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

Dec 18, 2022 at 9:36 AM Post #2,671 of 9,972
There is very little actual DSD content avilable unless Roon is doing the conversion (which would be something similar to HQP). Original recordings in DSD are rare as that format has been abanded by all but a very few recordings.
 
Dec 18, 2022 at 9:41 AM Post #2,672 of 9,972
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Dec 18, 2022 at 9:55 AM Post #2,673 of 9,972
Please let us know if this works for you. It may convince me to purchase the R26. I've been on the fence because of your comments and the limitation of Roon as the internal streamer. I am a classical music guy so Roon would not be my first choice. I have heard that Gustard plans to add other sites to their streamer through firmware but I'm a wait and see type of guy.

Just tried DoP, which shows exactly the same behavior as DSD, i.e. when DSD Direct =ON in R26 menu, there is noise.
 
Dec 18, 2022 at 10:01 AM Post #2,674 of 9,972
Not necessarily... Have a look at nativedsd's catalog at https://www.nativedsd.com/catalogue/
Use filters to see materials recorded in Native DSD. In the contrary is beginning popular.
Hark, PS Audio is selling vinyl done in DSD: https://www.psaudio.com/copper/article/octave-records-releases-its-first-vinyl-lps/
Of course your right there is a catalog of existing original DSD recordings but it is very limited compared to the general market. It is a high resolution method that the general market does not require and as always companies offer what the public wants. There are still some high end companies that occasionally use the DSD recording standard for high resolution offerings. My point was that DSD is the exception. Just a matter of economics and what the general market will buy. Software like HQPlayer converts pcm to DSD as an option and there are still a number of dacs that support the DSD format. I would personally like to see it become more main stream as I like the format.
 
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Dec 18, 2022 at 10:02 AM Post #2,675 of 9,972
Yes I’ve never used HQplayer or the R26 volume control.
With Roon I could send DSD as DOP but there is no need for me because DSD can be sent to the R26 native using the LAN input.
I was using pure DSD files with both Direct on/off, and for me it took 2 minutes to hear how much more noise direct “on” had.
Like Chodi mentioned, upsampling via HQPlayer is miles ahead of upsampling in Roon … and it should.
Roon has it’s qualities in streaming and managing musical content and HQPlayer is specialized in upsampling (and also does a better job in EQ using either Convolution or Matrix) … they complement each other very well.
 
Dec 18, 2022 at 10:31 AM Post #2,681 of 9,972
No it’s how that email said the R26 works. If DSD direct is “off” it converts to PCM.
There would be no DSD with direct off.
You have to understand how HQPlayer works. It sits between Roon and the R26 and communicates to the NAA application on the digital board in the R26.
Within Roon you select HQPlayer as your output an you can stream your music to it.
Then HQPlayer receives this stream from Roon and can upsample it to either pcm or dsd and sends it to the NAA.
R26 receives it via its NAA and can then further proces and decode it (using its filtering and dsd- or ladder DAC)
(p.s. HQPlayer runs on a separate computer, e.g. Intel nuc)
 

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Dec 18, 2022 at 10:39 AM Post #2,683 of 9,972
No it’s how that email said the R26 works. If DSD direct is “off” it converts to PCM.
There would be no DSD with direct off.
Yes that is correct. If the file is native DSD you have the option of leaving it on. There are few native DSD files. Leave DSD off on R26 and stream pcm then let HQP convert it to DSD with your choice of rate and filters in HQP. I apologize as it is hard to describe unless you have some experience with HQplayer.
 
Dec 18, 2022 at 10:44 AM Post #2,684 of 9,972
Yes that is correct. If the file is native DSD you have the option of leaving it on. There are few native DSD files. Leave DSD off on R26 and stream pcm then let HQP convert it to DSD with your choice of rate and filters in HQP. I apologize as it is hard to describe unless you have some experience with HQplayer.
According to that email. As soon as a DSD signal hits the R26 and DSD direct is off, the R26 converts it to PCM.
There is no way HQ player is getting between that conversion.
You can upsample in HQ all you want, Doesn’t matter what happens upstream. IF the R26 has direct off, it converts to PCM.
 
Dec 18, 2022 at 10:46 AM Post #2,685 of 9,972
Gustard actually mentions in the manual that it may be better to use higher performance PC to upsample DSD and sends the final DSD to R26 In direct DSD mode. I suppose that means sending DSD64 to R26 in direct mode may not be such a good idea.
 

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