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

[TherealJohnD]

Yep that's it, and I was also not sure if it would work but there was nothing to worry about in the end. I think the ports on both sides of the cable just need to be the same 1G speed.

I'd be curious to hear if the dirty-side FMCs make much of a difference in your chain, let us know what you find.

My brief notes about the options I have are:

30 ft ethernet cable straight from router to R26: Truly awful. Foggy, dull sound and dynamics with soft attacks and leading edges. I can't believe this used to pass as a baseline not that long ago.
Router > 10Gtek FMC boxes > R26: Clean and clear, but bright and thin. The edges of notes and voices have over-sharpened digital fuzz around them. I enjoyed this when it was all I had but I don't care for it now.
Router > N18 > R26: Gorgeous. Neutral, loads of detail and grunt. Powerful bass and dynamics. Ghostlike center image. It was fatiguing the first few days but settled down.
Router > FMC > Cisco AOC > N18 > R26: This is the way. Noticeably warm but nicely so. Further uptick in detail. Smooth as butter.

I used to not understand when people said CDs sounded better than streaming or digital files because 1s and 0s blah blah blah. But this experience has made me realize that a lot is riding on the quality of that connection into the streamer. My thought is that these audiophile switches prepare the signal in such a way that streaming can rival a physical format. The R26+C18+N18 is an awesome stack which seems to be greater than the sum of its parts.

I think the difference will be slight at best but you never know. Over at the Niam forum, some prefer daisy chaining two ER's, a bit too spendy for me.

 

[Buckminster]

I think the difference will be slight at best but you never know. Over at the Niam forum, some prefer daisy chaining two ER's, a bit too spendy for me.

If you didn’t already get the ER you could get an N18+N18 Pro to use in the way you describe, they’re on sale rn and would cost the same as an ER + FMC + LPS, if not a little less.

 

[rfgdelion]

Yep that's it, and I was also not sure if it would work but there was nothing to worry about in the end. I think the ports on both sides of the cable just need to be the same 1G speed.

I'd be curious to hear if the dirty-side FMCs make much of a difference in your chain, let us know what you find.

My brief notes about the options I have are:

30 ft ethernet cable straight from router to R26: Truly awful. Foggy, dull sound and dynamics with soft attacks and leading edges. I can't believe this used to pass as a baseline not that long ago.
Router > 10Gtek FMC boxes > R26: Clean and clear, but bright and thin. The edges of notes and voices have over-sharpened digital fuzz around them. I enjoyed this when it was all I had but I don't care for it now.
Router > N18 > R26: Gorgeous. Neutral, loads of detail and grunt. Powerful bass and dynamics. Ghostlike center image. It was fatiguing the first few days but settled down.
Router > FMC > Cisco AOC > N18 > R26: This is the way. Noticeably warm but nicely so. Further uptick in detail. Smooth as butter.

I used to not understand when people said CDs sounded better than streaming or digital files because 1s and 0s blah blah blah. But this experience has made me realize that a lot is riding on the quality of that connection into the streamer. My thought is that these audiophile switches prepare the signal in such a way that streaming can rival a physical format. The R26+C18+N18 is an awesome stack which seems to be greater than the sum of its parts.

Great insights. Thanks!

Can you share something obvious maybe: why not the n18, but the more expensive n18 pro? Is it due to the presence of fiber?

 

[TherealJohnD]

If you didn’t already get the ER you could get an N18+N18 Pro to use in the way you describe, they’re on sale rn and would cost the same as an ER + FMC + LPS, if not a little less.

I'm kind of locked in to the ER'2 when released?
I have:
Master Clock: Lhy Ock-1 + cables.
PS: HD Plex 300w + cables.
All I need is :
ER'2- $750
Dirty FMC -$30 to $50
Cisco AOC- $25

 

[Buckminster]

Great insights. Thanks!

Can you share something obvious maybe: why not the n18, but the more expensive n18 pro? Is it due to the presence of fiber?

Thanks! I wanted the extra ports, and try out the clock input. The clock adds the tiniest extra sprinkle of definition. Fiber is available on both so the non pro is more of a fancy overbuilt FMC with an extra ethernet port, but somewhat reasonably priced when you consider the LPS is built in.

 

[sendler2112]

LAN to the node, usb from the node to R26. Now LAN to the node, USB from the node to the U18, IIS from the U18 to the R26.

So, did you ever run LAN RJ45 into the R26? Or just USB and now IIS. My LAN input from the cheap TPLink router with a $10 Cat6 cable sounds much better than the USB from my laptop with $150 cable. I will probably go ahead and get a Gustard U18 or Singxer SU2 since they will also benefit all of my other DACs with IIS but am still wondering if it will be better. HQ Player designer seems to think that Isolated USB measures better than IIS in general. and the Cyan doesn't have LAN. I guess the complicating factor in trying LAN directly into the R26 is in having a player that can find the connection. Which HQ Player does easily.

 

[jsiets4]

So, did you ever run LAN RJ45 into the R26? Or just USB and now IIS. My LAN input from the cheap TPLink router with a $10 Cat6 cable sounds much better than the USB from my laptop with $150 cable. I will probably go ahead and get a Gustard U18 or Singxer SU2 since they will also benefit all of my other DACs with IIS but am still wondering if it will be better. HQ Player designer seems to think that Isolated USB measures better than IIS in general. and the Cyan doesn't have LAN. I guess the complicating factor in trying LAN directly into the R26 is in having a player that can find the connection. Which HQ Player does easily.

