GUSTARD DAC-R26 Balanced Decoder R2R+1Bit Dual Native Decoding Music Bridge
Apr 6, 2023 at 8:27 AM Post #5,401 of 9,447
I’ve seen many recommending a 3.15A fuse, but can I use a 2A SR purple fuse on my gustard r26?
3.15A is recommended because that is the value of the fuse that came with the device. No problem using a 2A fuse except that it may blow because it is over 1A less than recommended. Is that chance worth $200 to you? I'd get the right value fuse not worry about blowing $200 on a fuse that wasn't really the right value.
 
Apr 6, 2023 at 8:30 AM Post #5,402 of 9,447
Most of us agree that as a stand-alone device, the R26 performs the best when it is fed by its LAN port.
However, as I reported a few months ago, in my system, I get the best results with its I2S port when it is fed by an AGD DI-20HE that is associated to my external GentooPlayer/Diretta streaming setup (as it appears in my signature).
With the I2S port of the DI-20HE, the streamed sound is limited to PCM 384 kHz. Yet, the result more refined than with the DSD512 that I can stream to the LAN port of the R26.

Last week, I sent the DI-20 to my retailer for maintenance, and I’ve been listening with the internal streamer of the R26.
Today, I decided to try the I2S port of the R26 with a PI2AES that I keep in the closet. (In this GentooPlayer/Diretta streaming setup, the PI2AES simply replaces the Allo USBridge Sig, the iFi iGalvanic 3, and the AGD DI-20HE that appear in my signature.)

And I managed to beat the LAN port of the R26 again. Though the PI2AES is limited to PCM 192 kHz, its sound is more refined with small details that are lost with the LAN input of the R26, though I stream DSD512 to it.
To optimize the PI2AES in my system, I power its HAT, and the RBi3 with separate LPSs. The HAT is powered by a KECES P8, and the RBi3 is powered by an Allo Shanti.

I2S using a Rpi3B+ with Allo Isolator board and Allo Kali reclocker HAT is something that I have been wanting to try out since getting the R26
I have always thought that the simplest quality path for digital information to be processed, is the sound file fed via USB (HDD, SSD or SDcard) on a Rpi3 SBC with a good Linear power supply, or Lipo battery is my preferred option. Battery supply again for the Isolator board (7v) then an LPS (Allo Shanti) to the Allo Kali reclocker. Unfortunately, I was sent the wrong 44/48 Mhz Kali board for Sigma Delta DACs and not the 24/22Mhz one required for R2R. No stock of the correct board has been available since late last year...... maybe next month! But I'm not surprised I2S has done well and will sound as good if not better than Lan, the shortest possible cable runs can be optimised from the Rpi3 header to the I2S to the R26, or the use of an I2S to HDMI adaptor (which I have purchased and want to compare). As soon as I have the correct Kali board then I'll report back. I have to say that I still get annoying dropouts at the beginnings of tracks when using any of the controller apps including Jplay. The R26 seems to have a buffer problem, especially when shifting to higher res 96k files. PCM 768Mhz files play great though, but I've only a handful of those in native format!
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Apr 6, 2023 at 8:34 AM Post #5,403 of 9,447
3.15A is recommended because that is the value of the fuse that came with the device. No problem using a 2A fuse except that it may blow because it is over 1A less than recommended. Is that chance worth $200 to you? I'd get the right value fuse not worry about blowing $200 on a fuse that wasn't really the right value.
My R26 had a 2.5A fuse fitted, bought late last year. I was sceptical about changing the fuse to gain sound quality but had a 3A fuse in my 'stock' supplies so popped it in and was pleasantly surprised in the improvement, slightly better clarity and dynamics, the R26 must be sensitive to the extra current delivery via the increase in fuse size.

So........ on this fuse journey, I just tried a branded good quality 'non audiophile' 3.15A fuse and sound quality seems to get better still, more micro detail in the background and slightly more immersive. Mmmmm, I might try a home made solid silver wire (1mm gauge) replacement just to hear the difference, but I have to get used to to the latest 3.15A tweak first, which generally, takes days of listening.

From experience, I know taking out the fuse from a mains power cable to power amps and shorting with 2.5mm copper can really get better dynamics from your power amps. This is old school stuff from decades ago. In the UK, one of the only countries to fuse the mains lead, which incidentally only protects the mains lead and not the kit as the piece of equipment will have its own fuse. Taking out this unnecessary fuse for sensitive kit will reap benefits, especially for power amps which need as much current delivery as possible for the best transient response, i.e more punch in the dynamics.

