[JaMo]

Hi,
I took a quick decision and ordered the new Gustard DCC or USB interface when I heard it was out. I am a fortunate owner of two well working U16's which I find a very-good-value-for-money-performer and not to forget, with the possibility to use with external XO. The U16 uses the regular but very good Accusilicon XO's AS318B and as said, with the possibility to use an external better clock if You have, or are planning to get one. The new U18 uses selected higher spec XO's from the same (Accusilicon) brand and also have a reworked clock synthesizer for the external XO. The U18 also has a well thought through internal galvanic isolation, high performing USB receiver chip XMOS216. So based on my earlier very good experiences I "snatched" one of the very first U18's, I guess. Ordered the 12'th of november and living quite far from China I was almost shocked when the box from China arrived today.

As usual they pack with good protection. I have it put into work, warming up and for burning in for a period of at least two weeks. It is now running on internal XO's and it sounds very good already.

I am using the U18 for the moment replacing my Audio-gd DI20HE, feeding the Audio-gd R7HE Mk2 into my main rig HE7, Master 3 and Master 2's, Quad ESL63+Gradient SW63's. It is a brutal, neutral, revealing rig so it is easy to spot what's going on. Here is a few pictures. To be continued...
/Jan

 

[JaMo]

Well, three hours later this little box has started to give glimts of what it can do. First hour was lacking of bass but now there is a nice balance. The depth isn't that good yet but hey, It's way too early to say how this unit will mature but it is already up to and beyond the U16 performance-wise. I switched over to 10MHz ext XO (Mutec Ref10 SE). Locked on good and works fine. I went back to internal to follow those XO's maturing along with the electronics.

I am absolutely sure this unit will be as good value for the money as the U16 was even if it is about double the money. I also think the USB chip of choice XMOS216 is a much more rigid solution. To be continued..
/Jan

 

[mantraone]

t's a good interface I'm using with Rockna Wavelight DAC via I2S interface and as roon endpoint the SOtM sMS200 Ultra and trought USB to the U18.

2 question for me, did you tried with external MasterClock like C18 o new C18? I verified that for the best performance you need a good I2s cable, the commercial 8K HDMI 2.1 are not enought. I friend give me to test a Wireworld Silver starlight 7 and play very smooth and fluids with a great sense of analogical taste.

Wich cable are you using?

 

[JaMo]

I am using this cable: "Plan 4 for DSD - 0,5 m" https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/4000255873784.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3e274c4duMUWGC . This is a very nice cable, smooth and easy flowing sound.

I am feeding with a piCorePlayer (sw ver.8.0 on RPi4B, inside the Simple Best PSU)(Linux, ALSA)

Yes I have tested the external XO with my REF10 SE120. It works very well but the U18 isn't ready to benefit from it yet. The burn in of all the electronics/XO's got to have its two weeks at least
/Jan

 

[JaMo]

New discoveries.
The display fades when playing and only lights up fully when changing sample rate or when You push the buttons. This is good to save burn hours and degrading the display. By the way, I have replaced the display boards on both my U16's. Another, less good thing is that popping sounds or "pops" is introduced with this U18 with present firmware. The phenomena isn't new at all in this area but I never had any with my U16's. The pops appears sometimes when You go between PCM to DSD and back and occasionally between DSD sample rates. The pops aren't destructive at all but noticeable. I am sure Gustard will address this very soon.
/Jan


Edit. Correction! (13h) The pops appears now only when switching between DSD rates 64,128, 256. No disturbance with changing between PCM-DSD-PCM. We will see if it is a maturing matter or a programming needed. To be continued..
/J

 

[jimmychan]

How is it compared with your DI-20HE?

 

[JaMo]

How is it compared with your DI-20HE?

It is way too early to do that comparison. For the moment around after ~24 h of burn in, the bass is a little over-accentuated and a tiny bit boomy. This will go back and forth and this is normal with this abnormal fluctuation in the first hour/days of the maturing process. However the mid and top is silk smooth and very nice. Right now I am on ext XO (Ref10SE120).