I use LAN for roon and IIS for bluesound node streamer I also use coax for my disc spinner

 

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

OT || ON

Just a reflection... interesting seeing some persons going to the DSD route..

It started aroound 2013 that I began slowly building my gears towards DSD playback since I "believe" it was the superior format.
After some self testing/evaluation last year, my conclusion/choice was PCM (at least too MY preference, on MY gears).

Each to his/her pursuit of better music...

OT || OFF

 

[rfgdelion]

Thanks! I wanted the extra ports, and try out the clock input. The clock adds the tiniest extra sprinkle of definition. Fiber is available on both so the non pro is more of a fancy overbuilt FMC with an extra ethernet port, but somewhat reasonably priced when you consider the LPS is built in.

Would the N18(pro) benefit a lot from a FMC feeding it? Or would Router > LAN cable > N18 > R26 take care of most of the cleaning up business (as this is somewhat of the purpose of the device one might say).

However, there seems to be a fiber connection for a reason perhaps. Any thoughts?

 

[Buckminster]

Would the N18(pro) benefit a lot from a FMC feeding it? Or would Router > LAN cable > N18 > R26 take care of most of the cleaning up business (as this is somewhat of the purpose of the device one might say).

However, there seems to be a fiber connection for a reason perhaps. Any thoughts?

In my use case, N18Pro on its own is better than FMCs on their own, and FMC into the N18 sounds best, to me. However the quality of the SFPs or AOC matters, and if the N18 is fed with my budget 10Gtek SFPs, it introduces the oversharpened sound that I don't like. The Cisco cable sounds wonderful on the other hand, but it definitely tilts the tonal balance a little dark. This is welcome in my system but may not be in yours. Allegedly some Finisar SFPs are also very good if you're looking for a more bright/analytical profile, but I haven't tried them.

 

[Jake2]

In my use case, N18Pro on its own is better than FMCs on their own, and FMC into the N18 sounds best, to me. However the quality of the SFPs or AOC matters, and if the N18 is fed with my budget 10Gtek SFPs, it introduces the oversharpened sound that I don't like. The Cisco cable sounds wonderful on the other hand, but it definitely tilts the tonal balance a little dark. This is welcome in my system but may not be in yours. Allegedly some Finisar SFPs are also very good if you're looking for a more bright/analytical profile, but I haven't tried them.

I’ve been hearing good things about the Cisco AOC for some time. Must get some to try vs my Finisar 1318s which were a big step in refinement, resolution and dynamics over the Finisar AOCs.

Good comparison here between the Cisco AOC sound and Finisar AOCs & SFPs.

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/...philestylecom/?do=findComment&comment=1241350

 

[Buckminster]

I’ve been hearing good things about the Cisco AOC for some time. Must get some to try vs my Finisar 1318s which were a big step in refinement, resolution and dynamics over the Finisar AOCs.

Good comparison here between the Cisco AOC sound and Finisar AOCs & SFPs.

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/...philestylecom/?do=findComment&comment=1241350

Seriously perfect description of the Cisco there, nothing to add or dispute from over here!

You absolutely should try one out, and used they aren't expensive at all. I was pretty surprised by the warm profile when I first plugged it in and how different it sounded to the budget SFPs, and I think you'll be very pleased to have it as an option in your arsenal, if not a daily driver.

 

[Jake2]

Seriously perfect description of the Cisco there, nothing to add or dispute from over here!

You absolutely should try one out, and used they aren't expensive at all. I was pretty surprised by the warm profile when I first plugged it in and how different it sounded to the budget SFPs, and I think you'll be very pleased to have it as an option in your arsenal, if not a daily driver.

Cheers - I shall! This comment was an interesting one: Adrian at AfterDark commented regarding these two AOC cables, recommending the Cisco for solid state systems and the Finisar for tube systems. I’m still seeking a little more tonal mass/mid-range weight in my system (can one ever have enough) so the Cisco sounds very appealing in that respect.

Where did you get yours from? It is so painful searching for genuine modules with all the copies / ‘compatible’ versions flooding the market. I recall finding some good value ones but have lost the link.

 

[Buckminster]

Cheers - I shall! This comment was an interesting one: Adrian at AfterDark commented regarding these two AOC cables, recommending the Cisco for solid state systems and the Finisar for tube systems. I’m still seeking a little more tonal mass/mid-range weight in my system (can one ever have enough) so the Cisco sounds very appealing in that respect.

Where did you get yours from? It is so painful searching for genuine modules with all the copies / ‘compatible’ versions flooding the market. I recall finding some good value ones but have lost the link.

I bought two on ebay in the US: one NOS, one used from a networking environment, with neither being expensive. I was suspicious of potential fakes since there's a lot for sale there, but both of these have the Cisco holograms on the labels and the serial numbers check out with Cisco. I'm going to assume these are the real deal and I can confirm the sound signature is as described in your link.

 

[Rockitman]

Hey all

I have the FMC boxes from page one on the way.

Can someone put up a link to where I can purchase the appropriate Cisco AOC please.