Just to make it clear to anyone wanting to tweak fuses, putting in a solid silver larger gauge wire in the fuse for the R26 will place the DAC at risk to any mains surges and can be detrimental for it's health.........as using larger gauge wire isn't going to be acting as a fuse anymore just a bypass connection, but some of us need to know if it makes a difference.
 
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Apr 6, 2023 at 8:51 AM Post #5,404 of 9,447
R26 owner here. A few questions.

First My chain is:

Minidsp (roon endpoint with room correction)
denafrips hermes ddc
R26
Pre amp
Amp

I swapped my pontus II for the R26 and enjoying the increase in performance.

I am now down the rabbit hole on master clocks and passively starting to look at fiber isolation.

Question: regarding the lhy SW 10. Interesting unit...looking to cover a lot bases in one chassis. It is my understanding lhy removed thier performance figures due to "inaccuracies". What is the consensus here on the lhy clocks/switches ...still a strong bump in performance or now a black box due to the rumours of sub 100db performance found in the field?

I was looking at SW 10 and oct-2 at one point but now wondering if a c18 is more a sure thing?

I see the afterdark units look good, a bit more $ to get 110db plus phase noise results.

Last, does anyone have an opinion if I should be replacing my Hermes ddc with u18 if I purchased an upgraded ext master clock? Ie. Would u18 clocked with c18 (or Oct 2), be better than Hermes ddc?

Thanks in advance for any insights.
Some thoughtful advice from @m-i-c-k-e-y and @shogo33 as per usual.

I'm discovering there's many quite valid alternative paths to a great digital audio setup/chain.

I can vouch for the OCK-2, it's quality. There's a consideration or two re OCK-2 vs SW-10. It's late here, will elaborate tomorrow.

One qn in the meantime, I presume you pass s/pdif from the SHD Studio(?) to the Hermes, correct? I have the Flex Digital but it's been sidelined for a bit.
 
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Apr 6, 2023 at 11:33 AM Post #5,405 of 9,447
Some thoughtful advice from @m-i-c-k-e-y and @shogo33 as per usual.

I'm discovering there's many quite valid alternative paths to a great digital audio setup/chain.

I can vouch for the OCK-2, it's quality. There's a consideration or two re OCK-2 vs SW-10. It's late here, will elaborate tomorrow.

One qn in the meantime, I presume you pass s/pdif from the SHD Studio(?) to the Hermes, correct? I have the Flex Digital but it's been sidelined for a bit.
Thank you for the response. I look forward to your further insights as well.

This is my chain:

MiniDSP SHD Studio (Running Roon + Dirac)-> SPDIF -> Hermes DDC -> i2S -> R26 ->Balanced - > Benchmark HPA4 -> Balanced -> 2x Monoblock Burson Timekeeper 3x GT (30W of Class A sold me) -> Dynaudio Heritage Special.

To answer your question. Yes. I use a Blue Jeans SPDIF cable to Hermes. Thought about trying AES (?), but the SPDIF seems to work well.

Mini DSP maxes out at 96khz, not sure if i am missing out on more resolution - that i would notice - but have this in a smaller office in which the Dirac is a lifesaver for my room modes. I can't see me pulling it out of the chain unless something more hi res comes out. I have lots of room treatment but still need need help on low end. I truley believe DSP is most underrated tweak (tied with room treatment) part of this hobby. A ton of time energy goes into how x amp sounds, etc....DSP users can have a level of control over these aspects without needing to turn as much gear to find thier nirvana. Anyway...i got on a tangent!

Let me know further thoughts on Master Clock. I am shopping for that extra 5% like the rest of us damaged souls. I agree with the previous poster that a 10K master clock is the way to go vs. getting to locked into Denafrips Word clock frequencies. There is part of me that just wants to buy Teminator II 12th and slave the hemres with clock cables and be done with it, but the R26 could be already in that league and possibly can I squeeze more with + decent 10K clock, and a few other tweaks - don't know.

Last- It kind of feels odd to pay more a master clock than my DAC though. I was looking at Afterdark G options.... prob thinking LHY/C18. It goes to show how much of a bargain the R26 is.
 
