Gustard DAC-A26 - AK4499EX DAC :: Impressions Thread
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So I found "enable IEEE 802.1X authentication" and selected it on. Then there ar choices for "EAP Method". "Trusted Servers/ Add Trusted Server Name", and, "Trusted certificate Thumbprint"
Hmm there should be a sharing section under Network Internet the section.
You could just hook a Ethernet from your router or switch connected to your network to the A26 as well.
Thats the easiest
The router is three rooms away from running a physical cable from there to the A26. I was really just hoping to just connect the LAN cable from the laptop to the A26
Ok yeah you just got to enable your Ethernet sharing on the PC.
Google windows 11 enable Ethernet sharing.
The A26 is fine and will show up once you give it Ethernet
I predict fiber media convertors in your future !!
https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1049382/
I turned on network discovery (all the way off the page at the bottom so I never saw the "advanced Settings" tab) and HQP actually showed "Gustarender 1.43". For a couple seconds. Then right back to no device shown. I scrolled the menus in the DAC. I restarted the DAC. I restarted the laptop and checked that sharing was still on. The device field under NAA IPv6 is empty. At least I caught a glimpse of the Firmware version so I know not to mess with that. I'm done for tonight. Back to USB for now.
Do any other the other NAA fields say anything?
It’s really just establishing the Ethernet connection from your PC to the A26.
Grab a WiFi extender with a Ethernet input plugged in near the A26 and connect to that if your too far away from the router.
I yanked my 4 port TP-Link router off of the wall and ran a 50 foot cable across the floor from my headphone room (bedroom) to the modem a couple rooms over to at least get LAN input running to try it to see if it is worth the trouble to make a more permanent installation of hardwired connection into my bedroom. and plugged the laptop and the A26 LAN connectors each into the TP-Link in between. And now I can finally get the HQPlayer IPv6 output to recognize the "Gustarender 1v43: DAC-A26:USB Audio" as the device every time. But the LAN input on the A26 is still locked to PCM 384k the same as the USB input selection. How do I force HQP to convert my 24/192 WAV files to DSD256 to send out over the LAN instead?
PS The PCM 384 sounds better over USB than it does over LAN.
PS The PCM 384 sounds better over USB than it does over LAN.
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Found it. on the output screen select default mode "DSD". Now the LAN locks to "DSD 11.2m"
HQPlayer is a very dangerous program for someone like me to get started with. I just sat and listened to the same 30 seconds of the same three songs for an hour and a half. Back and forth between LAN PCM and LAN DSD and USB PCM. And I haven't even started to experiment with any of the upsampler/ filter settings and have been using the defaults as they come loaded . P-S-G long/ P-S-G-Hires-LP/ TPDF. Other than sample rate. I have to take it back that I said I thought USB sounded better than the LAN. I find the LAN is a bit better even with just cheap Cat6 cables linking the DAC and the laptop through a cheap TP-Link router. Contrary to theory, I find LAN PCM 384 sounds better than DSD 256 with the Gustard A26. And PCM 768 sounds better yet. Blacker, with more empty space between the central images and slightly deeper with better trailing edge decay. Some people who listen to nightclub small combo jazz singer might prefer the DSD which has a smoother, warmer, but less detailed sound. More analog. DSD 512 gains back some of the advantage of fine detail from the PCM 768 but it had my cooling fan screaming for mercy using 25% of the processor. DSD256 only uses 13% and PCM 768 is 4%. And DSD 512 still didn't quite catch the transparency of PCM 768 which is apparently a breeze to process.
Thanks for all the help in getting this running.
Thanks for all the help in getting this running.
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I finally found some settings that lets me say that I like the LAN DSD 256 conversion of 24/192 WAV files in the Gustard A26 better than LAN PCM 768. The ASDM7EC-super is a really nice sounding modulator. DSD conversion is way more processor hungry than PCM upsampling so I can only run the Poly-Sinc-Gauss-Long with that modulator before my processor starts skipping. The PCM using the TPDF dither can easily run the P-S-G-xla and the cooling fan barely runs, which might sound better for the DSD than the simpler P-S-G-long but my computer can't come close to running it. Attempting DSD 512 just immediately locks up the program with this computer. i7 13th/ Nvidia RTX 4060/ 16GB DDR5.
The PCM is still a bit wider and deeper but seems to tend toward the hyper etched and lean compared to the DSD with these settings which definitely has more power in the bass with everything warmer, more fleshed out and real. Reverb trailing edges are ok via DSD. Comparing the two makes me wonder if some of the extra fine decay that can be heard via PCM 768 is "enhanced" by artifacts rather than accurate. Check out the rim shots on the snare in the opening of the 24/192 remaster of Steely Dan Babylon Sisters.
The PCM is still a bit wider and deeper but seems to tend toward the hyper etched and lean compared to the DSD with these settings which definitely has more power in the bass with everything warmer, more fleshed out and real. Reverb trailing edges are ok via DSD. Comparing the two makes me wonder if some of the extra fine decay that can be heard via PCM 768 is "enhanced" by artifacts rather than accurate. Check out the rim shots on the snare in the opening of the 24/192 remaster of Steely Dan Babylon Sisters.
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