NAD CS1 Network Streamer Review

[TNT]

Thanks for the review.

It's strange to see NAD departing from their BlueOS platform. (Which I like a lot, having several Bluesound and NAD devices connected)

I'm a bit confused with the measurements.
Jitter is on coax output, I read, so digital output, I suppose.

But Multitone is using the DAC, correct ?

Jitter is really a digital artefact - it will manifest itself as noise / distortion in the analog domain.

There is simply nothing in the analog domain that is jitter. Wow and flutter is its sibling but only relevant for physically mechanisms.

The jitter measured above will potential impact a bad DAC that cant handle incoming jitter - if there was any in the first place

//

 

[VintageFlanker]

Very interesting, @amirm

I happen to have here another streamer to review that also works with a TI chip (5102A in that case) and show the same behaviour in many tests (but with slightly better results) Multitone in particular:

Anyway, as a Streamer with such a lack of software support, this is a terrible product for the price asked.

 

[TheBatsEar]

I guess one could install Moode on a RPi2, enable DLNA, hook up a Topping d10 and have better output quality at less than half the cost.
It's hard to see a market for that one.

 

[TheBatsEar]

but what is the android or iphone application for those who don't use roon?

Any app that is able to output to DLNA sinks will do. There is also software that takes any local audio and transports it to a DLNA sink.

 

[onlyoneme]

Not for digital output. We are talking 20 to 25 picoseconds here worth of jitter. This is extremely low and has no impact on transparency.

It's not for the digital output?

I guess it is, just like the one from the WiiM Mini review:

From my perspective any artifacts here means no transparency, if those artifacts are real ones.

 

[morillon]

Any app that is able to output to DLNA sinks will do. There is also software that takes any local audio and transports it to a DLNA sink.

having been confronted for a long time with the impossibility of sending to the chromecast in flac or of finding a simple wiim mini via the deezer application... and finally having more simply with the wiim home application to do it..
the "easy" "it works every time" (or to follow the adventures of friends faced with galleys with many homemade software "for streaming") in these areas that I do not master well...
makes me smile
;-)

 

[Tangband]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the NAD CS1 Network Streamer and DAC. It was kindly drop shipped to me by a member and costs US $349.
View attachment 286479
The CS1 comes in a compact plastic part befitting its cost and brand. Upon power up, you see a red light blinking until it downloads its firmware. Process could not be more painless and only lasted a few minutes. There are no controls or apps. Streaming only operates in "push" mode meaning you use your favorite app and point it at CS1 for its output.
View attachment 286480

Back side shows support for stereo analog and coax/Toslink S/PDIF digital outputs. Trigger support is a nice touch. A high quality usb-c cable connects to the included power supply.

I used my Roon player to stream content to it over Ethernet. It worked flawlessly.

The included DAC is TI 5141 with the following specifications:
View attachment 286481

So best case we are missing 16 bit performance with SINAD of 92 dB.

If you are new to these measurements, please set aside some time to watch my video on DAC measurements.

NAD CS1 Measurements
Let's start with our usual dashboard while sampling analog RCA output:
View attachment 286482
We see quite high level of distortion. Lowering the digital input by a few notches did not improve things at all. We are 11 dB short of the internal DAC chip specification. Fortunately switching to digital output remedies that with bit perfect output:
View attachment 286483

This is a dithered (noise added) signal so we are seeing the best case 140 dB SINAD. You are limited by the performance of the external DAC.

FYI when I was tested the digital output, I was not getting a signal unless I told ROON to keep output at 100%. In other words, there is no digital volume control which is fine but I didn't expect the output to shut down.

Jitter test shows a few inconsequential components although much may be hidden by high noise floor:
View attachment 286484

Switching again to Coax digital and sampling the spectrum of timing variation (jitter), we see low correlated jitter (spikes that match the others in the graph):
View attachment 286485

The noise floor though rises a bit towards high frequencies indicating random high frequency jitter. I don't expect any of this to deter any half decent DAC and should assure high level of compatibility as well.

I can't run my interactive/sweep tests so let's finish with the last static test, Multitone:
View attachment 286487

We see that the news gets even worse past the 1 kHz tone uses in the dashboard.

Conclusions
You all probably know my preference for push streaming as implemented in CS1. There is no app to download or learn. No reliance on the unit keeping up with updates and such (as long as the push protocols don't change). Support is provided for key services including Tidal and Spotify. In my case, for LAN streaming, we get ROON and DLNA. Over the air update was painless and reliable. As well, digital output is bit perfect allowing you to use DAC of your choice to get full streaming functionality.

