Go Your Own Way

Looking for a fully-loaded streaming DAC? Ed Selley thinks that this flexible preamp could be the ultimate front end

- Ed Selley

If you are looking to build a streaming music system from scratch, one of the more interesting decisions to make is whether to follow the time-honoured tradition of building a setup with a dedicated source, amp and loudspeakers or combining the first two components in some way. Increasingly, preamp functionality is being added to source components, and the need for separate units is diminishing.

NAD has been mixing source and preamp duties for some time, with the C 510 Direct Digital DAC and preamp garnering a glowing review back in HFC 395. Clever though the C 510 was for the time, as a DAC it still required external digital sources. The C 658 reviewed here combines DAC, streaming and extensive preamp duties and shows just how far things have moved on since then.

As with NAD’s M10 all-in-one reviewed in HFC 451, the C 658 uses the BluOS streaming platform and supports 24-bit/192kHz PCM formats inclusive of MQA. This is backed up by a healthy selection of onboard streaming services, including full support for Tidal and Qobuz together with internet radio, and it’s multiroom compatible with other BluOS products to share hi-res music around the home – all tied together with an excellent control app.

The streaming module is backed up by two coaxial and two optical digital inputs, a USB-A connection for direct attachment of an external drive plus two MDC (Modular Design Construction) bays that allow for an optional HDMI 4K switcher to integrate with AV sources as well as providing an upgrade path for new tech developments in the future.