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

[audio integrity]

Interesting find. Most in this thread have avoided USB and S/PDIF because R26 allegedly is sensitive to electrical noise. Using the LAN input, preferably with fiber media converter, has typically been recommended.

I have used USB input as an alternative recently, without doing any critical comparisons to the other inputs, hearing nothing obviously wrong or bad.

Yeah, think it would help to have the JDS galvanic isolation or something similar

 

[BShaw]

Yeah, think it would help to have the JDS galvanic isolation or something similar

At the suggestion of Jake2 here on HeadFi, I bought an Altor USB isolator and a separate 5v power supply. It works very well and is very inexpensive, about the size of a deck of cards: https://www.altor.co/products/test-equipment/usb-isolator

 

[Keysee]

The best part is that I just plugged in a random USB cable—nothing audiophile at all. I'm also not messing around with any upsampling or tweaks. I simply played music through Tidal (Wasapi Exclusive) and JRiver in ASIO. Everything I play sounds incredible.
This really makes me consider switching to an external streamer—I’m thinking about the Holo Audio Red paired with the Ferrum Hypsos power supply, connected via I²S. If possible, I’d appreciate any advice on whether I’m heading in the right direction.
* today i changed usb cable to audiophile, hyper, ultra Gustard's DAC added cable - no difference.

 

[SpursForEver]

The best part is that I just plugged in a random USB cable—nothing audiophile at all. I'm also not messing around with any upsampling or tweaks. I simply played music through Tidal (Wasapi Exclusive) and JRiver in ASIO. Everything I play sounds incredible.
This really makes me consider switching to an external streamer—I’m thinking about the Holo Audio Red paired with the Ferrum Hypsos power supply, connected via I²S. If possible, I’d appreciate any advice on whether I’m heading in the right direction.
* today i changed usb cable to audiophile, hyper, ultra Gustard's DAC added cable - no difference.

The renderer in R26 is good. Save your money to get more music

 

[LarsHP]

As I previously wrote in this thread, I considered upgrading the R26 at one point, but concluded that upgrading the headphones, Hifiman HE-6 (original 4-screw) & Sennheiser HD800S, would probably make more difference and ultimately, better value.

Since I saw Stax SR-007 Mk2 on end of life sale at a very good price and simultaneously a nice, used KGSSHV Carbon energizer, I bought these. The electrostatic headphone setup did actually sound a bit more resolved than the HE-6, but given the price difference and dark sound of the SR-007 Mk2, I wasn't fully convinced.

I then got an extraordinary offer from the Stax reseller, so I ended up demoing and subsequently buying SR-X9000. When listening to the R26 > Carbon > X9000, the upgrade in resolution, details, transparency, soundstage and openness is marked and immediately obvious, if not dramatic. Going from that setup to my desktop setup (Moon 430HA and Topping D90LE DAC > Stax SRM-T1S energizer > SR-X9000) was a big disappointment. The sound was clearly dulled down, which was not nearly as apparent when using Stax Lambda Signature.

So, what I am saying regarding the Gustard R26 is that, it delivers an extraordinary sound quality, and if you feel the need to upgrade, then it's most likely not the DAC holding you back, but your headphones, and the necessary price in order to get a significant upgrade in sound quality will be quite expensive. (ES Lab ES-2a with a Carbon energizer may be the least expensive top high end kit for your R26, based on the reports I have seen in the ES2A discussions thread.)

 

[mango lassi]

I’d like to share my experience with the R26 and Tidal Connect in case others ran into the same problem — and possibly found a workaround.
I originally used an Apple TV 4K (latest gen) with Apple Music as digital source, connected via Toslink to the Gustard R26. However, due to the Apple TV’s limitation to 48 kHz output via optical, I looked for a higher-quality streaming solution.

