NAD – C 658 BluOS Streaming DAC/Preamplifier & C 298 Power Amplifier Bundle

Get $500 Off a Dynamic Duo: NAD C 658 BluOS Streaming DAC/Preamplifier and C 298 Power Amplifier Bundle Gives You 185Wpc Output, High-Res Options, Much More

A triple-threat DAC, preamplifier, and BluOS streamer, NAD C 658 lets you stream high-resolution music from nearly 20 providers while offering full MQA decoding on all digital inputs and supporting two-way aptX HD Bluetooth. Its audiophile-caliber Direct Digital 35-bit/844kHz DAC ensures premium fidelity by way of a mind-boggling 130dB dynamic range, while a built-in MM phono preamplifier, dedicated high-current headphone amplifier, and Dirac Live Room Correction software make the fully modular C 658 a veritable audio decathlete equally able to serve digital and analog needs. Ditto the balanced preamplifier output, stereo subwoofer outputs, and RS-232 serial port that enhance its flexibility.

Allowing you to network stream to up to 64 zones via its role as a BluOs node, C 658 is nothing but high-resolution from input to output. All preamplifier functions are executed in digital domain, extending to the same wide-range non-truncating digital volume control used in NAD’s Masters Series components. The approach offers a very short analog signal path that uniquely remains 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 measurable limits. Meanwhile, NAD’s unique Modular Design Construction (MDC) means C 658 can always be easily upgraded to keep up with changing technologies, giving you a larger return on your investment and complete peace of mind. 

Borrowing the pioneering Purifi Eigentakt technology from the company’s award-winning M33 model, the NAD C 298 power amplifier plays with superb clarity, commanding dynamics, and dutiful reliability. Plus, it offers tremendous output to drive most any speaker to its potential. Supplying a continuous 185Wpc into eight ohms (340Wpc into four ohms), the cool-running C 298 employs a large, efficient power supply with asymmetrical power-drive to fully use every last watt available from the reserves – and to reproduce transients without distortion. Moreover, you get near-perfect regulation of voltage across a wide range of conditions and a noise-free foundation for the amplifying stages.

Equipped with selectable balanced line inputs as well as single-ended line inputs, the flexible C 298 easily mates with high-end preamplifiers and processors. A trim control, line out for daisy chaining, auto turn-on feature, and ground lug that can eliminate loops in sophisticated multi-unit systems all come standard. Ditto a bridge switch that transforms C 298 into a mighty 1,000Wpc monoblock amplifier – enough to keep pace with any potential speaker upgrade you might have in mind.

An ideal mate for the NAD C 658 streaming DAC/preamplifier, C 298 also touts NAD’s fabled build quality and focus on the essentials – not bells and whistles fanciness. Its minimalist aesthetics reflect a single-minded commitment to audiophile sound – and a refusal to let anything get in the way of accomplishing that goal. 

“The NAD C 658 is one of the most fully furnished, future-proofed and intuitive streamers we’ve come across – and at this sub-£2000 price, one of the most convincing performers. It puts a big, bold tick in a great number of boxes.”
—What Hi-Fi?, 2020 Best Music Streamer €1,000-1,500 Award

“NAD’s C 658 shows just how far network music players have come in such a short space of time. Five or so years ago, something as good as this would have cost at least twice as much.” 
—Stereonet

“The sound is spectacular and upgradable, too – switch it into bridge mode, and you have a 600W+ monoblock!”
—EISA Award, 2021-2022 Power Amplifier

“The C 298’s soundstaging was outstanding — big, open, spacious, and detailed, with precise image placement. The C 298 was also remarkably adept at clearly revealing subtle instrumental lines.”
—Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound, 2021 Golden Ear Award

“The C 298 power amp is compact, silent, powerful, efficient, eco-friendly and sounds great. In tandem with the C 658 streaming pre, it’s a formidable combination that I could certainly live with.”
—Jimmy Hughes, StereoNET, Applause and Product of the Year Awards

“The NAD C 298 is a transparent, uncolored, powerful stereo power amplifier. It can easily drive most speakers to levels that exceed domestic tranquility. A bridged pair extends the power capability further still.”
—Kalman Rubinson, Stereophile

Getting All the Basics Right
Low-noise circuits, accurate channel balance, proper input and output impedance characteristics, high overload margins, and stability with difficult speaker loads: NAD starts by getting these things precisely right and advances from there. The balanced and single-ended line inputs can accommodate all kinds of analog source components by offering ideal input impedance characteristics with linear ultra-low-noise buffer amplifiers to prevent any sonic degradation caused by inappropriate loading of the source device. These are all details you can hear.

Sophisticated Power
The generously dimensioned power supply easily allows for 185 watts continuous and over 570 watts instantaneous power for short-term musical transients. Innovative Asymmetrical Power-Drive fully utilizes every last watt available with its vast reserves of dynamic power available to accurately reproduce musical transients without distortion or compression. It can operate with any AC mains voltage from 100W to 240W and provides pure DC power to all the various stages of the C 298. This highly efficient supply also provides near-perfect regulation of voltage across a wide range of conditions and provides a solid noise-free foundation for the amplifying stages.

Amazing Flexibility
The NAD C 298 may be a basic power amp, but it offers tremendous versatility. Selectable balanced inputs make C 298 a natural for studio use or connection to high-end preamps and processors. These inputs include a trim control useful for matching to other components. A line out allows further addition of power on the same channel for additional speakers or subwoofers. Auto-sense with selectable threshold is perfect for automating complex systems or hiding the amp out of sight in a cabinet. The ground lug can be very useful for eliminating ground loops and noise in complex multi-unit systems. Added to all this connectivity is a bridge switch that turns C 298 into an amazingly powerful monoblock amp. Start with one and add a second C 298 later when you upgrade your speakers.

Purifi Eigentakt Amplifier Technology
Purifi is a Danish technology company that has brought together several of the industry’s leading engineers to apply advanced mathematical modeling to solve the last remaining limitations of audio amplifiers. Purifi took a fresh look at every aspect of amplifier performance and found many seemingly small non-linearities that can make a dramatic difference in the overall sound. This return to first principles has resulted in a stunningly simple approach to some remarkably complex problems.