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NAD C658 BluOS Streaming DAC Owners & Discussion Thread


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Hi all, 

 

Recently upgraded from the Node2i to the C658, I have been running it for around 2 weeks now to burn it in pretty much playing Radio Paradise constantly, it has shut down a couple of times and I was away for a few days in between so I reckon its got 60-80 hours at least on it by now.  I just did a quick AB with the Node and I have to say the Node is sounding considerably better. Better bass extension, larger soundstage and overall fuller. Am I missing something here?

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I have found the C658 to be somewhat unreliable and am now regretting the purchase - was lining up for an M33 but I think this unit has put me off NAD.

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28 minutes ago, Grindog said:

Hi all, 

 

Recently upgraded from the Node2i to the C658, I have been running it for around 2 weeks now to burn it in pretty much playing Radio Paradise constantly, it has shut down a couple of times and I was away for a few days in between so I reckon its got 60-80 hours at least on it by now.  I just did a quick AB with the Node and I have to say the Node is sounding considerably better. Better bass extension, larger soundstage and overall fuller. Am I missing something here?

Hi Crannie - I too went from Node 2i to C657, but had had the opposite experience with the C658. Mine probably has about 800+ hours On it now.

 

Have you got the latest firmware?, there was an update about a month or so ago which improved the sound quality.

 

Are you using it as a pre into power amp? Thinking if it is volume related or output settings related.

 

mine has had a fuse upgrade, but even before that the sound was much better than the Node and was very obvious from the moment I plugged it in.

 

 

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31 minutes ago, Pigpen said:

I have found the C658 to be somewhat unreliable and am now regretting the purchase - was lining up for an M33 but I think this unit has put me off NAD.

What type of issues did you face?

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39 minutes ago, Grindog said:

Hi all, 

 

Recently upgraded from the Node2i to the C658, I have been running it for around 2 weeks now to burn it in pretty much playing Radio Paradise constantly, it has shut down a couple of times and I was away for a few days in between so I reckon its got 60-80 hours at least on it by now.  I just did a quick AB with the Node and I have to say the Node is sounding considerably better. Better bass extension, larger soundstage and overall fuller. Am I missing something here?

Hi Mate ,

Have you completed the Dirac Live measurement ?. That is where NAD shines. I had a Naim NAC before NAD and a Chord Qutest as well. With Dirac enabled , NAD sounds better  than both to my ears.

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35 minutes ago, Ozflyer said:

What type of issues did you face?

The unit shuts down when it feels like it, intermittent audio irrespective of the source (Vault 2i, Oppo BDP 105, Tuner).

 

Have done a few factory resets, have the latest updates - low confidence in the unit to perform to spec.......

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3 hours ago, gillmaverick said:

Hi Mate ,

Have you completed the Dirac Live measurement ?. That is where NAD shines. I had a Naim NAC before NAD and a Chord Qutest as well. With Dirac enabled , NAD sounds better  than both to my ears.

I must admit that I've played with Dirac live quite a bit and decided I preferred it off.  It widened the sound stage considerably but centre wasn't quite right.  There was just something missing but couldn't quite put my finger on it too.

 

Maybe i'm one of the lucky ones but my unit has been super reliable and stable.  

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6 minutes ago, qik_shift said:

I must admit that I've played with Dirac live quite a bit and decided I preferred it off.  It widened the sound stage considerably but centre wasn't quite right.  There was just something missing but couldn't quite put my finger on it too.

 

Maybe i'm one of the lucky ones but my unit has been super reliable and stable.  

That's strange. Imaging in my system is excellent. I also Run 2 X Subs and dirac integrates them very well. If I turn of dirac imgaing drops and bass goes haywire. I guess depends on the room as well. Mine is basement and If a room is sonically good than dirac would probably be less beneficial.

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In my case my room is far from textbook, but seems to sound good to my ears (for whatever that's worth LOL).  I also have two subwoofers but bass remains very well blended with the speakers and remains tight and punchy when needed.  You're so right, everybody's case is going to be different.  It also may have to do with me not using a better quality mic (I just used the NAD supplied one).

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Thanks for the feedback everyone. 

My C568 seems to be slowly opening up after 80 odd hours, its still not as good as my well run in Node2i but improving. 

Its running BluOS Ver 3.10.3 a d MCU Ver 1.45

That's all I can get off the unit but it appears to be the latest version of BluOS. Is there any other firmware that updates on the c658?

 

I do find it odd that a device that retails for 2.5 times the smaller brother from the same manufacturer is not better straight out of the box. Currently I still prefer the Node2i for openness, depth of base and airiness.  This is running both with tone controls turned off.  I am not running Dirac as I refuse to believe that the C568 cannot compete with the Node without it. Once happy I will start playing around with Dirac. 