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Apr 6, 2023 at 2:21 PM Post #5,406 of 9,447
@rodthebod ,

Last year, I tried during several days, the Allo Kali I2S reclocker with my PI2AES, and a Pegasus DAC. The Kali improved the sound of the PI2AES, but there were some stability issues, because the two electronic boards were not designed to work together.
With the Kali you get a very good value for price. Audiophonics has Kali reclockers in stock (the prices in the link include the 20% French VAT):

https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/search?search_query=allo+kali

However, even with the PI2AES (and Kali), I always stream in a LAN. In the test that I reported, the PI2AES was the endpoint of my streaming setup, and was connected to the R26 through I2S. By the way, I continued testing the PI2AES with the same setup. The sound with the AES and optical ports of the R26 was also very good.

Today, I received my Audio-GD DI-20HE back, and I'm listening again with the setup of my signature. The DI-20HE offers a slightly better sound.
 
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Apr 6, 2023 at 5:02 PM Post #5,408 of 9,447
@Dandoudou Is your OCK-1 connected in square to the R26 ? and with what type of coax ?
It is connected to the R26 with a Sine Waves output, and the Gustard C2 cable.
 
Apr 6, 2023 at 7:32 PM Post #5,409 of 9,447
Thank you for the response. I look forward to your further insights as well.

This is my chain:

MiniDSP SHD Studio (Running Roon + Dirac)-> SPDIF -> Hermes DDC -> i2S -> R26 ->Balanced - > Benchmark HPA4 -> Balanced -> 2x Monoblock Burson Timekeeper 3x GT (30W of Class A sold me) -> Dynaudio Heritage Special.
Suggesting before you proceed to try the FMC mod first. Not an expensive experiment. Will give Roon better room for improvement (from SPDIF connection) and for you, more options for playback.
 
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Apr 6, 2023 at 8:51 PM Post #5,410 of 9,447
Thank you for the response. I look forward to your further insights as well.

This is my chain:

MiniDSP SHD Studio (Running Roon + Dirac)-> SPDIF -> Hermes DDC -> i2S -> R26 ->Balanced - > Benchmark HPA4 -> Balanced -> 2x Monoblock Burson Timekeeper 3x GT (30W of Class A sold me) -> Dynaudio Heritage Special.

To answer your question. Yes. I use a Blue Jeans SPDIF cable to Hermes. Thought about trying AES (?), but the SPDIF seems to work well.

Mini DSP maxes out at 96khz, not sure if i am missing out on more resolution - that i would notice - but have this in a smaller office in which the Dirac is a lifesaver for my room modes. I can't see me pulling it out of the chain unless something more hi res comes out. I have lots of room treatment but still need need help on low end. I truley believe DSP is most underrated tweak (tied with room treatment) part of this hobby. A ton of time energy goes into how x amp sounds, etc....DSP users can have a level of control over these aspects without needing to turn as much gear to find thier nirvana. Anyway...i got on a tangent!

Let me know further thoughts on Master Clock. I am shopping for that extra 5% like the rest of us damaged souls. I agree with the previous poster that a 10K master clock is the way to go vs. getting to locked into Denafrips Word clock frequencies. There is part of me that just wants to buy Teminator II 12th and slave the hemres with clock cables and be done with it, but the R26 could be already in that league and possibly can I squeeze more with + decent 10K clock, and a few other tweaks - don't know.

Last- It kind of feels odd to pay more a master clock than my DAC though. I was looking at Afterdark G options.... prob thinking LHY/C18. It goes to show how much of a bargain the R26 is.

External clocks generally - agree with @m-i-c-k-e-y that 10mhz is way more versatile in terms of compatibility. It’s the way I’ve gone and would advocate. But it’d be remiss not to mention the benefit of the Denafrips approach is the clock signal doesn’t need to be re-synthesised by the DAC or DDC to multiples of 44.1 or 48khz which introduces jitter. That said the Gustard K2 clock synthesiser is by all accounts excellent, keeping any additional jitter/phase noise to a minimum. There’s a couple of guys on the Master Clock thread with other Gustard *26 DACs (which share the K2 with the R26) with USD4-6k clocks which they seem super happy with. So the *26 DACs, incl the R26, can scale… a lot.

