The streamer does not work for me either. Anything over 16 bit, that is Hi Res files, suffer from stuttering so I’m using an external streamer which works fine. The R26 as a dac is wonderful however!
The dac itself supports mqa, but not with LAN(Spotify/Tidal Connect). its like they pushed out the dac too early….”everything will be fine with firmware updates later”
I can stream MQA via LAN on tidal and I am streaming hi-res files via Qobuz (over 16 bit) without issue via LAN and USB. USB via direct connection to an iPad and also tested via zen stream / Roon.
I am on latest firmware.
Not to diminish your challenges. Hopefully you can resolve.
I can’t comment on sonic qualities yet until I a/b test (waiting for 300 hr mark) but the unit functions flawlessly so far.
I streamed upsampled to 24/700 smth over LAN from my NAS. No problem. I now make the FLAC decoding in R26 instead of sending PCM to it.
I have played MQA, too.
All this with Logitech Media Server, a QNAP NAS on a gigabit network with CAT5-6 cables.
Check the UPnP settings.
I streamed upsampled to 24/700 smth over LAN from my NAS. No problem. I now make the FLAC decoding in R26 instead of sending PCM to it.
I have played MQA, too.
All this with Logitech Media Server, a QNAP NAS on a gigabit network with CAT5-6 cables and bog standard switch and router.
Check the UPnP settings.
(Apologies for the novel, typed this on my phone, didn’t realise how long it was…)
The internal streamer works exceptionally well in my use case: Roon & HQP > R26 (+ LHY OCK-1). Streaming HQP upscaled PCM384 & PCM768. More to the point it sounds spectacular.
For the past week and a bit my Mac Mini has been out of commission so I've just been listening via Tidal Connect in this chain:
IFI Zen Stream > U18 > R26 (LHY Ock-1 slaving both via Gustard C2 cables). The second C2 cable that arrived this week brought a great lift to the sound, to the extent I thought surely it must have now surpassed that of the R26's internal streamer. (I've compared them when i first got the R26 and it was really close but I slightly preferred the R26's internal streamer)
Anyway getting my new 16gb Mac Mini M1 up and running this evening I streamed Tidal from Roon upsampled by HQplayer to PCM384 to the Zen and R26 both acting as NAA points for HQPlayer. With the Ock-1 slaving the R26 (and that is key I think) the R26's internal streamer was still a clear step above the Zen/U18 chain. Actually even more than I recalled. Maybe due to the R26 and OCK1 burning in, or my greater familiarity with the system, who knows.
With the R26 NAA baselines were more juicy and weighty but equally well defined as the Zen/U18. There was a greater sense of depth in the soundstage, female vocals were both focussed, fleshed out, palpable and textured (yep, all of those) losing the slightly etched edges with the Zen chain, noting that the latter initially briefly seemed more detailed but that was an illusion due to the artificially sharpened edges. My Focals with their beryllium tweeters are pretty sensitive to any edginess - its presence and then absence is easy to spot. Finally there was just better rhythm and dynamics and a liveliness to the sound with the R26 alone - It was more engaging.
Toggling the R26's internal vs external clock setting whilst using the R26's streamer brought a bigger delta than doing so in the Zen/U18 chain. The R26 is a completely different animal streaming with my OCK-1 in play. If the OCK-1 takes the Zen/U18/R26 chain up a couple of levels it takes the R26 NAA up three. It's dramatic.
I'll give the Zen chain another chance with a better USB cable (Semper Fi) which is en route, but so far the internal streamer has a clear lead. And thats not even allowing for the fact the R26 NAA can handle twice as high sample rates as the Zen, as PCM768 sounds better again. (I didn't try DSD this time, but from memory same thing holds true, R26 can go up to DSD512 vs the Zen's limit of 256)
I expect an even better I2S cable than my BJC FE like one of the Tubulus range would help the Zen/U18 a fair bit too, but I'm in two minds about going down that route as by then I'd have spent some $500 just on cables unique to that chain (the 2nd C2 and the I2S & USB) not counting the additional streamer and DDC boxes just to equal or better the R26's internal streamer.
