C658 Volume Limit PLEASE! Just destroyed my speakers.
This is unacceptable. I realize now that people have complained about this for YEARS. It's a literal danger to ears and equipment. Other devices have implemented volume limits but still nothing for the C658.
I'll just repost my personal story as I did on Reddit a couple of days ago.
"I have an NAD C658 preamp. I love it BUT…about six months ago I blew a woofer because I somehow accidentally set the volume control to MAX while using the BluOS app.
I really wasn’t sure how it happened, but I blamed myself rather than the equipment. I figured I was fairly new to the phone app and just got a little loosey-goosey with my taps. Live and learn. I replaced the woofer in my Energy 22 Connoisseur and I decided that going forward I would just have to make sure that I was exceptionally careful when using the app.
I did do some research to see if there was any sort of volume limiting functions to avoid a repeat. Didn’t take long to see others complaining about the same issue and the lack of ability to set volume limits with the C658. Again, I decided that simply being cautious going forward would be enough to keep my ears and my speakers safe.
WRONG! About 30 minutes ago I’m watching a Youtube video on guitarist Yvette Young of the band Covet. That leads me to a video of a live performance by the band that sounded nice on my TV. “Man, this would sound so much better through the stereo.” Switch the TV audio output. Turn on the amp and preamp. Fire up the BluOS app in my phone but it won’t connect because my phone is disconnected from wifi. Connect phone to wifi and…KABLOOEY! Dogs are bolting, wife is screaming, daughter is running in from her room (I swear, none of this is even a slight exaggeration)as I panic mash my phone for 5 seconds in an attempt to silence the mellow sounds of Covet at +12 dB.
Both of my woofers are blown. Not sure about the tweeters which are far more rare and costly in my particular speakers.
So, this time…I’m upset with NAD or BluOS or Covet. Somehow though, I’m more mad at myself. The whole fool me once/twice thing is ringing in my ringing ears."
I'm guessing that I'll be out about $700 when I repair my vintage speakers. The tweeters can only be rebuilt or replaced with some reasonable facsimile. I'll have to scour ebay and hope that someone lists some used woofer replacements.
If nothing else can someone at least explain to me why this is such a difficult feature to implement in the C658?
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I add my request to this feature. Please add the volume limit. With my C298, I can easily blow my tweeter if I am not careful. It is not acceptable for $2K preamp to not have this feature. Looks like all of the M series units received this feature via firmware update. PLEASE!!!!!!
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Hi Kangster
I spoke with our good friends down the hall and confirmed that the NAD C298 includes an adjustable input setting on the back panel to limit audio input. Please contact support@nadelectronics.com for help setting this.
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Thanks for following up with this Tony, I am aware of the input gain knob on the back of C298. But, we are talking about C658 preamp and not the power amp. Currently, the BluOS on C658 does allow the volume to hit all the way to +12dB. The sheer power of C298 (my amp or any powerful amp) at that volume will blow just about any tweeter on the market. I know of several people who had to get their tweeter replaced due to the lack of this feature. FYI, M10 and M33 all had this feature updated through the recent firmware. I am not sure why NAD/BluOS is holding this safety feature back from the Classic line. This is not a feature that should differentiate the product line. It's really a safety mechanism.
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I agree on this issue.
With the possibility of app control, the lack of volume limitation is highlighted and it should, as mentioned, be associated with the 658.I usually hide my little smartphone away when I start up the NAD combination, 658 and M23
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