LHY clocks vs AfterDark, Cybershaft or Gustard’s C18 - with the latter three you get certainty re measured phase noise and pay accordingly for it, with the former you get the savings of LHY not having to invest in the equipment and time to do phase noise measurements of all units, but have to rely on user reports alone but still are at risk of unit-to-unit variation. For the record a single OCK-1 was measured by John Swenson of Uptone and found to be well below the claimed phase noise spec after which LHY chose to remove their claimed phase noise specs for all models, there’s been no independent phase noise measurements of an OCK-2 yet that I’m aware of. There were some plots of the square wave signals for the OCK-1 which were a bit messy, and some really clean sine and square plots for the OCK-2. There seems to be quite a bit of anecdotal evidence that low offset (1-10hz) phase noise alone isn’t the sole determinant of master clock sound quality as there’s some R26 users with Leo Bodnar GPS clocks (with phase noise specs a good 10db worse than that OCK-1 unit’s measured PN) that they rave about. Ditto re folk like me and others with the OCK-1 - for most of us it’s been a really satisfying lift in the R26’s sound, better dynamics, a calmer sound and expanded soundstage depth. For me the OCK-2, which I got after having the OCK-1 for 6 months when temptation/curiousity got the better of me, takes the resolution, refinement and dynamics up a couple of notches.

Re the OCK-2 user reviews there have been several folk with the Mutec Ref10 SE (a $6k clock) who were really impressed by the OCK-2, the Ref10 was still clearly better, but they found the performance the OCK-2 delivered at a sub $1k pricepoint which was previously unheard of. From memory there’s a guy with a standard Ref10 who prefers the OCK-2 and below is a chap who had the Gustard C18 as well - you can see which one he prefers. Long story short - you cannot go wrong with the OCK-2 as you’d have to spend a lot to better it.

I hear guys here asking about comparison between Gustard C18 and LHY OCK-2, I had both and now that I have sold my C18 I can voice out my opinion. I guess it is not hard to know that I prefer the OCK-2. I use Gustard U18 and X26 Pro, the OCK-2 performs better than C18 on my system. The soundstage is more open, more details and for a much cheaper price. I sold my C18 for a price higher than the brand new price of OCK-2, leaving some money for other upgrades.

OCK-2 vs SW10. A bit of a tough one. Alvin from Beatechnik indicated to another member over email that the SW10’s oscillator is better than the OCK-2. But then it only has one output which is a square wave. So with the SW10 you’re limited if in future you had more devices that take clock input. You could use a splitter like the one Cybershaft makes but they don’t guarantee it will work equally well for other brands’ gear, and it will still be solely square wave. I find the R26 performs better with the sine wave output of the OCK-1 and OCK-2, irrespective of cables used and I’ve tried a few. There’s a few possible reasons for this - the quality of the sine-square converter in the LHY clocks, or the quality/characteristics of the clock receiving circuit in the R26. Running from memory most R26 clock users prefer sine , so this point more than any other gave me pause with the SW10 which I was tempted by, as I have the SW8 so know how good their switches are. Oh and it’s far more expensive than the OCK-2 (you can get the latter for ~USD600 on AliX, whereas the SW10 is still only available from Beatechnik for USD1350. Otherwise the SW10 looks a beast with its inbuilt high quality switch, FMCs and clock. Ideal solution - get both it and the OCK-2, try both, keep the one you prefer and sell the other. The risk is you’ll like both and have to keep both!

Room equalisation, time alignment of DIRAC - I can empathise with your desire to retain these benefits. At present I do my critical AB listening in a near field position, takes most of the room acoustics out of play in my 6 x 7m room, as back in my usual listening position room acoustics obscure a fair bit of detail, especially soundstaging. In recent times I’ve been single-mindedly pursuing purity of the digital signal path which has been an eye-opener, then will look at equalisation - and crossovers for my sidelined subs - after this. I’ve not managed to insert the Flex Digital into the chain without it impacting the quality quite a bit vs the R26 LAN - but appreciate the SHD is a different beast. One suggestion is unless you’re also using the SHD’s digital crossover functionality you could explore the alternative of time alignment via convolution filters in Roon or HQP - @camrector is the guru here. See his earlier posts. Then you could explore how well the R26 can play fed more direct signals via different inputs (incl LAN) and upscaling - I use HQP DSD512 or PCM768, more the latter of late, which is to my ears clearly better than even DSD256 or PCM384. That said some prefer NOS with no external upscaling, sometimes I do too.

If you’re after the last 5% you really must try quality signal grounding like Quartz Acoustics too - tis quite an eye opener attaching one to the R26. I could go on but this is already a novel, sorry!

Finally I second @M-i-c-k-ey ‘s suggestion to try FMCs as first step - though from recent experience I’d also strongly recommend the iFi LAN iSilencer - damn impressive and much cleaner form factor wise. I added two into my LHY SW-8 based setup and each gave it a really good lift.
 
