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

[Starks094]

No doubt a matter of preference but do most lean towards using the NOS setting or keeping it off?

 

[camrector]

No doubt a matter of preference but do most lean towards using the NOS setting or keeping it off?

Preference really. NOS is a must if using HQplayer.
Out of the stock settings I found the mid filter sounded the best on my system

 

[BShaw]

No doubt a matter of preference but do most lean towards using the NOS setting or keeping it off?

I don't use HQPlayer or DSD, and I definitely prefer NOS-disabled. It's cleaner to my ears. I know there's a purist idea that oversampling is bad because it's adding more processing but......we're already processing digital information, so more frequent samples is better in my world.

 

[xedarius]

Hello all,

I have been slowly readying through the 565 pages of posts since I go my R26 and I'm finally at the end! Feel like I know you all

I have been really enjoying the R26 and have recently started using HQPlayer, brings another dimension of enjoyment. I have a question though.

I have been trying out DSD, I'm fairly sure the R26 can to DSD512, but I only seem able to convince the R26 to do DSD256.

My current setup is a PC running HQPlayer streaming over a LAN to the R26 (through an FMC).

If I look at the log file of HQPlayer I see the rates that are queried from the NAA runnng on the R26, they are;

  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 2822400/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 3072000/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 5644800/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 6144000/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 11289600/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 12288000/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 22579200/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 24576000/1/2 [dsd]

The final two rates being the DSD512 rates. I initially considered that DSD512 rates might not be available over LAN, so I tried USB and the rates weren't available via USB either.

My question is, what do you need to do to make it work?

Oh second question is, I notice that HQPlayer have just released an update to the NAA player, can that be upgraded by hand or do I need to wait for Gustard to package it up into a release?

Thanks again for all of your collective wisdom and hello!

Thanks
Rich

 

[camrector]

Hello all,

I have been slowly readying through the 565 pages of posts since I go my R26 and I'm finally at the end! Feel like I know you all

I have been really enjoying the R26 and have recently started using HQPlayer, brings another dimension of enjoyment. I have a question though.

I have been trying out DSD, I'm fairly sure the R26 can to DSD512, but I only seem able to convince the R26 to do DSD256.

My current setup is a PC running HQPlayer streaming over a LAN to the R26 (through an FMC).

If I look at the log file of HQPlayer I see the rates that are queried from the NAA runnng on the R26, they are;

  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 2822400/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 3072000/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 5644800/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 6144000/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 11289600/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 12288000/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 22579200/1/2 [dsd]
  2024/02/29 17:14:22 NAA output network format: 24576000/1/2 [dsd]

The final two rates being the DSD512 rates. I initially considered that DSD512 rates might not be available over LAN, so I tried USB and the rates weren't available via USB either.

My question is, what do you need to do to make it work?

Oh second question is, I notice that HQPlayer have just released an update to the NAA player, can that be upgraded by hand or do I need to wait for Gustard to package it up into a release?

Thanks again for all of your collective wisdom and hello!

Thanks
Rich

Are you sending the DSD over Dop?
If so that’s the issue.
R26 has no issue doing Dsd512 (upsampled or native)

 

[xedarius]

Are you sending the DSD over Dop?
If so that’s the issue.
R26 has no issue doing Dsd512 (upsampled or native)

Thank you muchly that is exactly what I had done. I ticked DoP as it seemed to reduce the bandwidth over my network, I assumed some sort of alternative serialisation. I'll have to check exactly what that does, I did have a scan through the manual but didn't see it mentioned.

Thanks again.

 

[camrector]

Easiest way to explain it is that the DoP packs the DSD into a PCM folder that adds to the size of the signal.

 

[xedarius]

Thought I'd mention something that might be useful to others.

I bought a PI5 to see what was possible from HQPlayer embeded. It's very capable in the PCM doman, it can handle the majority of filters, including some of the more heavy filters like Sinc-L and poly-sinc-ext3 at 786k. It can't handle sinc-long that still requires a lot more grunt. DSD on the PI5 isn't an option.

If you're hapy to live in the PCM domain (which sounds great on the R26) and are looking for a low-power home for HQPlayer it's a pretty good option.

Cheers
Rich

 

[camrector]

Thought I'd mention something that might be useful to others.

