It is amazing that after 3 rave youtube reviews, 90 pages of discussion here, we still don't know the kind of resistors used with this r2r dac. If it is so good, could we assume Gustard uses 0.005% presicion to get almost the same performance than Aquarius or Venus dac?
Mine is the the mail from China but I am going to open it for sure.
Daniel
Something I've long wondered about R2R dacs. With all those resistors in there are they more likely to have a higher failure rate over the long haul than Delta Sigma dacs? For all I know maybe it's just the opposite, that's why I'm asking. And if there is a failure are they easy to fix, impossible to fix, or somewhere in between? Thanks
Something I've long wondered about R2R dacs. With all those resistors in there are they more likely to have a higher failure rate over the long haul than Delta Sigma dacs?
Discrete resistors are robust passive components and very unlikely to fail without a direct insult.
A R2R with discrete resistors is less likely to fail then a classic R2R chip like a PCM56 having more robust ability to tolerate over voltage spikes. The old R2R chips like PCM56 hardly ever fail. Some have been happily playing for over 25 years and are going strong. So the discrete ladder DAC in the R26 is unlikely to fail from resistor specific issues.
The reliability of a DAC model is down to the most vulnerable part or stage. With many modern DACs that have data processing chips the FPGA may be the weakest link but they rarely fail. Over time capacitors in the power supply will degrade and occasionally there can be a poor quality electrolytic cap that fails prematurely. This is the same whether the DAC has R2R or a noise modulator (delta-sigma) based conversion.
If you want to protect your DAC unplug it so its not subject to over-voltage damage eg lightening strikes and so the caps cool off. But some find DACs can take hours to "warm up".
Bottom line. R2R discrete resistor DACs from reliable manufacturers can be expected to be reliable. Dont worry. Enjoy the music.
It is amazing that after 3 rave youtube reviews, 90 pages of discussion here, we still don't know the kind of resistors used with this r2r dac. If it is so good, could we assume Gustard uses 0.005% presicion to get almost the same performance than Aquarius or Venus dac?
Mine is the the mail from China but I am going to open it for sure.
Daniel
It is amazing that after 3 rave youtube reviews, 90 pages of discussion here, we still don't know the kind of resistors used with this r2r dac. If it is so good, could we assume Gustard uses 0.005% presicion to get almost the same performance than Aquarius or Venus dac?
Mine is the the mail from China but I am going to open it for sure.
Daniel
The appreciation of the R26 sound is unlikely to relate to precision, quality or number of resistors.
The R26 measures just fine. There's a limit to human perception and as long as DAC outperforms human aural processing discrimination the numbers cant be expected to predict listener response. Its unlikely anyone in a good system would hear an improvement in the R26 if it measured any better with better resistors.
Technically the R26 measures poorly compared to some DACs. An engineer looking at the data would not be impressed. So what? Is the DAC a tool for musically bliss or a tool for lab analysis?
If you want to speculate on the precision of the resistors in the R26 you are going to have a hard time.
Chinese R2R designers have copied Dan Lavry's brilliant R2R compensation design. As usual they dont often get close to the original designer excellence. This is disappointing given they have open access to the patent to copy the intellectual property and can buy the DAC to reverse engineer the build.
Ladder compensation means ultimate resistor precision is largely irrelevant.
Even more irrelevant is the R2R itself. The quality of the DA convertor itself usually lags behind the power quality, analogue output stage, IV stage and data feed for sound.
I hope this helps end drift into design technicalities and aids focus on what matters. The sound.
Hey guys - received my Gustard R26 today and am bedding it in.
Quick question on the LAN set up. I will be using the unit in the speaker set up away from the computer and wifi router, with Roon.
I already have a zen stream. Will this function as a lan point (without SQ issues)? Am currently using the zen stream via usb but thought it was limited bitrate wise via usb?
If not - I am wondering whether using a second google wifi router (I am using google nest to create a mesh system) could be used without any sonic issues as a LAN in (over wifi).
I hope I'm understanding your question correctly, but I have a Zen Stream, and ditched it for the direct LAN connection to the R26, it's much simpler and connectivity is improved. But yes, you can definitely run a LAN cable quite a distance to the ZS and it should work just fine. You may not need a second router. My LAN cable is 10 meters long and the performance is flawless with Bubble UPnP, whereas I've always had trouble with connectivity using the Zen Stream.
The appreciation of the R26 sound is unlikely to relate to precision, quality or number of resistors.
