[FredA]

Hi again,
First. Thanks @batfier for the firmware-function tables! They have been very useful to not getting lost when trying out this.

Now, monday morning I have about 3,5 days of power on. I started by trying to get a working connection between a PiCorePlayer (Linux) and the U16. I am a loyal PiCore-user. The LMS running on the NAS along with the players works very good. Think I was lucky I guess...the third try got a hit. At that time I still had the 1.61-fw as the U16 was delivered with. I wanted to use HDMI to a R2R-7 and based on @batfier 's listings and other comments here guided me to use the "1.4 IIS PSA"- fw. First hours strange noises appeared some times when changing between formats but after playing 16/44.1 approx 30hrs the oscillators seemed to have settled enough to lock on every tested format (16/44.1, 24/44.1, 24/48, 24/88.2, 24/96, 24/176.4, 24/192, 24/352.8 (could not find any 24/384... I have a few but I they seems to be well hidden...hmm) DSD 64,128).

The sound: I have had a hard time to keep the Accurate firmwares in the R2R-7. Too harsh on my ears on some tracks.. But with this U16 it is not problem any more. Superresolving and nice.. ..And this already after 80hrs. I think this is a very good investment to the audio-chain. I use decent cables but have ordered better ones... But I can live with these ; )

The maturing is ongoing. Imaging and stagesize, positioning of instruments are getting clearer by playinghours.. Bass is coming and going... This is a real pleasure and a joy to experience. A high moment of higher end performance. I sure look forward to the 2 weeks of burned in-performance...

Really good performance for small money, this Gustard U16

/Jan

You bet. The r-7 with v3a shines with it. Hearing the results, I am sure Kingwa tunes his dacs with a state-of-the-art transport. When Bill Evans sounds right, i am happy.

But it’s not just Bill Evans, it’s an overall improvment, pretty much all records sound better.

Wait, you will get a great depth and bass improvment after 200h.

I will try removing the intona from my setup at some point. This could fix the issue with 176 and 192k. Otherwise, the sound sometimes cut when going to 96k, but it’s rare,

 

[FredA]

@BernieB : Depends on how demanding a dac is with timing. You can try deactivating the « high exact » mode, this should help if you use i2s. Any lag with the usb source seems to affect the u16.

 

[BernieB]

@BernieB : Depends on how demanding a dac is with timing. You can try deactivating the « high exact » mode, this should help if you use i2s. Any lag with the usb source seems to affect the u16.

Thx for the tip @FredA , i forgot about that option. I am currently playing music with the new ebay 2.1 HDMI cable i received this morning. No dropouts so far and i enjoy my setup very much. In 100-200 hours i'll have a better idea of the final sound. I have that cable + new usb audio sensibility cable + U16 who are all burning at the same time

 

[FredA]

Thx for the tip @FredA , i forgot about that option. I am currently playing music with the new ebay 2.1 HDMI cable i received this morning. No dropouts so far and i enjoy my setup very much. In 100-200 hours i'll have a better idea of the final sound. I have that cable + new usb audio sensibility cable + U16 who are all burning at the same time

Both cables need over 100 hours. My friend got an impact se and loves it.

 

[DACLadder]

Seems we all have different but somewhat similar problems with the U16. My main issue is 44.1kHz files play with noise immediately after power on. If I first play 96kHz and then all OK with 44.1kHz files going forward. I have a similar issue with 176kHz files where the first attempt may be bad, then try 96kHz (OK), and go back the 176kHz file and all OK. So my daily routine is to play 96kHz files and afterward the U16 performs pretty well.

I would like to try another U16 but do not plan to buy another. I'll wait for the next generation of DDCs which will hopefully function better and be more stable. Interesting that I have a similar stability issue with the older Gustard U12. The first U12 I had would dropout after playing OK for hours and no sound would be heard. I purchased a 2nd U12 and it performed much better in my system.

The big question is, when working correctly, why does the U16 sound so great? Is it all about the clocks? Novel circuit design? ESS vs Xmos USB chip? Combo of all? It may just boil down to the U16 outputs lower jitter compared to its predecessors.

 

[rafabro]

Combo of all?

Definitely!

 

[Chopin75]

Seems we all have different but somewhat similar problems with the U16. My main issue is 44.1kHz files play with noise immediately after power on. If I first play 96kHz and then all OK with 44.1kHz files going forward. I have a similar issue with 176kHz files where the first attempt may be bad, then try 96kHz (OK), and go back the 176kHz file and all OK. So my daily routine is to play 96kHz files and afterward the U16 performs pretty well.

I would like to try another U16 but do not plan to buy another. I'll wait for the next generation of DDCs which will hopefully function better and be more stable. Interesting that I have a similar stability issue with the older Gustard U12. The first U12 I had would dropout after playing OK for hours and no sound would be heard. I purchased a 2nd U12 and it performed much better in my system.

