rafabro
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Gustard R26
rafabro
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Expected price tag $ 1,350 excluding duty and VAT
mmwwmm
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Anyone knows if this R26 will have volume control? Maybe with a variable reference voltage supplied to the R2R ladders like the Sonneteer DACs?
And what about a NOS and OS modes?
And what about a NOS and OS modes?
Measurements & Review of Gustard R26 Network R2R DAC
https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/gustard-r26/
mmwwmm
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Does anyone know of any subjective reviews or anyone commenting on its sound?
Highfive99
100+ Head-Fier
Looks like they hit the market. There's a bunch of them on ebay for around $1650 USD.
rdbogdan
Head-Fier
Here's the first comprehensive review on it : https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/...-gustard-r26-discrete-r-2r-ladder-dac-review/
Last edited:
jlemaster1957
1000+ Head-Fier
Here is another one.
Sandu in the Soundnews one says it’s the best R2R DAC he has ever heard, Tharbamar in this one is a bit less glowing but still comes to a similar conclusion. He does state you cannot use the Ethernet jack to stream Roon, which begs the question “what is it there for”? It seems that this one will compete with the Denafrips Pontus II?
BBG2012
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Different, VERY encouraging, but too soon to tell. . . .
Just took delivery of R26. Some first, very prelim impressions.
Starting in a main rig (not my desktop - to follow later): Krell 320e, PSAudio BHK Sig Pre, Wilson bookshelf's, Roon Nucleus
Prior and A/B dac's - Bryston, Oppo Sonica, Esoteric, SMSL m400 AKM chip
Unboxing - weighty and well built unit just from feel of it. good finish work, screws, feet, etc. very solid. like it.
Agree that front aesthetics more akin to 90's set-top box rather than serious piece of audio gear. Prefer X26Pro casework. Not my 'look' but bought it for go, not show.
Display and menu are. . . . .bad. Highest brightness, 8, barely visible in well lit or sunny room. And its OLED - good contrast but more limited brightness.
Menu font is needlessly small and compressed - crazy difficult to read. And why with all that screen real estate?! Big miss, Gustard.
You'll need a 5-year surgical residency at Johns Hopkins - toggling and selecting menu items is micro-surgery.
Lettering just so small and jammed (crammed) into ridiculously small area. For what?
Scroll wheel is not my pref either - too sensitive, lacks traction, and awkward spinning small wheel w finger . . . just not an easy, tactile nav tool.
Powering up - my US shipped unit arrived set to 220 so be sure to reset two/both power switches in rear to 110 if US.
I'll pause here to say, despite a very unfriendly user interface, things get more interesting when we hit play
But first, getting connected.
Downloaded GR26 Owner Manual and boy is it minimal. Tells you nothing about getting connected to network, Roon, USB devices. . . . .or pluto and St. Louis for that matter.
Your flying solo on connectivity matters.
Fortunately Roon will eventually find the R26, or at least that was my 'whew' experience.
Running Roon nucleus. Connected R26 via LAN to Nucleus. Nucleus didn't see the R26 when searching for devices after multiple tries and toggles, so rebooted Nucleus and Roon, waited and waited, and finally Roon found the Gustard R26.
Have no idea what others were saying about what works and not in NOS, DSD - just tried and failed w menu setting enough times until, voila, music.
And here it does get damn interesting.
Note this is out of box, stone cold, R2R music play so take my early impressions w a grain of salt until I have the 100-200 burn in hrs in rear view mirror.
And, just as important, hear how it plays with other audio gear.
All that said, first listening impressions tell me this is an entirely different piece of gear from my chip dacs. And not subtly so.
My chip dacs can be very detailed, articulate, and dynamic. Soundstage can be fairly expansive (depending on gear). Sometimes they can even be 'musical' re. flow and timbre. . . . . until I hear the R26. Mind you, out of the box.
There is just soooo much musical info being pumped out. Top end, crazy detailed and articulate. Mid is still congested. And at first all sounded thin w little bottom end.
Then I switched to music w more bass end. . . . and the bass lept out at me. Again, not (hopefully yet) as articulate as I would want, but the R26 can definitely do bass.
I realize I'm burying the headline just now getting to what makes this unit so 'promising'. I'm no pro reviewer but I'll try to describe what I'm hearing bc it is quite special.
First is the amazing separation and detail of notes, vocals, instruments - you start (need that burn in) to hear an amazing amount and separation of musical info. Top to bottom, side to side. Some is scary 'from nowhere' clear, detailed, never heard it before. Top end definitely not rolled off as some suggest w R2R - this is a detail monster, same as the reviewer said. Just as important, that detail has no sharp, glassy, glaring edges. Just massive amounts of musical info. What I'm waiting for from burn in is to hear this info flow more freely - for now it feels like the R26 is trying to push too much info through too small a pipe. If that makes any sense. Waiting for a wider pipe from dac to speakers.