Since Tidal Connect is advertised as supported, I tried the following:

Test setup: R26 (FW 1.43) connected via LAN cable; Main Router + Mesh-Network: 2x Asus ZenWiFi Pro ET12; All multicast/IGMP/WMM etc. features enabled; Bonjour & mDNS visible (Gustard shows up in Wireshark + Bonjour browser); Gustard renderer shows up as Gustard R26-xxxxxxxx._tidalconnect._tcp.local on port 2019

Works: DLNA streaming via mConnect from iPhone → plays flawlessly; Tidal Connect from Windows 11 PC → works, R26 is visible and selectable

Does not work: Tidal Connect from iPhone (iOS 18.4) → device is visible but not selectable; Tried same subnet, WiFi only, even a dedicated network using a WiFi bridge – same result; Turned off all firewalls (on iOS, PC, and router), tested with static IP → no difference

Tried: MAC Layer Transparent bridge config; Direct LAN connection to main router and mesh node; IP and MAC reservation, no VLANs, IGMP v3; DNS rebinding enabled, no mDNS filtering; iPhone connected to same AP as Gustard

I have opened a ticket to Gustard Support and the response was: The R26 uses an open-source Tidal Connect SDK. Tidal no longer provides official SDKs to third-party manufacturers. Recent Tidal updates have broken compatibility with the existing SDK. Reinstalling firmware or downgrading won't help, as the issue is at service level. Recommended workarounds: use DLNA (e.g., mConnect), Roon, AirPlay, or USB.

Question:
Has anyone here successfully used Tidal Connect to stream to the R26 directly from an iPhone?
Is this issue affecting everyone on iOS or just some setups?

I’d really prefer to control playback from my iPhone in the living room – the PC is in another room, so not a usable daily solution.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Caspian36]

I’d like to share my experience with the R26 and Tidal Connect in case others ran into the same problem — and possibly found a workaround.
I originally used an Apple TV 4K (latest gen) with Apple Music as digital source, connected via Toslink to the Gustard R26. However, due to the Apple TV’s limitation to 48 kHz output via optical, I looked for a higher-quality streaming solution.

Since Tidal Connect is advertised as supported, I tried the following:

Test setup: R26 (FW 1.43) connected via LAN cable; Main Router + Mesh-Network: 2x Asus ZenWiFi Pro ET12; All multicast/IGMP/WMM etc. features enabled; Bonjour & mDNS visible (Gustard shows up in Wireshark + Bonjour browser); Gustard renderer shows up as Gustard R26-xxxxxxxx._tidalconnect._tcp.local on port 2019

Works: DLNA streaming via mConnect from iPhone → plays flawlessly; Tidal Connect from Windows 11 PC → works, R26 is visible and selectable

Does not work: Tidal Connect from iPhone (iOS 18.4) → device is visible but not selectable; Tried same subnet, WiFi only, even a dedicated network using a WiFi bridge – same result; Turned off all firewalls (on iOS, PC, and router), tested with static IP → no difference

Tried: MAC Layer Transparent bridge config; Direct LAN connection to main router and mesh node; IP and MAC reservation, no VLANs, IGMP v3; DNS rebinding enabled, no mDNS filtering; iPhone connected to same AP as Gustard

I have opened a ticket to Gustard Support and the response was: The R26 uses an open-source Tidal Connect SDK. Tidal no longer provides official SDKs to third-party manufacturers. Recent Tidal updates have broken compatibility with the existing SDK. Reinstalling firmware or downgrading won't help, as the issue is at service level. Recommended workarounds: use DLNA (e.g., mConnect), Roon, AirPlay, or USB.

Question:
Has anyone here successfully used Tidal Connect to stream to the R26 directly from an iPhone?
Is this issue affecting everyone on iOS or just some setups?

I’d really prefer to control playback from my iPhone in the living room – the PC is in another room, so not a usable daily solution.

Thanks in advance!

