in, for what I’ve written about above. You have a tremendously effortless sound with exquisite clarity and all the right features. What’s not to love for only $4000?!