[Aeonyx]

Yes it does. We have been here for months putting the R26 through its paces.
The only time I’ve seen someone say that usb was better was with a $800 Jcat sound card.
I can’t vouch for that tho because I have no desire to spend $800 on a sound card.
Even DDCs are not as capable.
LAN is the way to go.

Good to know. I've seen the JCAT. There's also the Matrix Element H which looks pretty interesting. U18 DDC + Element H would come in just a bit cheaper than the JCAT.

 

[Aeonyx]

In my chain the Ferrum / Hypsos and R26 are a perfect combo especially when driving my Susvara. I do run the OOR in power amp mode which bypasses the OOR's volume pot and uses the volume of the preamp / remote to control volume. Sounds clean, crips with excellent detail, wide soundstage and precise. Looking forward to playing around with the Tube Stage to add a little noise / flavor now and again. I was looking at the Holo May as well as the Pontus 2 12th and landed on the R26 after auditioning all 3 and for the money the R26 was well worth it.

Wow that's great to hear. For me it was a decision between R26 (with U18 DDC, external clock, and SR Purple fuses) or a Holo Spring 3 KTE. Ended up starting with the R26 since I can always return to Amazon if for some reason I don't like it, plus I didn't have to wait 5+ weeks for delivery haha. Definitely optimistic seeing how much praise is out there for the R26!

 

[duffer5]

Wow that's great to hear. For me it was a decision between R26 (with U18 DDC, external clock, and SR Purple fuses) or a Holo Spring 3 KTE. Ended up starting with the R26 since I can always return to Amazon if for some reason I don't like it, plus I didn't have to wait 5+ weeks for delivery haha. Definitely optimistic seeing how much praise is out there for the R26!

I am running the U18 with the Gustard fuse and in my R26 I am running the purple fuse. I am more than satisfied. I am blown away that the r26 can go shoulder to shoulder with the likes of $4k+ DAC's. In my opinion either Gustard is undercharging or others are overcharging for their R2R DAC's. R2R DACS are costly to develop compared to the D/S chip segment so the answer could be that a smaller company has to charge more to recoup their R&D cost. Gustard is a pretty large firm with an extensive portfolio of products so maybe they can charge less and bank on selling more in volume. Regardless they hit it out of the park with their first attempt at R2R in my humble opinion.

 

[Neslo1108]

I am using the Khozmo passive preamp in my chain and I can tell you with 100% certainty the clarity and sound stage improved significantly in my system. I was so pleased with the improvement I ordered from their sister brand (Hattor Audio) the tube stage. With that I have the option to implement gain with some tube goodness. I use to run solid state class a preamp and I find the synergy with the R26 and the Khozmo passive pre to be outstanding.

I'm also considering the Khozmo stepped attenuator...do you run ladder or shunt setup og which resistors did you choose?

 

[duffer5]

I'm also considering the Khozmo stepped attenuator...do you run ladder or shunt setup og which resistors did you choose?

The shunt resistors are Takman REY metal film and the series resistors are Vishay Zfoil.

 

[Aeonyx]

I am running the U18 with the Gustard fuse and in my R26 I am running the purple fuse. I am more than satisfied. I am blown away that the r26 can go shoulder to shoulder with the likes of $4k+ DAC's. In my opinion either Gustard is undercharging or others are overcharging for their R2R DAC's. R2R DACS are costly to develop compared to the D/S chip segment so the answer could be that a smaller company has to charge more to recoup their R&D cost. Gustard is a pretty large firm with an extensive portfolio of products so maybe they can charge less and bank on selling more in volume. Regardless they hit it out of the park with their first attempt at R2R in my humble opinion.

That's great. So you'd say the U18 is definitely a worthwhile addition for the R26?

 

[Neslo1108]

The shunt resistors are Takman REY metal film and the series resistors are Vishay Zfoil.

Great combi.
At the moment Khozmo only offer standard Vishay og AMRT as shunt with Zfoil in series

 

[duffer5]

That's great. So you'd say the U18 is definitely a worthwhile addition for the R26?

Yes, unless you are using the R26 as your source then there is no need. I am using the Hifi Rose 150b as my streamer and even though the 150b has i2s out it is not compatible with the r26 direct so I use the DDC via USB out on the 150b into the USB in on the U18 and the 12s out on the u18 into the i2s on the R26 and the sound improvement was significant. Also make sure you do the FMC mod which is listed on the front page which is well worth the cost to improvement ratio.

 

[Aeonyx]

Yes, unless you are using the R26 as your source then there is no need. I am using the Hifi Rose 150b as my streamer and even though the 150b has i2s out it is not compatible with the r26 direct so I use the DDC via USB out on the 150b into the USB in on the U18 and the 12s out on the u18 into the i2s on the R26 and the sound improvement was significant. Also make sure you do the FMC mod which is listed on the front page which is well worth the cost to improvement ratio.

Good to know. Just ordered a U18 as well. Going to be a fun week haha

 

[duffer5]

Great combi.
At the moment Khozmo only offer standard Vishay og AMRT as shunt with Zfoil in series

Email Arek directly and he can do just about any combo you want. khozmo@khozmo.com. Arek owns both the Khozmo brand and the Hattor brand. Great guy and easy to work with and if it can be built he can do it. The most important thing is to share with him your setup along with associated impedance. For example the impedance on the R26 is only 100 ohms which is great since it is so low but he will need to know what your impedance levels are for your amps and / or active speakers. Also with a passive preamp only run XLR if you can and lengths of the cables should be 2 meters or less. I run 1 meter cables. You can run single ended cables as well but the length of the cable really is important and you will want to keep them as short as possible. XLR length matters less but I still try to keep it under 2 meters.

 

[Aeonyx]

Hey all, I'm going to purchase an external clock for my R26 and found a good deal on an LHY OCK-2. Is this the best, or would someone recommend anything different?

 

[BShaw]

Hey all, I'm going to purchase an external clock for my R26 and found a good deal on an LHY OCK-2. Is this the best, or would someone recommend anything different?

I can tell you I'm very happy with what the OCK-1 has done in my system, FWIW.

 

[Aeonyx]

I can tell you I'm very happy with what the OCK-1 has done in my system, FWIW.

Cool! I ordered an OCK-2 just now. Can you recommend a good BNC cable?

Thanks!

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,

I have the Singxer Su 2 in use.
And on the R26 I just switched to external and it seems to work fine via I2S.

Will listen for a while before I commit.
What I can say is that the internal one I listen to most of the time is really not bad.

Personally, I'm not sure if I need to adjust the dip switches on the Su 2.

Nevertheless, I would say that DDC is usually better than built-in or self-developed.
With the self-developed ones, I would assume that something is compensated for in the design in order to achieve the desired result.

With Bnc cables, there is a lot you can buy.
From your setup, I would go for a bnc cable that is made of copper.
Unfortunately, I can't recommend one because I don't know any.
Just wanted to mention it.

 

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

Cool! I ordered an OCK-2 just now. Can you recommend a good BNC cable?

Thanks!

Gustard's. Not because we are on Gustard's R26 thread, but its really good for the price (same with their HDMI cable).