[bruiselee]

Hi,

Just purchased the U16, the seller told me the unit had to undergo some "firmware" tweaks due to people complaining of some issues so they could only send out after the 15th of April.

Anyway now that i gotten it, and it is hooked up to Audio GD master 7 via a random HDMI cable.
And installed the 25th Jan 2019 Drivers, are there any settings that i should be aware of to further improve the sound quality?
Everything else is now at default.

 

[Alcophone]

Hi,

Just purchased the U16, the seller told me the unit had to undergo some "firmware" tweaks due to people complaining of some issues so they could only send out after the 15th of April.

Anyway now that i gotten it, and it is hooked up to Audio GD master 7 via a random HDMI cable.
And installed the 25th Jan 2019 Drivers, are there any settings that i should be aware of to further improve the sound quality?
Everything else is now at default.

Can you check which firmware version is installed now?

 

[FredA]

Hi,

Just purchased the U16, the seller told me the unit had to undergo some "firmware" tweaks due to people complaining of some issues so they could only send out after the 15th of April.

Anyway now that i gotten it, and it is hooked up to Audio GD master 7 via a random HDMI cable.
And installed the 25th Jan 2019 Drivers, are there any settings that i should be aware of to further improve the sound quality?
Everything else is now at default.

Mostly, burn the thing for 150 hours.

 

[bruiselee]

How do I check the firmware version

 

[motberg]

How do I check the firmware version

IIRC, when you run the firmware update tool it displays the current firmware on the machine.
I would check to make sure your right and left channels not reversed,
Also, check that the display says PSA (for PSAudio setting).. if not you may need push the (I think left side) button on the front panel or change firmware.
I strongly suggest your HDMI cable to have a length of no more than 0.5M, and try to use as good quality cable as possible.
As Fred mentioned above, important to have a suitable burn-in period... and read through as much of this thread as possible if you didn't already.

 

[DACLadder]

And.... lately have better operational service by leaving the U16's power on 24/7. Not perfect and still get occasional timeout error when switching tracks or 176KHz silence but the issue is usually corrected by restarting the same file's playback. But for the most part these annoyances are much more rare on the warmed U16.

 

[phthora]

Please excuse what may be a very basic question...

What is the preferred way to connect the U16 to a DAC? My long-term goal at the moment is to pair the U16 with the DAC-X26, so I imagine that will be an easy pairing. But, if I can connect it to the Audio-gd 28.38 in the meantime without too much trouble, that would be excellent. I2S seems very confusing, so is there a more plug-and-play option? Thanks.

 

[Albrecht]

Please excuse what may be a very basic question...

What is the preferred way to connect the U16 to a DAC? My long-term goal at the moment is to pair the U16 with the DAC-X26, so I imagine that will be an easy pairing. But, if I can connect it to the Audio-gd 28.38 in the meantime without too much trouble, that would be excellent. I2S seems very confusing, so is there a more plug-and-play option? Thanks.

Hiya, - I think that you would find that there is no universal preference. I think that the primary goal or purpose the U-16 is to convert the USB IF/Signal to something else. In my case, - SOME kind of USB I/F is required because I have an APL Universal player (and a Sonore ultraRendu that outputs USB): the APL spins any 5 1/4" disk as well as has only a SPDIF COAX/RCA input. This interface cannot run DSD. So the job that I need the U-16 to do is much simpler than others who are running DSD, and/or who may have a DAC that specializes in, or does best with I2s signal. I have definitely been reading here about some folks who've been having issues playing DSD files with I2s with the U-16, - but haven't experienced any myself due to the limited nature in which I run the U-16.
Cheers,

 

[rafabro]

I think that the primary goal or purpose the U-16 is to convert the USB IF/Signal to something else.

Generally yes, but I2S will be always primary and preferred if possible to connect as is one conversion of signal less then any other standard.

 

[phthora]

Hiya, - I think that you would find that there is no universal preference. I think that the primary goal or purpose the U-16 is to convert the USB IF/Signal to something else. In my case, - SOME kind of USB I/F is required because I have an APL Universal player (and a Sonore ultraRendu that outputs USB): the APL spins any 5 1/4" disk as well as has only a SPDIF COAX/RCA input. This interface cannot run DSD. So the job that I need the U-16 to do is much simpler than others who are running DSD, and/or who may have a DAC that specializes in, or does best with I2s signal. I have definitely been reading here about some folks who've been having issues playing DSD files with I2s with the U-16, - but haven't experienced any myself due to the limited nature in which I run the U-16.
Cheers,

Thanks for the response! My job for the U16 will likewise be pretty simple, as I listen to almost entirely Red Book FLAC. I was wondering if one type of output was significantly better or worse than the others, and if using SPDIF to the 28.38 in the short-term would be practical.

 

[motberg]

Please excuse what may be a very basic question...

What is the preferred way to connect the U16 to a DAC? My long-term goal at the moment is to pair the U16 with the DAC-X26, so I imagine that will be an easy pairing. But, if I can connect it to the Audio-gd 28.38 in the meantime without too much trouble, that would be excellent. I2S seems very confusing, so is there a more plug-and-play option? Thanks.

It looks like your dac input #3 is optical SPDIF and #4 is coax SPDIF... either of those could work well with redbook but with the Gustard firmware things are not always stable. In either case, in my experience the cable quality will matter, probably more so with the optical, so I suggest getting a decent basic coax SPDIF cable and try that. If you happen to have a very high quality optical cable that may work very well also.

 

[Albrecht]

Generally yes, but I2S will be always primary and preferred if possible to connect as is one conversion of signal less then any other standard.

Hi, respectfully.... it's contingent on the DAC. There are many great DACs (perhaps some of the greatest) out there that never had, nor ever will, have I2s as a working interface. If you couple that with at least some DAC manufacturers having either a poor USB interface implementation, or an USB interface that doesn't have galvanic isolation, or some of the other elements that many have attested to have improved upon the computer's USB bus.... then an external USB to "whatever" Interface becomes an efficient solution. Indeed it's much easier to replace an external device than to modify or replace a DAC. Just my opinion.... I still play SACDs and DVD-As. And, - although I have been fortunate enough to have really upgraded my redbook level computer/digital file playback since 2003: SACDs still sound better on my system than the redbook level AIFF file playback that makes up the vast majority of my listening.... YMMV and all that..... Cheers,

 

[Albrecht]

Thanks for the response! My job for the U16 will likewise be pretty simple, as I listen to almost entirely Red Book FLAC. I was wondering if one type of output was significantly better or worse than the others, and if using SPDIF to the 28.38 in the short-term would be practical.

I can only tell you that the U-16 blows away the M2Tech HiFace, the Matrix2, the Wyrd4Sound, the BelCanto and even the much respected Singxer F-1, - in my system.

That being said, the I2s interface simply doesn't work with hi-rez material for many folks here. So, - in that sense, - the SPDIF COAX output is better. That's not to say that once the Firmware issues get fixed, that hi-rez I2s won't work better.......

Cheers,

 

[phthora]

Generally yes, but I2S will be always primary and preferred if possible to connect as is one conversion of signal less then any other standard.

Can I just get any old HDMI cable, as long as the pinout arrangements match on the two connected pieces of gear? I am assuming they will match between the DAC-X26 and U16.

 

[rafabro]

Can I just get any old HDMI cable, as long as the pinout arrangements match on the two connected pieces of gear? I am assuming they will match between the DAC-X26 and U16.

Absolutely yes. It will work with any hdmi cable. Gustard stuff works on default settings.
Later on you may consider try higher quality cable but no point spend a lot as what I experience I2S connection is not so cable sensitive.