GUSTARD DAC-R26 Balanced Decoder R2R+1Bit Dual Native Decoding Music Bridge

[searchingtom]

Well put , adding to someone mentioning the R26 being a giant killer that fraise is thrown around i suspose it would make most feel even better about their purchase and that’s OK . I think more so the R26 is a stand out stupid good dac for the price , my R26 is temporarily traded for a Holo May just for fun .

How does the R26 compare to the Holo May ? thank you

 

[Palyodgree]

How does the R26 compare to the Holo May ? thank you

We just swapped last night though I have previously owned the Holo May KTE in a completely different system I‘ll give it a refresher listening later today.
Its in my office system I play music while working I’m finding it very distracting from my work even at low volume it’s a honey of a dac .

 

[BShaw]

Just want to add my 2 cents regarding noise issues and also what @rodthebod has reported about stuttering with Bubble in hi rez - I have this issue too, at the beginning of tracks 24/96 and above. It only happens in the first several seconds of a track, then buffering catches up I guess. Definitely not my network or cat8 cable! I don't know if it's the streamer module or Bubble, but it's a bit annoying.
Regarding humming and whining - I've tried everything, including an iFi Groundhog, FW updates, etc and there has been no change in the hum, so I'm just going to live with it. I wonder if it's only happening in 115v or if others in 220 are having the issue?
These are to me smallish issues, because for all else, this DAC is a killer, and very consistent. With tubes it seems like a match made in heaven. There's very little of the "hifi" imaging, I find imaging to be a bit more diffuse, but this is a tradeoff for dimensionality and realism AFAIC. Sometimes I miss those imaging fireworks but I also miss being 28 years old and being able to stay up til 3 and get up and go to work and roll it off!
One lovely result of owning the R26 is that I'm listening through headphones again, because it's bringing all of its traits to my HP chain! I only have a modest HP system compared to some here, Jot2 and some Sundaras and HD650s, but now I'm tempted to climb a bit up the Hifiman chain sometime in the future (really love my Sundaras).

 

[565321]

Just switch on the unconnected R26 and listen if the hum is physical. If it hums without being connected it is probably DC on the mains or a defect. Return to the shop.
If no hum or "knocking", then try the R26 in a barebone system to check the hum. Or a barebone system on another location maybe?
The hum should appear when you connect a cable, so begin from the end.
Speakers and power amp first. Hum, yes or no? Add the pre? Hum, yes or no? Then add just the R26 outputs to the pre input.
Does the hum follow the volume or is it fixed level? I still assume you did all this, but one never knows.
If the screen is physically whining, there's nothing a FW could do. Again a product defect and you should send it back to the shop.
As for the "stuttering" with hi-res, again a barebone simple streaming system, remove all fancy stuff, use common Cat5/6 cables and switch off everything else. Or play a 24/96 over Bluetooth if that is possible. Good luck.

 

[BShaw]

Just switch on the unconnected R26 and listen if the hum is physical. If it hums without being connected it is probably DC on the mains or a defect. Return to the shop.
If no hum or "knocking", then try the R26 in a barebone system to check the hum. Or a barebone system on another location maybe?
The hum should appear when you connect a cable, so begin from the end.
Speakers and power amp first. Hum, yes or no? Add the pre? Hum, yes or no? Then add just the R26 outputs to the pre input.
Does the hum follow the volume or is it fixed level? I still assume you did all this, but one never knows.
If the screen is physically whining, there's nothing a FW could do. Again a product defect and you should send it back to the shop.
As for the "stuttering" with hi-res, again a barebone simple streaming system, remove all fancy stuff, use common Cat5/6 cables and switch off everything else. Or play a 24/96 over Bluetooth if that is possible. Good luck.

Good ideas, thanks Zombie. I'll pull it this weekend and set it on the bench and open it up. That way if it's still humming, maybe I can physically isolate the source. Fortunately I'm not having the high pitched sound, that would be too much. I've never had a ground issue or DC issue in my system, and all my PCs are made with the shield floated at the downstream end, also have everything except the amp plugged into a conditoner, as well as a pair of iFi purifiers on the mains outlet, but we're going to find out what's up one way or another.

 

[565321]

Just remove all gadgets to rule them out. Barebone and simple, one step at a time. Later, if the hum varies with the volume, the source is before it, if fixed level hum, it is after the volume control. Do the routine in my previous post before you open it up. First make sure it is the R26 in itself that is the cause.

 

[juegue]

Just want to add my 2 cents regarding noise issues and also what @rodthebod has reported about stuttering with Bubble in hi rez - I have this issue too, at the beginning of tracks 24/96 and above. It only happens in the first several seconds of a track, then buffering catches up I guess. Definitely not my network or cat8 cable! I don't know if it's the streamer module or Bubble, but it's a bit annoying.
Regarding humming and whining - I've tried everything, including an iFi Groundhog, FW updates, etc and there has been no change in the hum, so I'm just going to live with it. I wonder if it's only happening in 115v or if others in 220 are having the issue?
These are to me smallish issues, because for all else, this DAC is a killer, and very consistent. With tubes it seems like a match made in heaven. There's very little of the "hifi" imaging, I find imaging to be a bit more diffuse, but this is a tradeoff for dimensionality and realism AFAIC. Sometimes I miss those imaging fireworks but I also miss being 28 years old and being able to stay up til 3 and get up and go to work and roll it off!
One lovely result of owning the R26 is that I'm listening through headphones again, because it's bringing all of its traits to my HP chain! I only have a modest HP system compared to some here, Jot2 and some Sundaras and HD650s, but now I'm tempted to climb a bit up the Hifiman chain sometime in the future (really love my Sundaras).

