[Dandion]

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.

Hello, how did you remove the stock fuse from the R26? Should we unscrew all the screws from the back panel?
Daniel

 

[cobrabucket]

Deleted.

 

[Dandion]

You may forget my question. I have finnally been able to have acess by pulling out the fuse cover and using a small screws driver

 

[duffer5]

Hello, how did you remove the stock fuse from the R26? Should we unscrew all the screws from the back panel?
Daniel

https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/...th-u16-c16-x16-a18-630ma-gustard-upgrade-fuse

The above should help, very easy to remove the fuse holder with a simple flathead screwdriver bit.

 

[cobrabucket]

Interesting discussion by Rob Watts about DAC designs and drawbacks. Specifically, where he gets into DSD and external clocks might be beneficial for this thread. But the whole thing is fascinating!

 

[domiji]

I am selling my beloved OCK-1 Clock because of an upgrade: https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/lhy-ock-1-masterclock-bnc-cable.42661/

Maybe someone is interested

 

[rodthebod]

So my Fiber Optic media converter arrived today consisting of:
10Gtek Gigabit Fiber Media Converter w/ Pair of Bidi SFP Singlemode Simplex LC Module (Kit #5)
10Gtek OS2 LC to LC Duplex Fiber Patch Cable 0.5m
TOPPING P50 LPS
USB Type A Male to 90 Degree Barrel Connector Charging Cable 5.5 x 2.5mm DC 5V 80cm
Veetop Ethernet LAN Cat 8 RJ45 Cable 0.25

Initial Impressions: Uplift in resolution, separation, blacker background, a bit more analog(?) to my system.
Verdict: For 220Eur total, yes a keeper.

Pics or did not happen:

For those on an even tighter budget, I managed to get hold of these FMC's from Aliexpress, total outlay was €31 delivered to Malta for the modules (€19.50) and a 10m length of fibre cable (€5.50) (shortest available). They work well, with a noticeable improvement to the sound stage and detail, and have a flexible 5-12v power input. A decent linear power supply on the clean side is important or a 5v lipo battery bank also works well. Nice and compact. Using a wifi extender or mesh wifi system to isolate the router from the switch and R26 DAC makes even more of an improvement when used together with the FMC's.

 

[Jake2]

< Moved from a post today on the Masterclock thread to here where it’s more on topic >

Here's a few observations re my and others' use of the R26 that may assist [an A26 or R26 owner considering internal LAN vs external streamer vs ext clock upgrades]:

• In my experience use of an external clock elevates the performance of the R26 via its LAN input more than it does via I2S or s/pdif (at least with the U18 DDC fed USB from the Ifi Zen Stream or directly from the Mac Mini, even when the U18 is also externally clocked). I've assumed that this is in part because - as @piguetpolo contemplates above - the R26's K2 synthesiser makes use of a connected external clock signal for both its DAC and streamer/renderer sections, the latter naturally fully reclocking the asynchronous ethernet signal. So you would effectively be clocking two devices with an ext masterclock connected to the A26 or R26. I recently stepped up to the OCK-2 from the OCK-1 which lifted the resolution and refinement of the R26 LAN renderer to another level, especially when paired with the excellent Harmonic Technology DC III cable.
• Not all streaming protocols/software perform equally well with the R26 renderer sonically or reliability wise i.e. Roon, HQP NAA (which I use) and JPlay are consistently highly rated over on the R26 thread, Bubble UPnP not as much
• The R26 LAN input is quite sensitive to the quality of the ethernet stream it receives, including it seems, any EFI/EMI noise on the ethernet line. Many R26 users have got great bang-for-buck improvements from the galvanic isolation of using FMCs and/or wifi extenders. I suspect that being a cost-constrained basic renderer board it may be more susceptible to RFI/EMI riding ethernet than a more expensive, separate streamer with space and a materials budget to implement more sophisticated galvanic isolation.
• Personally I've found the R26 LAN input/renderer has easily resolved and shown satisfying and in some cases dramatic progressive improvements from each of these ethernet chain improvements beyond my starting point of directly connecting the R26 to my wireless router: adding an LHY SW-8 switch (a big jump); then a Netgear GS108e switch directly upstream of the LHY; then chassis or signal grounding either/both switches and the router and the R26 (Quartz Acoustics premium ground boxes on the R26, SW-8 and Mac Mini with some small AliX grounding tubes on the other gear), and finally turning off wifi on the router. All connected via cat 5/6 UTP so far.

I've just ordered an Ifi LAN iSilencer galvanic isolator which is getting some very positive early feedback and will likely try FMCs too soon.

