Most NAD components have been High Res for 45 years with very wide bandwidth, low distortion, and ultra-low noise. We just never had High Res source material to play. With High Res digital recording and streaming, combined with advanced technology like MQA, record companies are opening their vaults and releasing Studio Master Quality recordings. MQA decoding is available through BluOS Streaming content. The C 658 is pure High Res from input to output and features the ESS Sabre 32bit DAC , one of the best performing DACs on the market today with its 118dB Dynamic Range and incredibly low jitter spec. All preamp functions are executed in the digital domain including the same wide range non-truncating digital volume control used in our Masters Series components. This offers an incredibly short analog signal path that, rather uniquely, is identical for all volume settings. Sophisticated active power supplies provide super clean voltages to all circuits to keep noise and distortion at the edge of measurability.
The C 658 is also the first NAD stereo component to feature Dirac Live room correction*, the most sophisticated and effective room correction available. Dirac corrects the impulse response of your speakers, in addition to the frequency response of your room, for a truly transparent window into the musical performance. When the room resonances are tamed and the transient response is corrected, the result is magical. You have never heard your speakers sound this invisible or this good!
*Note: The C 658 includes a license for Dirac Live with the option for advanced users to upgrade to a Dirac Live Full Frequency version.
Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) is a revolutionary end-to-end technology built into every BluOS Enabled amplifier to capture and deliver MQA music to your speakers in the purest quality. All BluOS Enabled players and systems include a powerful decoder and audio renderer for the millions of the MQA encoded songs, The MQA logo shown in the BluOS app indicates that the unit is decoding and playing an MQA stream or file, and lets you know that you are hearing exactly what the artist recorded and approved in the studio.