Did you try installing the driver somebody posted on page 107 or 108 next to the usb-c update you posted? For me installing the driver solved the high pitch sound, just like that, magic.

 

[Neslo1108]

I've ordered an OCK-1, and have been searching and poking to try to find a good cable that's not Unicorn-farty, to quote another illustrious member. The LM-400 or whatever it's called, is aluminum with copper cladding, no. The Gustard is just "alloy" according to their site, and the one sold by Beatechnik (main distributor of LHY and Jay's Audio), owned by Alvin Chee, is said to be UP-OCC, clad in silver, made by Sommer Cables of Germany. Well, Sommer has no such wire, so it's probably OFC like most of their stuff, whatever OFC even means anymore. I don't really dig his misinformation and calling $2 connectors "audiophile". So.....no. I asked DH Labs if they made a 50 ohm version of their digital cable, and Greg got back to me and said technically no, but he has an "abundance of feedback" saying it works just great for 50 ohms. They'll be on sale this weekend, FWIW: https://silversonic.com/products/digital-cables/d-750/
Not super pricey, and at least it's solid quality and you know what you're getting.

I have found a cable manufacturer who make all sorts of 50 ohm cables...see ssb.de. I bought a lmr400 type based on ecoflex 10 cable with crimped bnc connector.
I use the squared output to the R26

 

[Nada]

Regarding humming and whining - I've tried everything, including an iFi Groundhog, FW updates, etc and there has been no change in the hum, so I'm just going to live with it.

The hum was very unlikely to be fixed by FW or a Groundhog, based on analytical problem solving. Im sorry you wasted your time and money. Why do you ignore sound advice?

For anyone else with a physically humming DAC with only power cord connected, a clear problem solving pathway is posted earlier in the thread. One that doesn't cost time and money.

I only have a modest HP system compared to some here, Jot2 and some Sundaras and HD650s, but now I'm tempted to climb a bit up the Hifiman chain sometime in the future (really love my Sundaras).

Putting your money into better headphones is the surest way of getting improved sound for your $. Spending your $ on an external clock may make little or no difference. Can you cancel your clock order? If not do a blinded trial with the external clock. Just get someone to flick between internal and external clocks when you cant see. Expect to be rapidly disabused of any expectation your clock money was well spent.

 

[Jake2]

The hum was very unlikely to be fixed by FW or a Groundhog, based on analytical problem solving. Im sorry you wasted your time and money. Why do you ignore sound advice?

For anyone else with a physically humming DAC with only power cord connected, a clear problem solving pathway is posted earlier in the thread. One that doesn't cost time and money.

Would you mind linking to the post (or posts) you consider lays out a clear pathway, as it's rather a long thread. I say this with genuine interest as mine has a mild hum (audible up close only within say 1m) I've not yet got around to trying to solve.

 

[Nada]

Would you mind linking to the post (or posts) you consider lays out a clear pathway, as it's rather a long thread. I say this with genuine interest as mine has a mild hum (audible up close only within say 1m) I've not yet got around to trying to solve.

Hi Jake. Im really sorry you have hum too. Especially when you have such a high end system and great ears you can even hear differences with an external clock. With your DIY ability I expect you will know better then most how to problem solve your hum.

I think there are lots of good posts on problem solving the hum. Try putting hum into the search box.

My algorithm was:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/gus...ve-decoding-music-bridge.963630/post-17233602

 

[Jake2]

My algorithm was:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/gus...ve-decoding-music-bridge.963630/post-17233602

Thanks Nada - looks like a really (potentially) helpful post that I'd somehow missed. Cheers.

 

[cobrabucket]

I gave in and ordered the LHY OCK-1. Bought a couple of budget LMR400 cables, but considering a few more options. Sadly, I need 2 cables as I also own a U18. Fingers crossed the R26 arrives tomorrow. Hope all my American friends had a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[shogo33]

Hi, yes you can mix and match square and sine. I must’ve had the OCK-1 for around 6 weeks, using square as my primary output ( first the U18, then the R26 when it arrived) because of its theoretical superiority which I accepted at face value such was the improvement the OCK1 made. I also doubted sine vs square would make any difference really. So you can imagine my surprise when I only got around to AB’ing sine vs square last week first time, I found that for the R26 clock input sine was clearly audibly better than the square wave I’d been using for weeks. End result I’ve now got both the U18 & R26 connected to the sine output of the OCK1, using a Gustard C2 cable each. All sounding pretty good, though as you might’ve read I now prefer the R26’s internal streamer acting as a HQplayer NAA point.

Edit - in case droll Kiwi phrases don’t translate well by pretty good I mean terrific.

Chur bro!

 

[BShaw]

Did you try installing the driver somebody posted on page 107 or 108 next to the usb-c update you posted? For me installing the driver solved the high pitch sound, just like that, magic.

Yes I installed all the drivers and FW updates, but I never had the high pithced sound, just the hum. I'm going to follow the protocol laid out by Zombie which is logical, and take it from there.