Appreciate other higher end streamers will be better still and maybe the other R26 streaming options folk have tried don't work or sound as good as the HQplayer NAA, but I can only speak to my experience: that the R26 acting as NAA for HQplayer and clocked by the OCK-1 sounds better than anything I've heard in my system to date. In some ways I wish it wasn't the case as I've invested quite bit in DDCs, streamers and cables.
Anyone else had the same experience with R26 as NAA for HQplayer with an external clock?
Looking for a new dac/streamer for my 2 channel rig somewhere in the $1k - $2k price range. Looking at a few options:
MHDT Orchid
MHDT Pagoda / balanced
Gustard R26
Aqua La Voce - Used (budget stretch)
Have any Gustard owners/users heard and compared the R26 to any of these Dacs? If so do you think it's competitive or superior for sound quality per $ invested?
Secondly how is the streamer? My primary streamer (Bluesound Node ) via blueOS streaming Amazon HD is pretty great and user friendly. I would like to keep this for my hp rig and use a new AIO dac/streamer for my 2 channel. Is the Gustard able to support Amazon streaming (non bluetooth/airplay) natively? If so how is the UI / functionality on the streamer?
If this doesn't work then Wiim is coming out with a new pro streamer soon at a reasonable price point which I can always pickup later.
The R26 is a completely different animal streaming with my OCK-1 in play. If the OCK-1 takes the Zen/U18/R26 chain up a couple of levels it takes the R26 NAA up three. It's dramatic.
Thank you for your great post.
Are there other users of the R26 and the OCK-1 who get a better sound while streaming directly to the R26 rather than passing through the I2S output of a DI?
I have a OCK-1, and I'm considering buying the R26.
I have an Audio-GD DI-20HE, and I'm looking for a way to adapt a HDMI cable to use this digital interface with the R26.
Thank you for your great post.
Are there other users of the R26 and the OCK-1 who get a better sound while streaming directly to the R26 rather than passing through the I2S output of a DI?
I have a OCK-1, and I'm considering buying the R26.
I have an Audio-GD DI-20HE, and I'm looking for a way to adapt a HDMI cable to use this digital interface with the R26.
Cheers, glad it was useful, and good luck with your quest on the hdmi cable front. I’m wagering it relates to Gustard’s I2S pin 15 for DSD on/off to which the DI-20 pin 15 sends nothing? If you succeed I will be very tempted by the DI-20HE.
So I joined Clan R26 yesterday plus sept SingXer SU 6 ( lots of newness in the system ).
The R 26 and SU 6 was preceded by a Pontus2/ Iris.
There's only 31 hours 'burn in' on these units and I'm definitely impressed.
However the downside is that this combo' cruelly exposes the limitations of my listening space, which I've not noticed until now.
Decided to purchase the LHY OCK2 which will arrive next week.
Happy Spartan.
So I joined Clan R26 yesterday plus sept SingXer SU 6 ( lots of newness in the system ).
The R 26 and SU 6 was preceded by a Pontus2/ Iris.
There's only 31 hours 'burn in' on these units and I'm definitely impressed.
However the downside is that this combo' cruelly exposes the limitations of my listening space, which I've not noticed until now.
Decided to purchase the LHY OCK2 which will arrive next week.
Happy Spartan.
So I joined Clan R26 yesterday plus sept SingXer SU 6 ( lots of newness in the system ).
The R 26 and SU 6 was preceded by a Pontus2/ Iris.
There's only 31 hours 'burn in' on these units and I'm definitely impressed.
However the downside is that this combo' cruelly exposes the limitations of my listening space, which I've not noticed until now.
Decided to purchase the LHY OCK2 which will arrive next week.
Happy Spartan.
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