The big question is, when working correctly, why does the U16 sound so great? Is it all about the clocks? Novel circuit design? ESS vs Xmos USB chip? Combo of all? It may just boil down to the U16 outputs lower jitter compared to its predecessors.

Probably the clock matters the most! I recently just started using pink faun USB audio bridge which has a dedicated toco clock. I took out the iFIgalvanic device which reclocks the USB signal because that makes it sound worse! Now I connect my PC to DAC without any galvanic isolation or reclocking. I think the clock closest to the DAC is most important. Placing an inferior clock further down the chain would worsen the sound. So improving the clock on the DDC may be the key.

 

[wwmhf]

My hunch for now is the Clocks used in U16 that play a key role

 

[Thenewguy007]

Probably the clock matters the most!

Never underestimate power supplies either. A separated, beefier power supply will always sound better than any internal small power supply.

 

[Seegs108]

Just got my Gustard U16 today.

I'm having some odd quirks with it though. I have a PS Audio Directstream DAC and want to use the I2S port on the U16. I'm getting a pre-emphasis flag with any PCM signal sent to the Directstream DAC. With DSD I'm getting constant artifacts in the sound such as ticks, pops and what sounds like dynamic compression. When the sound gets loud it seems the dynamic range of the audio is being compressed. Has anyone else experienced these issues? I ordered through Shenzhen Audio. Where can I provide feedback to Gustard? This device is advertised to be compatible with PS Audio's I2S implementation. Unfortunately it seems there are a lot of bugs with this device still. Unless they can resolve them, I might be forced to return this. I have a Singxer SU-1 and it has been flawless with it's Windows 10 drivers and I have no issues with PCM or DSD. The Windows driver for the U16 is very buggy. Doing something as simple as trying to adjust the volume in Windows or pressing the mute button makes the U16 unstable momentarily. No such issues with the Singxer. Here you can see the issue where a pre-emphasis flag is incorrectly being sent:

 

[darren700]

Just got my Gustard U16 today.



I'm having some odd quirks with it though. I have a PS Audio Directstream DAC and want to use the I2S port on the U16. I'm getting a pre-emphasis flag with any PCM signal sent to the Directstream DAC. With DSD I'm getting constant artifacts in the sound such as ticks, pops and what sounds like dynamic compression. When the sound gets loud it seems the dynamic range of the audio is being compressed. Has anyone else experienced these issues? I ordered through Shenzhen Audio. Where can I provide feedback to Gustard? This device is advertised to be compatible with PS Audio's I2S implementation. Unfortunately it seems there are a lot of bugs with this device still. Unless they can resolve them, I might be forced to return this. I have a Singxer SU-1 and it has been flawless with it's Windows 10 drivers and I have no issues with PCM or DSD. The Windows driver for the U16 is very buggy. Doing something as simple as trying to adjust the volume in Windows or pressing the mute button makes the U16 unstable momentarily. No such issues with the Singxer. Here you can see the issue where a pre-emphasis flag is incorrectly being sent:

i would suggest flashing a different firmware. the stock firmware probably isn't correct for PS Audio.
my second U16 that I received from Shenzhen had V1.2, they are up to 1.61 now.
1.4 seems to be the most stable though. Make sure you flash the PSA version for correct output to your DAC.
download them here, instructions included also: https://download.shenzhenaudio.com/Gustard/

 

[Seegs108]

i would suggest flashing a different firmware. the stock firmware probably isn't correct for PS Audio.
my second U16 that I received from Shenzhen had V1.2, they are up to 1.61 now.
1.4 seems to be the most stable though. Make sure you flash the PSA version for correct output to your DAC.
download them here, instructions included also: https://download.shenzhenaudio.com/Gustard/

I've already flashed the 1.4 PSA rom onto the U16 and am still experiencing the same issues.

 

[Seegs108]

Okay, so the issues with DSD seem to be resolved if you use the ASIO output option within Foobar or JRiver. DSD with WASAPI output is totally broken with the U16 and a PS Audio Directstream DAC with the 1.4 PSA ROM and current driver. However, I'm still hearing some problems within Windows. Adjusting the volume and mute within Windows makes the U16 fairly unstable. It seems the Windows driver needs some work and the pre-emphasis flag needs to be removed with PCM signals.

 

[rafabro]

The Windows driver for the U16 is very buggy.

No is not. More likely you have some conflict in your system.

Why you use system to adjust volume? It's the worst possible option. Use amplifier attenuator.

 

[Seegs108]

No is not. More likely you have some conflict in your system.

Why you use system to adjust volume? It's the worst possible option. Use amplifier attenuator.

I'm aware that using Windows volume control is less than ideal, but when you're just browsing the internet it's more than fine to use. I use WASAPI or ASIO output when listening to music. You're also wrong about the driver being buggy. I have it installed on three devices and have the same exact issues on all three devices. I've also tried different USB cables, power cables, and HDMI cables.