I've tried everything and found roon to be the best solution. The roon server installs on your pc and can be controlled from your phone with the roon app and because tidal is supported by roon you can use it from your phone on the roon app. I have my entire cd collection installed on my pc all of it is accessible from my phone on the roon app. It's worth the outlay

 

[mango lassi]

Thanks for your input – yes, Roon is definitely a solid workaround, and it's the one Gustard Support also recommends.

That said, for my use case, I don’t have a local music library and mainly use music streaming services strait, so I was hoping to keep things simple without setting up a dedicated server just to stream. Also, while Roon is beautifully integrated, it's another paid subscription, whereas mConnect (DLNA) works for free – and in my setup it’s also bit-perfect, just lacks the Tidal UI.

I was really hoping to use Tidal Connect natively from the iPhone, especially since it now works fine from the Windows PC. It’s just disappointing that iOS still doesn’t connect even though the Gustard is broadcasting properly and appears in Bonjour/mDNS.

Update: I just tested Tidal Connect on an Android phone – and it works perfectly with the Gustard R26. The device shows up instantly and starts playing without any issues.
So this seems to confirm it’s an iOS-specific problem, possibly related to how Tidal on iPhone handles the Bonjour/mDNS discovery or some internal restrictions in iOS networking.

Another discovery:
When using Tidal Connect to stream to the Gustard R26, whether from Android or PC, the stream only reaches 16-bit / 44.1 kHz, even if the track is available in MAX (24-bit / 192 kHz). The app only shows “HIGH” quality instead of “MAX”. You can even switch back to the phone, and you will still get the stream in "MAX."
Interestingly, when using DLNA via mConnect (or similar), the full 24-bit / 192 kHz resolution is properly passed through to the Gustard.

So it seems like Tidal Connect is currently capped at CD quality, at least with the open-source SDK Gustard uses (as they confirmed in support).
Has anyone else noticed this behavior?

 

[wikaudio]

Another discovery:
When using Tidal Connect to stream to the Gustard R26, whether from Android or PC, the stream only reaches 16-bit / 44.1 kHz, even if the track is available in MAX (24-bit / 192 kHz). The app only shows “HIGH” quality instead of “MAX”. You can even switch back to the phone, and you will still get the stream in "MAX."
Interestingly, when using DLNA via mConnect (or similar), the full 24-bit / 192 kHz resolution is properly passed through to the Gustard.

So it seems like Tidal Connect is currently capped at CD quality, at least with the open-source SDK Gustard uses (as they confirmed in support).
Has anyone else noticed this behavior?

I wrote about the problem with playing files in MAX quality exactly two years ago HERE. To play in MAX quality you have to use an external application or you can buy a network music transporter with TIDAL support connected via USB, IIS, COAX, AES or OPT. The cheapest option is e.g. WiiM Pro. If costs are not an issue, you will find a really wide selection of network transports.

 

[mimas2]

I’d like to share my experience with the R26 and Tidal Connect in case others ran into the same problem — and possibly found a workaround.
I originally used an Apple TV 4K (latest gen) with Apple Music as digital source, connected via Toslink to the Gustard R26. However, due to the Apple TV’s limitation to 48 kHz output via optical, I looked for a higher-quality streaming solution.

Since Tidal Connect is advertised as supported, I tried the following:

Test setup: R26 (FW 1.43) connected via LAN cable; Main Router + Mesh-Network: 2x Asus ZenWiFi Pro ET12; All multicast/IGMP/WMM etc. features enabled; Bonjour & mDNS visible (Gustard shows up in Wireshark + Bonjour browser); Gustard renderer shows up as Gustard R26-xxxxxxxx._tidalconnect._tcp.local on port 2019

Works: DLNA streaming via mConnect from iPhone → plays flawlessly; Tidal Connect from Windows 11 PC → works, R26 is visible and selectable

Does not work: Tidal Connect from iPhone (iOS 18.4) → device is visible but not selectable; Tried same subnet, WiFi only, even a dedicated network using a WiFi bridge – same result; Turned off all firewalls (on iOS, PC, and router), tested with static IP → no difference

