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

[Caspian36]

I also found only a small difference using external clock on r26. When I added an N18 pro to clean side of FMC and connected that to output 2 of Leo bodnar clock the difference is astonishing. Clarity, detail, soundstage, dynamics and bass all improved a very noticeable amount.

 

[Deleeh]

If I read it correctly, someone mentioned that you should switch off NOS when the clock is in use.
But I'm not sure.
I once connected the Su2 and it was fine for a short time and then not again.
Sometimes it was audible, sometimes not.
I then left it alone and concentrated on external streamers where the sound was better for me.
The jump was more audible.

 

[amrutmhatre90]

My brother has a Afterdark clock (£3000) and there is no difference with his unit either. We both have decent systems. I'm confused?

He also unplugged the clock whilst using NOS and playing a track and the sound didn't change at all.

Can you see the EXT on the display and not ERR while playing on R26 ?

In my not so high end chain, I do hear a difference, everything feels tighter, separation has increased.

This is my chain,

ATC SCM 19v2
Hegel H390
SOtM 200 Ultra neo with LPS and Gustard r26 connected with LHY Ock 2 clock.
PC to SOtM via FMC with LPS
Power conditioning is OnFilter

 

[sendler2112]

I use NOS enabled with external upsampling from HQ Player Into all of my Gustard DACs (A26. R26, and X26 III) and hear meaningful improvements and differences when selecting the external Aune clock in and out.

I am also curious about how the Gustard N18 Pro uses an external clock input? I thought that audio over LAN was nothing more than a music file that would then be rendered and timed by the renderer in these DACs?

How is the N18 Pro anything more than a fiber media convertor with multiple LAN output connectors?

I wonder if an N18 Pro would solve my random and inevitable NAA disconnects between HQ Player Desktop> mesh router> all of these Gustard DACs. Sometimes it wiill play all day, sometimes it will play for an hour, sometimes it plays for 30 seconds before dropping the connection to HQP where I then have to restart HQP, and or the DACs, and or the whole laptop to get HQP to once again find the Gustard renderer.

 

[kaufman]

Can you see the EXT on the display and not ERR while playing on R26 ?

In my not so high end chain, I do hear a difference, everything feels tighter, separation has increased.

This is my chain,

ATC SCM 19v2
Hegel H390
SOtM 200 Ultra neo with LPS and Gustard r26 connected with LHY Ock 2 clock.
PC to SOtM via FMC with LPS
Power conditioning is OnFilter

Yes it displays EXT. It's easily discernable in OS mode. But in NOS mode when you switch between the two there is no glitch at all (presumably the internal clock being switched off is the glitch). There is no difference in sound at all on both our units.

 

[mango lassi]

I haven’t integrated a 10 MHz master clock yet, but I’ve done extensive timing optimization through a Laiv Harmony µDDC and I²S output into the R26.
What I found is that once the digital signal is cleaned and reclocked properly, the difference between NOS and OS becomes almost negligible. That suggests the upstream timing jitter matters more than the DAC mode itself.

Adding a good external clock should make a difference. The audible gains are typically in timing precision and transients, if your chain is resolving enough to expose them.

 

[amrutmhatre90]

Yes it displays EXT. It's easily discernable in OS mode. But in NOS mode when you switch between the two there is no glitch at all (presumably the internal clock being switched off is the glitch). There is no difference in sound at all on both our units.

Can you try flashing firmware again?

 

[Libran]

I wonder if an N18 Pro would solve my random and inevitable NAA disconnects between HQ Player Desktop> mesh router> all of these Gustard DACs

When I had the A26, there were also random connection breaks when using Roon and upscaling to DSD256 - a known problem, even acknowledged by Gustard and related to the limited resources of the built-in streamer - after replacing the A26 with the X30, there have been no problems with the internal streamer for several months!

 

[mango lassi]

That’s true, I had the same issue with random NAA disconnects when upsampling via HQPlayer. That’s actually the reason I switched to using a simple external streamer like the WiiM Pro, just to test things out.

 

[sendler2112]

When I had the A26, there were also random connection breaks when using Roon and upscaling to DSD256 - a known problem, even acknowledged by Gustard and related to the limited resources of the built-in streamer - after replacing the A26 with the X30, there have been no problems with the internal streamer for several months!

Don't tempt me. I need to sell my R26 and Cyan2 first ( and then the X26III after comparing) before I buy the X30 but am not getting any offers. I was waiting to hear what happens with the R30 but at this point have to think there is a problem. The rollout has been delayed and there are no reviews.

 

[mango lassi]

Didn’t you also want to try the Denafrips Pontus 15th? The X30 is probably the best from Gustard right now, but I’d say it plays in a slightly different category than our beloved R26. Personally, I’m aiming for the Venus 15th, but before that, I need to change a few components in my chain, like adding a proper clock.

 

[sendler2112]

Didn’t you also want to try the Denafrips Pontus 15th? The X30 is probably the best from Gustard right now, but I’d say it plays in a slightly different category than our beloved R26. Personally, I’m aiming for the Venus 15th, but before that, I need to change a few components in my chain, like adding a proper clock.

I read about people selling their Pontus 15th (Venus 12th with upgrades) and Holo May KTE DACs in favor of the X30 after comparing at home. The Venus 15th might give the X30 a challenge and both of these have the best clock available so no external clock will help.

 

[mango lassi]

Thanks for the insight, that's really interesting to hear. I’ll wait for the R30 to drop and see how it stacks up against the Venus 15th in direct comparisons.

 

[Jake2]

My brother has a Afterdark clock (£3000) and there is no difference with his unit either. We both have decent systems. I'm confused?

He also unplugged the clock whilst using NOS and playing a track and the sound didn't change at all.

Gustard clarified over email a while back that with PCM NOS (or DSD Direct) mode ON a connected 10Mhz ext clock is only referrred by the R26 for asynchronous inputs (LAN & USB) vs used for all inputs when set to OS (ie. NOS off).

Makes intuitive sense when you think about it, on the NOS setting timing from a synchronous source like I2S is untouched by the R26 so its K2 clock synthesiser and its reference 10Mhz oscillator (internal or external if connected) is not in play like it would be in OS mode if the K2 was being called on to oversample all inputs to 768Khz PCM for example.

 

[kaufman]

Can you try flashing firmware again?

I could do but it's unlikely that both units which were updated at different times would have this same issue.

So I found this post on this forum:

www.head-fi.org/threads/gustard-dac-r26-balanced-decoder-r2r-1bit-dual-native-decoding-music-bridge.963630/post-17178872

"Hi I’m new here. From the original Chinese description, R26 will always use internal K2+ext.10M for LAN and USB input. If PCM NOS is enabled it will only use the source clock. Same for DSD direct. In other words if OS is enabled it will always use internal K2+ext.10M, even if I2S is used. Hope this helps."