NAD’s CS1 is an easy, affordable way to bring hi-res streaming to your hi-fi system

When you’ve got a CD player- or turntable-fronted system you’re keen on however need to add music expertise streaming to it, your want is NAD’s command. The Canadian hi-fi model has launched the CS1, an reasonably priced hi-res music streamer designed to bless conventional hi-fi set-ups with streaming powers or be paired with energetic audio system to make up a contemporary, space-efficient system.

Whereas the CS1’s £299 / £349 worth places it on the lower-priced finish of the streamer market, appropriate for equally funds electronics, NAD is promising “audiophile-grade streaming” right here due to its inclusion of “audiophile-grade elements”. A kind of is a digital stage based mostly on Texas Devices’ PCM5141 DAC, a design NAD says is “recognized for its extraordinarily low noise, glorious dynamic efficiency, and immunity to clock jitter”.

NAD has an arsenal of standalone streamers and streaming amplifiers in its arsenal which might be based mostly on the BluOS multi-room streaming platform from sister model Bluesound, although the CS1 is solely an endpoint, solely supporting third-party streaming protocols equivalent to Google Forged, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Join and Tidal Join. This more and more widespread route implies that music might be streamed to the CS1 straight from Apple, Android and Google gadgets and native music service apps, as a substitute of by a devoted product app. As is typical for music streamers, connection to the web is through your alternative of WiFi or Ethernet.

DLNA assist permits for the playback of networked music recordsdata – the CS1 helps high-resolution audio as much as 24-bit/192kHz and may render MQA recordsdata/streams – whereas Bluetooth is onboard for fast and straightforward offline streaming. Roon can be handily supported for subscribers to that library administration platform.