[Jake2]

I prefer LAN for most uses, but the U18 is quite good too - especially after upgrading the fuse and adding the OCK-1. I use the U18 for all non-music applications on Win10, ie: YouTube, watching movies, gaming, etc. As others have said, experimenting to find what you prefer is half the fun! Cheers!

@duffer5 I have the U18 too, which as Cobrabucket says, responds really nicely to an external clock like the LHY OCK-1. (I've not yet tried fuse upgrades, which are somewhere on the possible upgrade list for the new year). A better USB cable (Semperfi The Outsider) brought my Zen Stream/U18/R26 closer to the R26 internal streamer, but suspect it'd take an expensive I2S cable and/or streamer upgrade to achieve parity with or better the R26 streamer. Instead, for now I'm prioritizing investing in the upstream network path which has already paid great dividends (see my post on the SW-8 switch). FMCs a fast follower in the New Year.

Unlike Cobrabucket I don't currently use my computer as a source of other media content, everything else goes via my TV which I take audio out via optical out to an Ifi Spdif purifier 2 reclocker (w/ Ifi Power X) to the R26 coax spdif in. Netflix shows sounded better via the TV/Ifi chain than from my Mac Mini>usb>U18>I2S>R26. I suspect that may be as much anything an indictment of the quality of the Mini's USB out and a positive endorsement of how good the Ifi v2 spdif reclocker is, than any criticism of the U18.

So the U18 is currently cooling its heels at my place. But it is quality, so for now I'll keep it around for the rainy day I have a higher quality USB audio source to try it with.

 

[cobrabucket]

Did you end up dialling in the R26 options, so you could compare the dedicated U18 clocks over I2S vs the R26 internal synthesised clocking?

TBH, I just hooked up the U18 to the OCK-1 and didn't do any A/B comparisons.

 

[duffer5]

I prefer LAN w/ FMC for most uses, but the U18 is quite good too - especially after upgrading the fuse and adding the OCK-1. I use the U18 for all non-music applications on Win10, ie: YouTube, watching movies, gaming, etc. As others have said, experimenting to find what you prefer is half the fun. Cheers!

Curious which fuse you upgraded to.

 

[Gandah]

Suggesting go to the FMC (Fiber Media Converter) tweak instead.

I have the FMC on the way so things could change once it arrives but at the moment USB to my ears sounds better, this could be my network don't know but the FMC in the chain should improve it will be interesting.

 

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

Hoping that you will be in for a treat, just like the rest of us.
My "experiment" was so good to me that am now saving for a more "HiFi" alternative. ER2 anybody?
Well it depends...in this hobby there are no guarantees.
Maybe it will be my New Year's resolution...
Happy New Year 2023 Everybody!

 

[shogo33]

Happy New Year 2023 Everybody!

Hope this year has been good to you and 2023 will be one to bring more audio goodness for you!!

Cheers from Melbourne Australia

 

[Forgisound]

Happy New Year to all audiophiles. Lots of good sound in 2023. Greetings from Croatia

 

[Jake2]

Happy New Year guys, may 2023 be a good year for you and yours and all your hifi acquisitions be rewarding ones.

Cheers, Jake, NZ

 

[Odezra]

Happy New Year folks! This has been a great thread and all your help has been invaluable. Best wishes from Australia.

 

[rockcity007]

Honestly - plug it in, pick the the source cable available to you and off you go. It’s a super dac and works well with all inputs.

There’s a community here trying to see how far they can push this dac. It’s a new device only out about 7 months and people are learning how good can it be in different systems / environments.

For me the last 200 pages really say two things:

- it’s a great dac for the price point
- for many, cleaning up noise making its way to the dac (eg from computers, routers, other equipment) can help improve the performance of this dac. Certain accessories can also potentially improve performance. There are different ways to do this depending on what system you have, including ddC / LAN, clocks and switches.

As for the usb / lan debate. Both can be v good after tweaks. I think there is a consensus here that lan works for a great many. However, there are many variables at play in everyone’s system which means the right choice on source will be down to personal factors (eg budget, existing equipment, Etc).

I think the last 200 pages are a great description of the journey people have had in trying maximise performance - playing with ddc’s lan, clocks, switches, cabling etc to see how good the Gustard can be.

It would be amazing if we could update the first posts of this thread to describe the most common tweaks so that newcomers to the thread can skip the 200 pages and just get the tldr?

What an awesome reply Odezra.

I will heed your advice:

"Honestly - plug it in, pick the the source cable available to you and off you go"

And in the mean time, I'll continue reading this thread in an effort to learn more about this hobby and my own Gustard r26.

Thank you & Happy New Year to you ALL!

 

[markkpa]

Curious which fuse you upgraded to.

I use Gustard’s fuses - they work well.

 

[kumar402]

Happy New Year folks! This has been a great thread and all your help has been invaluable. Best wishes from Australia.

Happy New year to all
I don't even have this DAC but I do enjoy hanging out here

 

[BShaw]

Happy New Year to everyone here from all corners of the world! I want to add my thanks to everyone in making this a fun, informative place to spend some time in our universal love of music and the technology that increases our listening bliss!

 

[markkpa]

Did some additional testing between USB to U18 vs USB to R26 w/OCK-1 master clock. The direct USB connection to the R26 with OCK-1 master clock isn't bad at all, quite good actually. But, I still prefer U18 with a high-end AES/EBU cable i.e. twenty year old Transparent Reference AES/EBU still sounds better than DH Labs I2S cable. I'd suggest skipping the OCK-1 all together and just use the U18 which has a high-end clock. Each note seems thicker, fatter, more palpable using the U18. I keep trying the LAN connection every which way - it's good, not bad; but the U18 is better - at least in my system.

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
Since the R26 has been so well received and I have read a few things here, I have two three questions for you.
With any luck I will get the R26 to test for now.
I don't know yet if I will keep it.

1. someone had heard/tested the Spring 3 kte and the R26 and felt the R26 was better,is that true?(couldn't find the post anymore)

2. burnin,how long should it take to get there?
I would probably just leave it powered on for now.
3. i still have a Su 2 here, does anyone have the pinout for it?
4. lan is supposed to be the better source, is this still true or have other sources proven themselves in the meantime?
5.what about MQA,does the R26 support it?
(Presumably only via Lan if so).

Finally, I also wish you a happy new year and stay healthy, and wish you many happy hours with music.