I bought a PI5 to see what was possible from HQPlayer embeded. It's very capable in the PCM doman, it can handle the majority of filters, including some of the more heavy filters like Sinc-L and poly-sinc-ext3 at 786k. It can't handle sinc-long that still requires a lot more grunt. DSD on the PI5 isn't an option.

If you're hapy to live in the PCM domain (which sounds great on the R26) and are looking for a low-power home for HQPlayer it's a pretty good option.

Cheers
Rich

Make sure you are in DSD direct mode and have NOS turned on with the R26.
Otherwise the R26 converts DSD to PCM once it hits the dac.

 

[xedarius]

Make sure you are in DSD direct mode and have NOS turned on with the R26.
Otherwise the R26 converts DSD to PCM once it hits the dac.

Was a good call, all my voracious clicking trying to attain DSD512 I had disabled Direct DSD.

I can now spend sone time trying to understand the difference in the sound between DSD and PCM

Thanks again

 

[Buckminster]

Make sure you are in DSD direct mode and have NOS turned on with the R26.
Otherwise the R26 converts DSD to PCM once it hits the dac.

If I may offer a slightly different take, listening to DSD with DSD Direct off is one of my preferred ways to listen. As always, it feels like A Tale Of Two Sample Rates with the R26, with 44.1 and 48 tracks offering different experiences. As with my tribulations with an external clock, I notice hardly any difference with DSD Direct on or off with 48k material, and, as many here would attest, a wild hiss with DSD Direct ON with 44.1. I therefore just leave DSD Direct OFF, since it hardly matters to my ears with 48k stuff, and you sacrifice a little DSD magic on 44.1, but gain a black background, and can still enjoy an alternative to PCM. I really like the AMSDM7EC 512+fs modulator and find it presents the music with a certain texture and timbre that I just can't recreate in PCM mode, even with the same filter. I've also tried just converting everything to 48k but on my machine it stutters quite a bit.

 

[camrector]

If I may offer a slightly different take, listening to DSD with DSD Direct off is one of my preferred ways to listen. As always, it feels like A Tale Of Two Sample Rates with the R26, with 44.1 and 48 tracks offering different experiences. As with my tribulations with an external clock, I notice hardly any difference with DSD Direct on or off with 48k material, and, as many here would attest, a wild hiss with DSD Direct ON with 44.1. I therefore just leave DSD Direct OFF, since it hardly matters to my ears with 48k stuff, and you sacrifice a little DSD magic on 44.1, but gain a black background, and can still enjoy an alternative to PCM. I really like the AMSDM7EC 512+fs modulator and find it presents the music with a certain texture and timbre that I just can't recreate in PCM mode, even with the same filter. I've also tried just converting everything to 48k but on my machine it stutters quite a bit.

Ok but your not listening to DSD then
You are listening to PCM
The reason it sounds better is because it’s using the pcm R2R ladder and not the 1bit DSD dac

When DSD direct is off your DSD is converted to PCM by the R26

 

[Buckminster]

Ok but your not listening to DSD then
You are listening to PCM
The reason it sounds better is because it’s using the pcm R2R ladder and not the 1bit DSD dac

When DSD direct is off your DSD is converted to PCM by the R26

Totally, not debating you there, I just find the DSD Direct hiss to be unbearable and to me this salvages some of the R26's utility. Again, I detect no difference between DSD on or off with 48k stuff that I could pick out blind 10 times out of 10, so from a listener enjoyment point of view, this is a compromise I'm happy with as opposed to just never listening to any DSD tracks or DSD processing in HQPlayer.

 

[camrector]

Totally, not debating you there, I just find the DSD Direct hiss to be unbearable and to me this salvages some of the R26's utility. Again, I detect no difference between DSD on or off with 48k stuff that I could pick out blind 10 times out of 10, so from a listener enjoyment point of view, this is a compromise I'm happy with as opposed to just never listening to any DSD tracks or DSD processing in HQPlayer.

Totally can understand that. I went the other way and traded into the A26.

 

[Jake2]

@xedarius & @Buckminster If you haven't yet you should try Sinc-Mx + LNS15 on PCM768, been enjoying it as my PCM setting of late. After being on poly-sinc-gauss-long per Jussi default for some time.