The R26 measures just fine. There's a limit to human perception and as long as DAC outperforms human aural processing discrimination the numbers cant be expected to predict listener response. Its unlikely anyone in a good system would hear an improvement in the R26 if it measured any better with better resistors.
Technically the R26 measures poorly compared to some DACs. An engineer looking at the data would not be impressed. So what? Is the DAC a tool for musically bliss or a tool for lab analysis?
If you want to speculate on the precision of the resistors in the R26 you are going to have a hard time.
Chinese R2R designers have copied Dan Lavry's brilliant R2R compensation design. As usual they dont often get close to the original designer excellence. This is disappointing given they have open access to the patent to copy the intellectual property and can buy the DAC to reverse engineer the build.
Ladder compensation means ultimate resistor precision is largely irrelevant.
Even more irrelevant is the R2R itself. The quality of the DA convertor itself usually lags behind the power quality, analogue output stage, IV stage and data feed for sound.
I hope this helps end drift into design technicalities and aids focus on what matters. The sound.
I hope I'm understanding your question correctly, but I have a Zen Stream, and ditched it for the direct LAN connection to the R26, it's much simpler and connectivity is improved. But yes, you can definitely run a LAN cable quite a distance to the ZS and it should work just fine. You may not need a second router. My LAN cable is 10 meters long and the performance is flawless with Bubble UPnP, whereas I've always had trouble with connectivity using the Zen Stream.
If anything the LAN-R26 is better sonically. Good enough I can't discern a difference between streaming and CDs with a good transport and very good digital coax cable between the transport and the R26. This way, you're ditching another transition in the chain, as well as a USB cable and the USB input on the R26. I had a Curious USBcable, $350, not a slacker, but I prefer the direct LAN port to the USB any day. I don't remember the specs, but even a cat6a cable is good for a serious distance!
BTW, I'm not much of a networking genius either and learned a lot on this forum. I'm totally blissed out with my setup now.
If you do need to extend the reach of your router, you can use a repeater rather than a router, and plug the LAN cable in very close to your system, but I'll leave it to others with more knowledge to assess whether that's a great idea. Some here earlier in this thread seemed to think so.
Hey guys - received my Gustard R26 today and am bedding it in.
Quick question on the LAN set up. I will be using the unit in the speaker set up away from the computer and wifi router, with Roon.
I already have a zen stream. Will this function as a lan point (without SQ issues)? Am currently using the zen stream via usb but thought it was limited bitrate wise via usb?
If not - I am wondering whether using a second google wifi router (I am using google nest to create a mesh system) could be used without any sonic issues as a LAN in (over wifi).
I just replaced my Topping D70s two days ago with R26. D70s is very good Dac, but R26 is in the upper class, everything is better. Buy it before the sale ended.
It is the weekend that I am more active yesterday and today. I finally decided to try the USB input on the R26. I have a Wireworld Platinum USB cable. No DDC. Now it plays for a total of about 7-8 hours.
The sound is significantly different from the sound through the LAN input. With the USB input, there is better bass control, more firmness in the sound. Even on stage, everything is somehow in its place. The sound is subdued, there is no ringing. Excellent HiFi. But audible HiFi. There is a certain distance due to which when you close your eyes you know you are listening to HiFi.
Through the LAN input, the sound is not perfect as USB, but it is quite immediate. Performers in the room. The bass is a little under-controlled, there is a bit of piano ringing, but you close your eyes and feel the performers in front of you.
Devil's dilemma.
Simpler is better. Buying the Gustard I could ditch four boxes: one streamer, one USB DAC and two linear PSUs. I also assume the R26 LAN function is bit perfect, so nothing to worry about there. I've got a gigabit switch close to the TV and Gustard and feed power to the digital and analogue units from separated wall outlets. (Thought I'd sync one Squeezebox with the Gustard so I get a visual display of music playing closer to the listening position.)
There are couple you tube reviews and they did an excellent and very accurate job to describe the DAC. So i am not going into detail, here are the few things that impress me the most. I have the Topping D70s for over 2 years and quite familiar with it.
Sound stage is so wide and airy but not diluting at all and so musical. ( beautiful for live concert)
Separations are tremendous, vocals and instruments are so clearly separated , you can pick them apart.
Dynamics are the best attributes, everything sounds more meaty, weighty and clearly with guitar, saxsophone, piano, vocal and drum.
I hope this help, i use it with my headphones system thru DDC, USB to laptop, no speaker.
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