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Apr 6, 2023 at 11:13 PM Post #5,412 of 9,447


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.
Couldn't agree with you more on the Expanse & R26 magic. I have pretty much the same gear: Susvara, Expanse & Ferrum Stack. The synergy between these components is out of this world. SR Purple fuse was a great addition to the R26. I ditched my U18 & Ext Clock to my ears it made the timbre sound less lifelike. Leaving this for you when you install the fuse. The "S" should be installed so it's positioned on the bottom vertically with the "R" towards the top of the unit.

Screen Shot 2022-12-30 at 8.22.43 PM.png
 
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Apr 6, 2023 at 11:42 PM Post #5,413 of 9,447
Most of us agree that as a stand-alone device, the R26 performs the best when it is fed by its LAN port.
However, as I reported a few months ago, in my system, I get the best results with its I2S port when it is fed by an AGD DI-20HE that is associated to my external GentooPlayer/Diretta streaming setup (as it appears in my signature).
With the I2S port of the DI-20HE, the streamed sound is limited to PCM 384 kHz. Yet, the result more refined than with the DSD512 that I can stream to the LAN port of the R26.

Last week, I sent the DI-20 to my retailer for maintenance, and I’ve been listening with the internal streamer of the R26.
Today, I decided to try the I2S port of the R26 with a PI2AES that I keep in the closet. (In this GentooPlayer/Diretta streaming setup, the PI2AES simply replaces the Allo USBridge Sig, the iFi iGalvanic 3, and the AGD DI-20HE that appear in my signature.)

And I managed to beat the LAN port of the R26 again. Though the PI2AES is limited to PCM 192 kHz, its sound is more refined with small details that are lost with the LAN input of the R26, though I stream DSD512 to it.
To optimize the PI2AES in my system, I power its HAT, and the RBi3 with separate LPSs. The HAT is powered by a KECES P8, and the RBi3 is powered by an Allo Shanti.

@Dandoudou Appreciate you're quite a fan of Diretta (I need to look into it properly) - I see this was just released by Afterdark... looks right up your street, incl an option with an ext clock input..

https://www.adark.co/products/afterdark-project-clayx-rosanna-diretta-network-bridge
 
Apr 7, 2023 at 1:47 AM Post #5,414 of 9,447
Hello,
@rafrif
Even via Usb with the Ipad only 16/44.1 come to the R26 via Tidal.
The R26 also only displays 44.1, unfortunately no bit depth.
If you want to upsample you would have to use another app where it can be set.

@OhHeyItsLou
The picture is okay for understanding the basic principle.
However, you should still measure it with the multimeter first, so you know for sure how it is actually connected and where neutral and hot are.
You can always swap the cables or install the socket rotated 180 degrees.
Then hot and neutral would be on the opposite side.
And the fuse with the running direction could blow.
This should be taken into account.
Manufacturers or those who assemble it can also make mistakes.
 
Apr 7, 2023 at 2:36 AM Post #5,415 of 9,447
@rodthebod ,

Last year, I tried during several days, the Allo Kali I2S reclocker with my PI2AES, and a Pegasus DAC. The Kali improved the sound of the PI2AES, but there were some stability issues, because the two electronic boards were not designed to work together.
With the Kali you get a very good value for price. Audiophonics has Kali reclockers in stock (the prices in the link include the 20% French VAT):

https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/search?search_query=allo+kali

However, even with the PI2AES (and Kali), I always stream in a LAN. In the test that I reported, the PI2AES was the endpoint of my streaming setup, and was connected to the R26 through I2S. By the way, I continued testing the PI2AES with the same setup. The sound with the AES and optical ports of the R26 was also very good.

Today, I received my Audio-GD DI-20HE back, and I'm listening again with the setup of my signature. The DI-20HE offers a slightly better sound.
If only they were in stock, I purchase from Audiophonics as I'm residing in the EU, if you look you will see that there is a note below the shopping cart selector 'incoming stock 25th May - 1 June'. Last year it stated incoming stock from around April so lead times are getting longer.

I would be using the Kali with a Rpi3B+ with the Allo Isolator board separately powered below the Kali reclocker as intended by the designer, which should help the sound out and not cause issues. As with all things in music reproduction power supply is everything....well almost everything playing with the type of LPS or battery usually reaps good results.

Could you elaborate on how the DI-20HE gives slightly better sound?
 

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