The down side is the poor performance of the internal DAC. I know it is a checklist item but NAD, let's get the same performance as the DAC chip is spec'ed at. Why do we need to give up so much performance to distortion? A bit of attention to measurements would have found the cause and resolved it.

Without the internal DAC being worth much, you have to decide if $349 is worth it for a digital only solution.

Personally I am not going to recommend the NAD CS1 due to poor internal DAC. If I did otherwise, there would be no reason for them to fix this in future products!

-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Very dissapointing test result compared to WiiM pro for half the price .

 

[morillon]

Very dissapointing test result compared to WiiM pro for half the price .

In effect
especially since in addition to the "technical" disappointment
:

- no entries...
- no "home" application

remains roon (which is far from concerning not a majority)
and the commercial power of nad...
:-0

 

[Jeromeof]

If the Wiim pro eventually gets Roon support - then its probably better in ever way than this streamer. Still also hoping for the promised 10 band PEQ support with the Wiim Pro.

 

[morillon]

If the Wiim pro eventually gets Roon support - then its probably better in ever way than this streamer. Still also hoping for the promised 10 band PEQ support with the Wiim Pro.

do not count on either one or the other and maybe one day you will have a good surprise...
can be...
;-)

 

[MediumRare]

Not for digital output. We are talking 20 to 25 picoseconds here worth of jitter. This is extremely low and has no impact on transparency.

Suggestion: Use a scale that can be fixed across all relevant devices and gives an intuitive appreciation of audibility. For example, a SINAD graph lets us see from very poor to instrument grade, plus you often include a benchmark device for comparison.

 

[mash]

Why is it that the companies that make good cheap DACs can't seem to be able to build a good streamer and the companies that make cheap streamers can't seem to implement a good DAC? We seem to be left with roll your own multi-box solutions or very expensive integrated solutions.

I would love to see a good cheap combo Roon endpoint (streamer+DAC, <$300) that dosen't require mutiple boxes and doesn't require me installing and maintaining a RPi OS.

 

[JDS]

So if I have to run Roon at full volume to get any output, that means I can't use my phone as a remote volume control (unless my pre-amp has its own app), right? For me, this seems useless as a digital-only device, and unacceptable as a streamer. My Raspberry Pi works better and is much cheaper (when available).

NAD used to have an excellent price/performance reputation, though I have no idea if measured performance in the Good Old Days actually supported that rep. (Amir, happy to let you test my re-capped but otherwise stock original 3020 integrated amp to fill in some data.) Recent products (particularly A/V receivers) have damaged that reputation.

 

[amper42]

Hard to consider the NAD CS1 at $349 when Wiim mini does the job amazingly well with optical out for $84 with coupon:

https://www.amazon.com/WiiM-Mini-Multiroom-Preamplifier-Assistants/dp/B09HC5GRKY

Plus, Wiim includes apps for phone and tablets which support additional streaming services.

 

[morillon]

Hard to consider the NAD CS1 at $349 when Wiim mini does the job amazingly well with optical out for $84 with coupon:

https://www.amazon.com/WiiM-Mini-Multiroom-Preamplifier-Assistants/dp/B09HC5GRKY

Plus, Wiim includes apps for phone and tablets which support additional streaming services.

the honest want to compare it to the "pro" for all the available service functions ... not the mini

 

[amper42]

the honest want to compare it to the "pro" for all the available service functions ... not the mini

I have no need for the Wiim Pro either. The Wiim mini does the job just fine using the optical out to my DAC.

 

[pkane]

Very interesting, @amirm

I happen to have here another streamer to review that also works with a TI chip (5102A in that case) and show the same behaviour in many tests (but with slightly better results) Multitone in particular:
View attachment 286511View attachment 286512

Anyway, as a Streamer with such a lack of software support, this is a terrible product for the price asked.

Actually, the two are nearly the same. One is scaled to 0dB (AP) and the other is not (REW).

If you add the 20dB or so to the REW version to scale it to 0dB, the result will be very similar.

 

[Koeitje]

Should cost like half of it and have no DAC.

 

[JeremyFife]

Revised my vote down to 'not terrible '.

Bit perfect digital transport so that's all I'd want... but no app means no support for Amazon which is my chosen provider.
Useless to me, and worth a downgrade for restricted functionality at relatively high price (compared with WiiM and with Bluesound)

 

[TheBatsEar]

no app means no support for Amazon which is my chosen provider

Can't the Amazon app talk to UPnP/DLNA sinks, i thought that is somewhat the default?