[milkdudd]

I'm hoping there will be a Shenzhen Audio 20% off sale like there was a couple of months ago. I seem to remember the X26 Pro $1,200 to my door. I think Aoshida and others had it for that price too

 

[Highfive99]

I think at some point I will go with the A26. I'm not in a big hurry because my A22 is serving me very well for now. I've decided I will wait until it goes on sale again. Can I ask you guys if you see a Gustard sale please comment about it here. I'll do the same thing if I see it first

I've been following Gustard for over 2 years and the only time I've seen sales is during the past 2 Novembers. And all their resellers have the same sale with the same discount.

 

[milkdudd]

I've been following Gustard for over 2 years and the only time I've seen sales is during the past 2 Novembers. And all their resellers have the same sale with the same discount.

Okay thanks. Even though November seems long into the future, time marches on and I wouldn't have any problem waiting till then. Like I said I'm very happy with my A22 for now

 

[HFFan]

Okay thanks. Even though November seems long into the future, time marches on and I wouldn't have any problem waiting till then. Like I said I'm very happy with my A22 for now

Amazon Prime in July for sure will bring discounts to many popular DACs, so it may be sooner than November. But personally I am hoping there is some kind of early Spring sale before July because 20% is quite significant.

 

[ericx85]

Just got my A26 and slapped the purple fuse in. Like what I'm hearing so far. Sounds clearer than the x26 pro at first listen. Looking forward to see how it burns in.

It was actually sent with a UK Plug/Voltage set on the back by mistake even though I'm in the US. Always check your dacs voltage. If it wasn't for the wrong plug being sent I might have had a bad thing happen upon powering it up. Really appreciating the direct DSD option.

 

[Raili]

Ho appena preso il mio A26 e ho inserito la miccia viola. Come quello che ho sentito finora. Suona più chiaro dell'x26 pro al primo ascolto. Non vedo l'ora di vedere come brucia.

In realtà è stato inviato per errore con una spina / tensione del Regno Unito impostata sul retro anche se sono negli Stati Uniti. Controlla sempre la tensione del tuo dacs. Se non fosse stato per la spina sbagliata inviata, avrei potuto fare una brutta cosa all'accensione. Apprezzo davvero l'opzione DSD diretta.

Facci sapere come suona e se puoi confrontarlo con altri DAC.

 

[drummerdimitri]

It's finally here!

First impressions are very good, getting more a more punchy sound than my Qutest and the brass instruments in jazz music seem closer and more intimate but also more energetic.

Qutest sounds a bit deeper and more relaxed but so far I must admit the A26 is more to my taste but only time will tell which on I'm keeping.

Hope it gets ever better with some run time!

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

In the R26 thread we have noticed that the Chinese manual has more information than the English one. Especially on technical explanations. Think same true with the A26 (Chinese manual has 22 pages, English has 10). Linking a translated copy of the Chinese manual. OP please link to first post so that is easy for everybody to find.

LINK: https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aj-HZ5NNYxJ923IzdhNjCob5mbJN?e=v7aWSz

 

[vsg28]

Joining the club, what an impressive DAC the A26 is!

 

[Zaurux]

No use for the moment with an external clock ?

 

[Raili]

Noto pochi commenti positivi entusiasti

 

[bodiebill2]

The A26 is a stellar DAC, up there with the best DACs I've heard. At that level it becomes a matter of personal taste, or even mood of the day. For this reason I am keeping both my Audio-GD R8HE Mk2 and the A26. The former has the saturated and immersive R2R sound and the latter is lucid, velvet-like and aristocratic. I cannot choose and neither do I want to. Each one can do things that the other cannot. It also depends on the setup. The R8HE Mk2 is more forgiving when streaming via the network,

Best results here -- with both -- I get with a cheap stand alone (network-less) SD card transport as source: the Topping M50, OCD powered as follows:

Paul Hynes SR4T > 9V > ldovr LT3045 > 7.1V > mpaudio LT3045 > 5V > M50

The A26 really shines with a pure source like this. Maybe those who find it fatiguing should look upstream to solve this. I find the A26 to be a very clean window but that does not always mean that you like what you see through it.

 

[nicks25]

In the R26 thread we have noticed that the Chinese manual has more information than the English one. Especially on technical explanations. Think same true with the A26 (Chinese manual has 22 pages, English has 10). Linking a translated copy of the Chinese manual. OP please link to first post so that is easy for everybody to find.

LINK: https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aj-HZ5NNYxJ923IzdhNjCob5mbJN?e=v7aWSz

Thank you for posting this!

 

[ericx85]

More listening impressions: A26, for me, is a step up from the X26 pro from what I remember of it. I'm going to do a hard side by side with the 26 pro whenever I get it back since I can have 2 dacs plugged into the holo bliss balanced. But going through familiar tracks I can comfortably say its a better experience with the a26. Better sense of space and air. Detail/resolution seems to be more or less equal. Layering is a little improved which I would attribute to the way the new AKM is designed. It's smoother for sure but not by a lot. Kind of makes me think if I'll hear the x26 pro as a little grainy/edgy when I get it back. It's a lot of separate improvements, but they aren't huge either.

Also want to mention before the X26 pro, I had a the Holo May. Some might say "What? You went to the x26 from a May??? You're nuts!" Yes, and the short and simple answer of it is that I felt like the dacs enjoyment to me was held hostage by HQPlayer. This is not to say HQPlayer is bad, but the Mays greatness truly shines when you use HQPlayer with it. The native OS on the May was not great at all. I found myself not enjoying the built in OS or native NOS. I gave the x26 pro a shot due to it being widely agreed upon as being one of the best D/S dacs at the time. The dac --on its own, and to my ears/preference-- was more enjoyable than the May in native NOS/OS. But still was outclassed by the May when given HQPlayer. I do a lot of things on my PC, youtube, netflix, occasional game with some friends, video editing. All of those things I was enjoying more with the X26 pro. So in the end I just appreciate a well executed chip design vs a NOS design maybe. I may not be using a May anymore, but I use Holo's new amp and DDC/Streamer which are amazing. Jeff Zhu is working some kind of black magic making incredible performing gear.

With the A26, I get an improved x26. It runs much less hot and the biggest thing I was excited for and am enjoying, is a complete filter bypass mode for DSD. It's been too long for me to remember how HQPlayer DSD sounded with the May, but on the A26 its definitely making me smile more than HQPlayer did with the x26 pro. The A26, for me is getting the goodness from both the X26's native performance, and damn near close to as good HQPlayer enjoyment as the May. Once the X26 pro comes back I'm likely going to offer it to a friend or put it up for a low sale.

I can't give an impression of the DAC on its stock fuse as I threw my x26's purple fuse into it as soon as I got it. I can only say that it made a decent improvement to the X26 pro and I can only assume it does the same for the A26.

Chain is PC USB>Holo Red DDC>A26 i2s>Holo Bliss KTE amp>DCA Expanse/Stealth.

 

[milkdudd]

Curious if you have had a chance to try the Low Dispersion Short Delay Filter setting. After mentioning it several times (and probably sounding like a broken record) I can tell you it was a game changer for my A22. I'd love to hear your opinion of it with the A26