Tried: MAC Layer Transparent bridge config; Direct LAN connection to main router and mesh node; IP and MAC reservation, no VLANs, IGMP v3; DNS rebinding enabled, no mDNS filtering; iPhone connected to same AP as Gustard

I have opened a ticket to Gustard Support and the response was: The R26 uses an open-source Tidal Connect SDK. Tidal no longer provides official SDKs to third-party manufacturers. Recent Tidal updates have broken compatibility with the existing SDK. Reinstalling firmware or downgrading won't help, as the issue is at service level. Recommended workarounds: use DLNA (e.g., mConnect), Roon, AirPlay, or USB.

Question:
Has anyone here successfully used Tidal Connect to stream to the R26 directly from an iPhone?
Is this issue affecting everyone on iOS or just some setups?

I’d really prefer to control playback from my iPhone in the living room – the PC is in another room, so not a usable daily solution.

Thanks in advance!

 

[mango lassi]

I wrote about the problem with playing files in MAX quality exactly two years ago HERE. To play in MAX quality you have to use an external application or you can buy a network music transporter with TIDAL support connected via USB, IIS, COAX, AES or OPT. The cheapest option is e.g. WiiM Pro. If costs are not an issue, you will find a really wide selection of network transports.

Thanks for the clarification! I’ve just recently started experimenting with the streaming features of the Gustard and was hoping to get by with Tidal Connect alone, but obviously I’ve run into some expected limitations.

Yes, I’m aware of the workaround using a proper network streamer — if I end up going that route, I’ll probably aim for something more capable than a WiiM, ideally with USB or I²S out to fully benefit from the Gustard’s internal clock.

But for now, I just wanted to keep it simple and stick to the native integration — it’s a bit frustrating that even CD-quality is the ceiling via Tidal Connect right now.

 

[Jake2]

@mango lassi You could try Jplay for iOS. Not free but 1/3 the cost of Roon, supports Tidal Max, very slick interface rivalling Roon and if not native Tidal. Very good sound quality too which if you listen to a few you’ll find is not equal across streaming apps. So you have options, albeit with some cost attached.

Edit - has the bonus for many users of recent HQplayer integration support, which in my experience is the best streaming performance out of the R26 by some margin. Appreciate HQP + Jplay sounds like it’s a level of complexity and cost beyond what you’re after right now.

 

[mango lassi]

Thanks, that sounds very interesting — I hadn’t looked into JPLAY yet. The fact that it supports Tidal Max and seems to prioritize sound quality makes it a strong alternative to Roon, especially if the interface is slick too.

I’m not running HQPlayer (yet), but good to know there’s integration in case I ever go that route. Definitely going to give JPLAY a closer look — appreciate the tip!

 

[Jake2]

Cool, give it a whirl and let us know how you find it. I use it on my IPad Air M1 and it’s great, slick and fast (incl lag free movement between screens and smooth scrolling vertically and horizontally through thumbnails - like albums or playlists), with easy access to tidal playlists which IIRC was either not there or more clunky to access via Roon’s app, though that may have been user error…

 

[mango lassi]

Cool, give it a whirl and let us know how you find it. I use it on my IPad Air M1 and it’s great, slick and fast (incl lag free movement between screens and smooth scrolling vertically and horizontally through thumbnails - like albums or playlists), with easy access to tidal playlists which IIRC was either not there or more clunky to access via Roon’s app, though that may have been user error…

It’s working straight from the beginning without any issues and with the correct resolution from Tidal! Really happy to finally see the tracks play back in MAX quality without needing workarounds. Loved the UI/UX — feels close enough to the native Tidal app, which was exactly what I was looking for.

Now I’ll dive a bit deeper into how to use it together with HQPlayer — that part’s still new to me. But so far I’m really satisfied. Thanks again for pointing me toward JPLAY!