 

[Forgisound]

I asked Gustard about the possibility of upgrading the streamer's memory. This is the answer:
"This is a UPnP compatibility issue, we are trying to optimise it. The memory is not upgradeable."

Btw. The Gold Note Ds-10 has no problem with that.

 

[BShaw]

I asked Gustard about the possibility of upgrading the streamer's memory. This is the answer:
"This is a UPnP compatibility issue, we are trying to optimise it. The memory is not upgradeable."

Btw. The Gold Note Ds-10 has no problem with that.

That's too bad, it doesn't seem to be able to buffer 24 bit very well, I get stutters in the first 10 seconds of most songs, and it's definitely not my delivery path or internet speed.

 

[Forgisound]

That's too bad, it doesn't seem to be able to buffer 24 bit very well, I get stutters in the first 10 seconds of most songs, and it's definitely not my delivery path or internet speed.

When I use Roon, or HQP, all is OK. Problem is with UPnP protocol.

 

[wikaudio]

That's too bad, it doesn't seem to be able to buffer 24 bit very well, I get stutters in the first 10 seconds of most songs, and it's definitely not my delivery path or internet speed.

I also had trouble playing 24-96 and 24-192 files via BubbleUPnP server. I thought it was a BubbleUPnP problem and wrote to them and attached the logs. I received this answer:

"The log shows that your Gustarender is becoming unresponsive to UPnP commands just after being instructed to play a 96 kHz / 24-bit FLAC from MinimServer.
It is possible its FLAC decoder has a problem with HiRes (assuming you can play 44.1/16 FLAC fine).
If you set "Audio decode is PCM for: All audio formats + constraints below" this makes BubbleUPnP Server convert input audio to WAV (with no loss of quality)
so this would workaround any eventual flaw in the HiRes FLAC decoding of the Gustarender."

So I logged in via SSH to R26 and when playback was stuttering, memory usage was at 100%, this is what I saw in mpd.log:

"alsa_output: Decoder is too slow; playing silence to avoid xrun"

I updated mpd player to the latest version but the result was even worse.
With Media Render configuration in BubbleUPnP "Decode Audio to PCM for: All audio formats + constraints below" HiRes flac files play without stops but there is a problem with DSD playback because DSD64 files are decoded with a sampling frequency of 352kHz, DSD128 with 764kHz and DSD256 files are up to 1.4MHz and this is too high. In addition, information about decoding the DSD file is not displayed and the 1-bit decoder will not work.

I haven't used Roon yet but installed it on a Synology DS220+ and I'm surprised how it plays. R26 uses about 50% of memory and plays HiRes flac and DSD without problems. A special application inside the R26 streamer - Roon Bridge, made rather by Roon programmers, is responsible for playback. It works perfectly!
I also tested Tidal connect, it uses a lot of memory but it works.
If Roon is not in use it is possible to disable Roon Bridge and save 30MB of RAM.
Additionally, I found that in upmpdcli.conf you can enable Open Home Renderer. This is a compelling advantage because you can use (e.g. BubbleUPnP, Linn Kazoo, Linn app…) without a BubbleUPnP server.
Theoretically, Gustard could prepare two versions of the update: one for Roon users and the other for non-Roon but Tidal users, etc.
After all this, I even bought a Munich M1T but eventually returned it because for the same money or even less I will buy a lifetime Roon license and I will not need a separate streamer.
I have the impression that the R26 streamer is designed especially for Roon. Further updates will not bring any improvement other than Tidal connect, maybe memory consumption will be optimized, but I do not expect significant major changes.

 

[cobrabucket]

I also had trouble playing 24-96 and 24-192 files via BubbleUPnP server. I thought it was a BubbleUPnP problem and wrote to them and attached the logs. I received this answer:

"The log shows that your Gustarender is becoming unresponsive to UPnP commands just after being instructed to play a 96 kHz / 24-bit FLAC from MinimServer.
It is possible its FLAC decoder has a problem with HiRes (assuming you can play 44.1/16 FLAC fine).
If you set "Audio decode is PCM for: All audio formats + constraints below" this makes BubbleUPnP Server convert input audio to WAV (with no loss of quality)
so this would workaround any eventual flaw in the HiRes FLAC decoding of the Gustarender."