 

I also find it odd that Hari (fellow SNA'er who I bought my Node2i from) has not had the same experience that I have in comparing the same Node2i with a NAD C658. Is it possible there are good and not so good models like a  Monday morning car? I find this difficult to believe also.

 

Hari, to answer your questions, I am using as a pre into my power amp. I notice the volume on the NAD is lower than the Node., I have to run the NAD around 1/2 volume in BluOS while the Nodes is only on a 1/4 for a similar level. I'm also wondering if there is a setting I have missed in setting it up as a Pre??  I've got some XLR cables coming from Bill soon so will be easier to do AB's once I have them rather than swapping over the RCA's.

 

 

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@Grindog keep the faith, in my experience the Nad just keeps getting better. Once you engage Dirac it's a new level all together but that's also a can of worms you will need to be patient and experiment with.

 

using it as a pre into my power amp and integrating 2 subs, at times I can't believe how good it sounds, and I've been where you've been, I was selling mine after a month, luckily got some local help with Dirac and it slowly got better, now just very enjoyable and it's the one device that brings it all together.

 

It's  taken 7 years and many components to get to where it is now, but I couldn't be happier.

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Our unit is receiving a lot of negative feedback for some reason....It does have minor issues but does sound great. Apparently it measures poorly  technically whatever that means.......I have read the Audio Science crap and Amir's tests etc but the funny thing is if this unit was as bad there won't be as many people happy with the sound it makes....including myself....Anyway Bill's speaker cable has added another sparkle to the top end in my system.......................and  It is not related to this thread but I swapped my Kimber cable to my lounge room HT Adelaide speaker system and my jaw dropped when I listened to music...........cables make a difference....

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5 hours ago, gillmaverick said:

Our unit is receiving a lot of negative feedback for some reason....It does have minor issues but does sound great. Apparently it measures poorly  technically whatever that means.......I have read the Audio Science crap and Amir's tests etc but the funny thing is if this unit was as bad there won't be as many people happy with the sound it makes....including myself....Anyway Bill's speaker cable has added another sparkle to the top end in my system.......................and  It is not related to this thread but I swapped my Kimber cable to my lounge room HT Adelaide speaker system and my jaw dropped when I listened to music...........cables make a difference....

Gill - Absolutely cables make a difference. I was not a believer in power cables either, I had the a Isotek initium Connected to my C658, and just to try, replaced it with the premier and noticed a big improvement in SQ straight away.

 

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7 hours ago, gillmaverick said:

Our unit is receiving a lot of negative feedback for some reason....It does have minor issues but does sound great. Apparently it measures poorly  technically whatever that means.......I have read the Audio Science crap and Amir's tests etc but the funny thing is if this unit was as bad there won't be as many people happy with the sound it makes....including myself....Anyway Bill's speaker cable has added another sparkle to the top end in my system.......................and  It is not related to this thread but I swapped my Kimber cable to my lounge room HT Adelaide speaker system and my jaw dropped when I listened to music...........cables make a difference....

Yeh I read some of that measure review..... Funny when someone reviews an audio product but doesn’t listen to to evaluate it. There’s  plenty of those guys on here, does it even register as a negative review to me.... nup!

 

everything makes a difference in an audio system, I recently added a power amp and the sound quality has gone higher than I thought it could in my system. Added some home made Canare speaker cables and it’s also added some smoothness to the sound which I like.

 

Every single upgrade I’ve made this year has improved the sound to my liking and it started with the Nad C658 and Dirac. I thought I had quality sound before but until I heard my two Rel subs integrated with my mains using Dirac, along with adding quality amplification, I hadn’t heard a thing!

 

Some components take time to settle in and I’d say the Nad is one of them, patience is the key and getting Dirac right is critical.

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9 hours ago, gillmaverick said:

Our unit is receiving a lot of negative feedback for some reason....It does have minor issues but does sound great. Apparently it measures poorly  technically whatever that means.......I have read the Audio Science crap and Amir's tests etc but the funny thing is if this unit was as bad there won't be as many people happy with the sound it makes

Because the device is poorly engineered.   It's really, not that great.

 

.... but most people (I'd go as far to say, more than "most") don't notice.

 

Why?

 

There is MUCH important wisdom for audiophiles buried behind this "why".  IMVHO..... however it runs counter to what audiophiles have been dogwhistled into believing over the decades...... so it doesn't get a lot of traction.

 

Quote

I have read the Audio Science crap and Amir's tests

Hint:   They're not "crap".    They're just used to draw wildly misguided conclusions.

 

People are much too quick to say that "if the measurements are 'bad' and it sounds 'good' then the measurements must be wrong... and nobody understands anything, ,and it's all 'crap', and hifi is a 'mystery' ".