Second is what I think most of us are looking for from an R2R - analog, tube-like air and decay around the notes. Out of box I'm definitely hearing early hints of that floaty 'air'. Just hoping after burn in that will come on even more. Will even say that after listening now for ~3hrs. I'm confident this piece of kit will deliver just what I was looking for. And at a great price too. Pontus II? Haven't heard it so no clue how they(or any other R2R) compare. And, of course, system matching, your room, and your music are huge variables too.
So, long note on first impressions but I too was scouring internet and youtube for reviews other than the 2 we've all seen. One thing I will totally agree with from these reviews, this dac is a detail monster. I can't imagine it leaving any 1's or 0's on the disc.
I'll try to write more, if nobody is minding the long-winded notes, after burn-in.
Day one - buyer's remorse or grin?
100% grin so far. Had no Idea my dac's were leaving so much music behind on the disc.
Yeah, Gustard R26 is the real deal.
YRMV
Just took delivery of R26. Some first, very prelim impressions.
Starting in a main rig (not my desktop - to follow later): Krell 320e, PSAudio BHK Sig Pre, Wilson bookshelf's, Roon Nucleus
Prior and A/B dac's - Bryston, Oppo Sonica, Esoteric, SMSL m400 AKM chip
Unboxing - weighty and well built unit just from feel of it. good finish work, screws, feet, etc. very solid. like it.
Agree that front aesthetics more akin to 90's set-top box rather than serious piece of audio gear. Prefer X26Pro casework. Not my 'look' but bought it for go, not show.
Display and menu are. . . . .bad. Highest brightness, 8, barely visible in well lit or sunny room. And its OLED - good contrast but more limited brightness.
Menu font is needlessly small and compressed - crazy difficult to read. And why with all that screen real estate?! Big miss, Gustard.
You'll need a 5-year surgical residency at Johns Hopkins - toggling and selecting menu items is micro-surgery.
Lettering just so small and jammed (crammed) into ridiculously small area. For what?
Scroll wheel is not my pref either - too sensitive, lacks traction, and awkward spinning small wheel w finger . . . just not an easy, tactile nav tool.
Powering up - my US shipped unit arrived set to 220 so be sure to reset two/both power switches in rear to 110 if US.
I'll pause here to say, despite a very unfriendly user interface, things get more interesting when we hit play
But first, getting connected.
Downloaded GR26 Owner Manual and boy is it minimal. Tells you nothing about getting connected to network, Roon, USB devices. . . . .or pluto and St. Louis for that matter.
Your flying solo on connectivity matters.
Fortunately Roon will eventually find the R26, or at least that was my 'whew' experience.
Running Roon nucleus. Connected R26 via LAN to Nucleus. Nucleus didn't see the R26 when searching for devices after multiple tries and toggles, so rebooted Nucleus and Roon, waited and waited, and finally Roon found the Gustard R26.
Have no idea what others were saying about what works and not in NOS, DSD - just tried and failed w menu setting enough times until, voila, music.
And here it does get damn interesting.
Note this is out of box, stone cold, R2R music play so take my early impressions w a grain of salt until I have the 100-200 burn in hrs in rear view mirror.
And, just as important, hear how it plays with other audio gear.
All that said, first listening impressions tell me this is an entirely different piece of gear from my chip dacs. And not subtly so.
My chip dacs can be very detailed, articulate, and dynamic. Soundstage can be fairly expansive (depending on gear). Sometimes they can even be 'musical' re. flow and timbre. . . . . until I hear the R26. Mind you, out of the box.
There is just soooo much musical info being pumped out. Top end, crazy detailed and articulate. Mid is still congested. And at first all sounded thin w little bottom end.
Then I switched to music w more bass end. . . . and the bass lept out at me. Again, not (hopefully yet) as articulate as I would want, but the R26 can definitely do bass.
I realize I'm burying the headline just now getting to what makes this unit so 'promising'. I'm no pro reviewer but I'll try to describe what I'm hearing bc it is quite special.
First is the amazing separation and detail of notes, vocals, instruments - you start (need that burn in) to hear an amazing amount and separation of musical info. Top to bottom, side to side. Some is scary 'from nowhere' clear, detailed, never heard it before. Top end definitely not rolled off as some suggest w R2R - this is a detail monster, same as the reviewer said. Just as important, that detail has no sharp, glassy, glaring edges. Just massive amounts of musical info. What I'm waiting for from burn in is to hear this info flow more freely - for now it feels like the R26 is trying to push too much info through too small a pipe. If that makes any sense. Waiting for a wider pipe from dac to speakers.
Second is what I think most of us are looking for from an R2R - analog, tube-like air and decay around the notes. Out of box I'm definitely hearing early hints of that floaty 'air'. Just hoping after burn in that will come on even more. Will even say that after listening now for ~3hrs. I'm confident this piece of kit will deliver just what I was looking for. And at a great price too. Pontus II? Haven't heard it so no clue how they(or any other R2R) compare. And, of course, system matching, your room, and your music are huge variables too.
So, long note on first impressions but I too was scouring internet and youtube for reviews other than the 2 we've all seen. One thing I will totally agree with from these reviews, this dac is a detail monster. I can't imagine it leaving any 1's or 0's on the disc.
I'll try to write more, if nobody is minding the long-winded notes, after burn-in.