I think the U18 may be a serious contender to other DDC's out there. Also to the DI20HE. The U18 only have USB input for sound when the DI20/HE also has the S/PDIF.
If this XMOS216 input behaves better than what the ESS chip did in the U16, leaving us users/customers with a better experience along with high grade of performance they have got a home run I think. I haven't had any problems with my U16's but I do know people hating it for the instability and giving up, with a: "-Never a Gustard gear again!".
For those, I think it should be wise to reconsider. This unit may look dull but it have already showed me enough to understand that is a serious upgrade from the U16... in almost all parts of the design.

I will continue to report my findings..

/Jan

 

[jimmychan]

This will be a tempting for those owned DI-20HE like me.

 

[JaMo]

This will be a tempting for those owned DI-20HE like me.

Yes, it could be but in theory the HE part (regenerated power supply) in the DI20HE will be hard to compete with. I like over-engineered gears without compromises like in Kingwa's higher gears. Even so, I want to be aware of how good other designer-paths can take the performance.

The U18 is refined in many ways compared to the U16 except chassi, transformer and has much better regulators, more accurate XO's, optimized design based on better components and it is already paying off even if I am only on ~40 hours by now. I am using a filter on the power line (Simple Best Filter, European version, http://www.simplebest-gd.com/lbdypc )

The Sound this morning: - Wider and deeper scene, also placing and separation of instruments was better defined, lower frequencies better defined/focused, and better balanced. The "boomyness" is gone. I still miss some air. Mid is nice but higher frequencies varies from hour to hour with a fluctuation.
I fed it with high quality recordings yesterday and it did an excellent job then (~30hrs).

For the money, I can already recommend it based on what I experienced up to now with it. It is definitely a good step up from the U16. Excellent value for <USD500

I will listen much more this weekend
/Jan

 

[sanvara]

Do you know if it uses the same fuse values as the U16? Just wondering if I bought one if I could use the same the same "audiophile" fuse. It definately made a good difference in sound quality when I swapped fuses.

 

[JaMo]

More than 50 hours now.

Better upper register with some air but now also a little recessed bass. The width and depth, separation is still very good for being these first days. The sound is clear and easy to the ears and shows (flashes) its capabilities now and then. I look very much forward to when the U18 have stabilized and hopefully come to "a blossom" where it can involve me more to the music in a more emotional aspect. It is doing much better than I could expect or hope for, this early in the burn in cycle. A set back-period shouldn't be too surprising. I am playing all kinds of quality music recordings in different formats on this box and it is already very enjoyable and is already also showing high end qualities. This piece of gear show already it has a very high performance standard both on internal and on external XO's.

This may very well be a best buy and a bestseller in its price range. I can absolutely recommend it. If it will reach the highest levels.... -I don't know. Anyway it's a bargain, If You have the need for a quality-DDC and have the budget, go for it.
/Jan

 

[JaMo]

Do you know if it uses the same fuse values as the U16? Just wondering if I bought one if I could use the same the same "audiophile" fuse. It definately made a good difference in sound quality when I swapped fuses.

I am using this U18 stock equipped to have a fair and relevant judgement on/for it. I think the chassis are the same=identical and Your fuses should work fine.

PM me. I can guide You some more./J

 

[cglin222]

So singxer su6 or topping u90 or gustard u18? Any takes or suggestion

 

[JaMo]

I have never heard the SU6 or Topping U90 but the Gustard U18 has "sharper" electronics with unarguable choices of parts to design/build with. Better XO's, EXT XO ability working like a charm with the K2 synthesizer, top notch regulators, 16 core USB receiver chip... I will compare it to Mutec MC3+USB with LPS, DI20HE, and Gustard U16's set to 90/98Mhz which I am very familiar with.

So far function is rock solid on all formats, performance is very good already and the SU6 and the U90 seem to add USD100 to the price. Go for the U18, it's a gem, no doubt.
/Jan

 

[cglin222]

I have never heard the SU6 or Topping U90 but the Gustard U18 has "sharper" electronics with unarguable choices of parts to design/build with. Better XO's, EXT XO ability working like a charm with the K2 synthesizer, top notch regulators, 16 core USB receiver chip... I will compare it to Mutec MC3+USB with LPS, DI20HE, and Gustard U16's set to 90/98Mhz which I am very familiar with.

So far function is rock solid on all formats, performance is very good already and the SU6 and the U90 seem to add USD100 to the price. Go for the U18, it's a gem, no doubt.
/Jan

What do you think about c18, would it improve sound or maybe c16 ? On top of u18 that is