 

There is another much more powerful truth IMVHO.

 

Not trying to pick on you BTW.....   Your comments are just a great example.

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Well good news, my C658 has finally started to open up.  I would say its on a par with the Node2i now if not a fraction better. 

So rather than 80 hrs I would estimates its more like 160-200 hours to get his unit to start shining. 

 

Lets hope it continues to improve over the next 200 hours... I still have the XLR cables to arrive which I am sure will give another boost.

 

Enjoy your weekend

Crannie

 

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6 hours ago, Grindog said:

Well good news, my C658 has finally started to open up.  I would say its on a par with the Node2i now if not a fraction better. 

So rather than 80 hrs I would estimates its more like 160-200 hours to get his unit to start shining. 

 

Lets hope it continues to improve over the next 200 hours... I still have the XLR cables to arrive which I am sure will give another boost.

 

Enjoy your weekend

Crannie

 

Glad to hear it mate, let’s face it there’s some spooky things in Audio and burn in is one of them, all I know is that the Nad just gets better with age!

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5 hours ago, gillmaverick said:

Got a new update and have downloaded it.....not sure about any difference in sound though.....

Haven’t you heard Gill, it doesn’t matter how good it sounds.... it’s all about how it measures!

 

BTW the measurements are meant to mean I’m not enjoying the Eagles Hell Freezes Over on MQA as much as I am but hey...... what do I know?!

Edited by Hi-Fi Whipped
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Hi there,

 

I have a recently purchased NAD C658 which by all accounts is working pretty well with the exception of one feature which I can't seem to figure out.  I've signed up hoping that there may be some other users who can offer some tips ( NAD Support gave up and closed my ticket! ).

 

The C658 has an 'Auto-Sense' feature which wakes the unit up when it receives a signal from a source and is then supposed to switch to that input.  I should point out that I have installed the MDC HDM2 HDMI module, as all my sources are HDMI.  The unit has been updated to the newest BluOS software at the time of writing ( 3.12.2 ).

 

My problem is that the unit will successfully wake up, but it doesn't switch to the source input of the device that initiated it ( e.g. PS4 or TV ).  It stays on the last input that was used.  

 

I was hoping I might find some other owners / users who have experience with the C658 with the HDM2 module installed who might be able to chime in with their thoughts.  

 

Thank you.

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On 16/10/2020 at 2:16 PM, Grindog said:

Well good news, my C658 has finally started to open up.  I would say its on a par with the Node2i now if not a fraction better. 


I was considering the C658 as a replacement to my Elac Discovery. I chose the Disco over the Node2i based on A/B. 

 

But if the C658 is only a slight step up from the node 2i then maybe the $ has gone more to the preamp, phono and Dirac?

 

Can anyone share a compare between Node 2i and The C658 purely on Sonics without Dirac?


 

 

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11 hours ago, Adamma said:

Hi there,

 

I have a recently purchased NAD C658 which by all accounts is working pretty well with the exception of one feature which I can't seem to figure out.  I've signed up hoping that there may be some other users who can offer some tips ( NAD Support gave up and closed my ticket! ).

 

The C658 has an 'Auto-Sense' feature which wakes the unit up when it receives a signal from a source and is then supposed to switch to that input.  I should point out that I have installed the MDC HDM2 HDMI module, as all my sources are HDMI.  The unit has been updated to the newest BluOS software at the time of writing ( 3.12.2 ).

 

My problem is that the unit will successfully wake up, but it doesn't switch to the source input of the device that initiated it ( e.g. PS4 or TV ).  It stays on the last input that was used.  

 

I was hoping I might find some other owners / users who have experience with the C658 with the HDM2 module installed who might be able to chime in with their thoughts.  

 

Thank you.

Is there a possibility of an audio return channel issue?

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1 hour ago, Edward Hewer said:

Is there a possibility of an audio return channel issue?

 

I mean, it's possible I suppose. 

 

An example, if I turn on my PS4...the TV  turns on and C658 'wakes up' , then the TV will switch over to the HDMI input.

 

The C658 however, will not switch to the correct source input ( the HDMI input for the PS4 ), it remains on whatever the last source was that I used.  The C658 manual says that this should occur if Auto-Sense is enabled.  

 

I really don't know what else to check as I have factory reset and double checked the setup I have...same result every time.  I'm starting to lean towards this function only working on the inputs that are actually on the C658 and NOT on the MDC module.  Just a guess though...

 

My logic is based on the observation that if I stream to the C658 via the BluOS app from my phone, it correctly switches the source to the 'BluOS' input on the C658.  Or, if the unit is off altogether, I can 'wake up' the device by beginning a stream and it will switch to 'BluOS' on the unit, regardless of the last source that was used.  

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