Day one - buyer's remorse or grin?
100% grin so far. Had no Idea my dac's were leaving so much music behind on the disc.
Yeah, Gustard R26 is the real deal.
YRMV
rdbogdan
Head-Fier
Check the other thread much bigger and with more info for the dac, https://www.head-fi.org/threads/gus...bit-dual-native-decoding-music-bridge.963630/
BBG2012
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posted same impressions on both sites
BBG2012
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Gustard R26 - Day 7 impressions. All music over LAN from Roon Nucleus (the streamer+dac combo alone makes this a tremendous value prop)
~7days 24/7 burn-in. Bass tightened, upper end and mids opened up a bit.
So, whats special? Bass, detail/articulation, soundstage, coherence, no chip dac glare/heat.
very punchy and tight bass. my other dacs not even close. went very low with my Krell/Wilson combo, less so with Dynaudio powered desktops (no surprise).
sometimes the bass 'punchiness' too forward and gets in way of rest of music.
extraordinarily detailed and articulate - you just hear everything high and low. everything. quite amazing coming from an R2R - no compromise here and, in fact, more than my chip dacs. go figure.
despite extraordinary detail retrieval, nothing etched or hot. and nothing sounds rolled off on upper end. you hear amazing upper end detail, but without glare, etch, and heat.
one surprising property is the R26's ability to spotlight an instrument or lead vocal, without burying or leaving anything else behind.
soundstage width is leaps beyond my Bryston, SMSL, Oppo, Esoteric dacs. esp. in desktop, near-field rig (Dynaudio Excite X14A - just extraordinary near-field speakers).
exactly what I was hoping for in an R2R vs chip dac.
lovely 'flow' to music - everything just melds and pours out from speakers beautifully though, again, punchy bass can be a bit pronounced.
wanted to say somewhat slow pacing/PRAT, but listening to more music it's definitely not slow. trying hard to avoid that 'organic' word.
one quality I was hoping for was more 'air and decay' around notes but not hearing it (yet?) w Gustard R26. amazing separation and articulation but not so much floaty air. YRMV
Hands down my best dac experience to date
gotta say, for me and my systems, this is one of those 'shake your head in amazement' experiences. been collecting and upgrading hifi gear for 25+ years and this is one of the very few gear changes that makes as much difference as I hoped for. tamed one of my hotter main rigs - Krell 302E w PSA BHK Sig preamp. Next rotation will be in Ayre MX-R monos w ARC pre and Wilsons.
again, first R2R dac so no A/B w Pontus, other R2Rs. . . but doesn't matter. so satisfied with what I'm hearing, not caring about what I'm missing.
easy decision - selling off my other dacs and buying another Gustard R26. done.
as always, YRMV
p.s. anyone saying or thinking R2Rs give up detail for coherent flow and soundstage hasn't heard the R26
~7days 24/7 burn-in. Bass tightened, upper end and mids opened up a bit.
So, whats special? Bass, detail/articulation, soundstage, coherence, no chip dac glare/heat.
very punchy and tight bass. my other dacs not even close. went very low with my Krell/Wilson combo, less so with Dynaudio powered desktops (no surprise).
sometimes the bass 'punchiness' too forward and gets in way of rest of music.
extraordinarily detailed and articulate - you just hear everything high and low. everything. quite amazing coming from an R2R - no compromise here and, in fact, more than my chip dacs. go figure.
despite extraordinary detail retrieval, nothing etched or hot. and nothing sounds rolled off on upper end. you hear amazing upper end detail, but without glare, etch, and heat.
one surprising property is the R26's ability to spotlight an instrument or lead vocal, without burying or leaving anything else behind.
soundstage width is leaps beyond my Bryston, SMSL, Oppo, Esoteric dacs. esp. in desktop, near-field rig (Dynaudio Excite X14A - just extraordinary near-field speakers).
exactly what I was hoping for in an R2R vs chip dac.
lovely 'flow' to music - everything just melds and pours out from speakers beautifully though, again, punchy bass can be a bit pronounced.
wanted to say somewhat slow pacing/PRAT, but listening to more music it's definitely not slow. trying hard to avoid that 'organic' word.
one quality I was hoping for was more 'air and decay' around notes but not hearing it (yet?) w Gustard R26. amazing separation and articulation but not so much floaty air. YRMV
Hands down my best dac experience to date
gotta say, for me and my systems, this is one of those 'shake your head in amazement' experiences. been collecting and upgrading hifi gear for 25+ years and this is one of the very few gear changes that makes as much difference as I hoped for. tamed one of my hotter main rigs - Krell 302E w PSA BHK Sig preamp. Next rotation will be in Ayre MX-R monos w ARC pre and Wilsons.
again, first R2R dac so no A/B w Pontus, other R2Rs. . . but doesn't matter. so satisfied with what I'm hearing, not caring about what I'm missing.
easy decision - selling off my other dacs and buying another Gustard R26. done.
as always, YRMV
p.s. anyone saying or thinking R2Rs give up detail for coherent flow and soundstage hasn't heard the R26
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