So I logged in via SSH to R26 and when playback was stuttering, memory usage was at 100%, this is what I saw in mpd.log:

"alsa_output: Decoder is too slow; playing silence to avoid xrun"

I updated mpd player to the latest version but the result was even worse.
With Media Render configuration in BubbleUPnP "Decode Audio to PCM for: All audio formats + constraints below" HiRes flac files play without stops but there is a problem with DSD playback because DSD64 files are decoded with a sampling frequency of 352kHz, DSD128 with 764kHz and DSD256 files are up to 1.4MHz and this is too high. In addition, information about decoding the DSD file is not displayed and the 1-bit decoder will not work.

I haven't used Roon yet but installed it on a Synology DS220+ and I'm surprised how it plays. R26 uses about 50% of memory and plays HiRes flac and DSD without problems. A special application inside the R26 streamer - Roon Bridge, made rather by Roon programmers, is responsible for playback. It works perfectly!
I also tested Tidal connect, it uses a lot of memory but it works.
If Roon is not in use it is possible to disable Roon Bridge and save 30MB of RAM.
Additionally, I found that in upmpdcli.conf you can enable Open Home Renderer. This is a compelling advantage because you can use (e.g. BubbleUPnP, Linn Kazoo, Linn app…) without a BubbleUPnP server.
Theoretically, Gustard could prepare two versions of the update: one for Roon users and the other for non-Roon but Tidal users, etc.
After all this, I even bought a Munich M1T but eventually returned it because for the same money or even less I will buy a lifetime Roon license and I will not need a separate streamer.
I have the impression that the R26 streamer is designed especially for Roon. Further updates will not bring any improvement other than Tidal connect, maybe memory consumption will be optimized, but I do not expect significant major changes.

Good info. Thank you!

 

[BShaw]

I also had trouble playing 24-96 and 24-192 files via BubbleUPnP server. I thought it was a BubbleUPnP problem and wrote to them and attached the logs. I received this answer:

"The log shows that your Gustarender is becoming unresponsive to UPnP commands just after being instructed to play a 96 kHz / 24-bit FLAC from MinimServer.
It is possible its FLAC decoder has a problem with HiRes (assuming you can play 44.1/16 FLAC fine).
If you set "Audio decode is PCM for: All audio formats + constraints below" this makes BubbleUPnP Server convert input audio to WAV (with no loss of quality)
so this would workaround any eventual flaw in the HiRes FLAC decoding of the Gustarender."

So I logged in via SSH to R26 and when playback was stuttering, memory usage was at 100%, this is what I saw in mpd.log:

"alsa_output: Decoder is too slow; playing silence to avoid xrun"

I updated mpd player to the latest version but the result was even worse.
With Media Render configuration in BubbleUPnP "Decode Audio to PCM for: All audio formats + constraints below" HiRes flac files play without stops but there is a problem with DSD playback because DSD64 files are decoded with a sampling frequency of 352kHz, DSD128 with 764kHz and DSD256 files are up to 1.4MHz and this is too high. In addition, information about decoding the DSD file is not displayed and the 1-bit decoder will not work.

I haven't used Roon yet but installed it on a Synology DS220+ and I'm surprised how it plays. R26 uses about 50% of memory and plays HiRes flac and DSD without problems. A special application inside the R26 streamer - Roon Bridge, made rather by Roon programmers, is responsible for playback. It works perfectly!
I also tested Tidal connect, it uses a lot of memory but it works.
If Roon is not in use it is possible to disable Roon Bridge and save 30MB of RAM.
Additionally, I found that in upmpdcli.conf you can enable Open Home Renderer. This is a compelling advantage because you can use (e.g. BubbleUPnP, Linn Kazoo, Linn app…) without a BubbleUPnP server.
Theoretically, Gustard could prepare two versions of the update: one for Roon users and the other for non-Roon but Tidal users, etc.
After all this, I even bought a Munich M1T but eventually returned it because for the same money or even less I will buy a lifetime Roon license and I will not need a separate streamer.
I have the impression that the R26 streamer is designed especially for Roon. Further updates will not bring any improvement other than Tidal connect, maybe memory consumption will be optimized, but I do not expect significant major changes.

That’s a superb and detailed explanation, thank you! Looks like @camrector will have the last laugh on me, I just decided I need Roon

 

[Aeonyx]

My R26 arrived today. Decided to plug it up right away and give it a go. Coming from the SMSL M400, I immediately noticed a bit of a difference. Music sounds a little thicker and less analytical. I decided to give it a go on both Susvara and Expanse. The R26 does something special with Expanse, and it sounds extremely close to Susvara levels of sound quality. Quite impressive so far. I have a U18 sitting next to me, along with SR Purple fuses, but I wanted to test the R26 before adding more stuff into the chain.

Extremely solid build quality too, I really like it. Excited to hear it after a few days of burn-in, if that makes a difference.