[GoldenSound]

How on earth can you know of a better implementation?

The Gustard’s test results show U18 is much noisier than SU-6. Yet I will be waiting for a proper test by @GoldenOne to buy.

I have one here currently.

Subjectively I think it's fine but not as good as something like DI20HE/SU6. Handy that it can do 768khz though

I'll do measurements tomorrow and see how it performs objectively.

 

[kumar402]

I have one here currently.

Subjectively I think it's fine but not as good as something like DI20HE/SU6. Handy that it can do 768khz though

I'll do measurements tomorrow and see how it performs objectively.

Thats interesting. I havent heard DI20HE and it can do power regeneration etc but I have compared it against SU-6 and I found Gustard to he an upgrade over it. Infact i wanted SU-6 to perform better then U-18 as it can do buffered I2S that I needed for my Sonnet and Metrum DAC.
But ya we all look for different things in music so such contradiction can happen.

 

[Flm09]

Guys I need help. I have the Draco and someone told me to leave U18 in Gustard mode and toggle the Draco. Would it be mode 7 which will be compatible? Do we have to worry about Pin 19 on the Draco +5 volts? Thanks!

 

[JaMo]

Guys I need help. I have the Draco and someone told me to leave U18 in Gustard mode and toggle the Draco. Would it be mode 7 which will be compatible? Do we have to worry about Pin 19 on the Draco +5 volts? Thanks!

I think it is pin 18 carrying 5V in the Draco. I think You should ask Shenzhenaudio: https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/...oise-clock-synthesizer-dsd512-pcm768khz-xu216

 

[GoldenSound]

Got the measurements done this morning.
The U18 does 'fine' but is beaten in both noise and jitter performance by most other DDCs I've tested including the Pi2AES, KTE SU2, SU6, DI20HE and Gaia

The X18 itself seems to have a slightly bottlenecked I2S input but even so, using a lower jitter DDC such as the KTE SU2 demonstrably reduces jitter in comparison to the U18

https://goldensound.audio/2022/04/07/gustard-u18-ddc-measurements/

 

[kumar402]

Got the measurements done this morning.
The U18 does 'fine' but is beaten in both noise and jitter performance by most other DDCs I've tested including the Pi2AES, KTE SU2, SU6, DI20HE and Gaia

The X18 itself seems to have a slightly bottlenecked I2S input but even so, using a lower jitter DDC such as the KTE SU2 demonstrably reduces jitter in comparison to the U18

https://goldensound.audio/2022/04/07/gustard-u18-ddc-measurements/

Thanks for all the effort you have put in to measure all the well known DDC.

 

[Highfive99]

Got the measurements done this morning.
The U18 does 'fine' but is beaten in both noise and jitter performance by most other DDCs I've tested including the Pi2AES, KTE SU2, SU6, DI20HE and Gaia

Thanks for the efforts. Much appreciated. But is it any surprise that units costing 2 and 3 times the price beat the U18 in numbers testing? Are those better numbers audible in the real world? Do those units give 2 and 3 times the improvement in sound quality over the U18? Sure U18 is bested in numbers but how does it sound in comparison to those much pricier DDC's? Without the privilege of being able to audition the other DDC's, I'd venture to say the U18 is most likely the best value for price. All I know is that it sounds incredible with my X26pro without having to have spent on the higher end for a DDC.

 

[GoldenSound]

Thanks for the efforts. Much appreciated. But is it any surprise that units costing 2 and 3 times the price beat the U18 in numbers testing? Are those better numbers audible in the real world? Do those units give 2 and 3 times the improvement in sound quality over the U18? Sure U18 is bested in numbers but how does it sound in comparison to those much pricier DDC's? Without the privilege of being able to audition the other DDC's, I'd venture to say the U18 is most likely the best value for price. All I know is that it sounds incredible with my X26pro without having to have spent on the higher end for a DDC.

It's not just much pricier DDCs.
Cheaper products like the Pi2AES beat it too

The U18 is a good product. I'm not at all saying it's bad, it isn't.

 

[kumar402]

I have Pi2AES that I can compare with U18. But can only do it on Sunday or later. Pi2AES will be powered by Uptone Ultracaps 1.2 and pi board with Allo Shanti.

 

[GoldenSound]

I have Pi2AES that I can compare with U18. But can only do it on Sunday or later. Pi2AES will be powered by Uptone Ultracaps 1.2 and pi board with Allo Shanti.

One thing that's worth doing with the pi2aes if you're able to is connecting a 5v PSU directly to the 5v pins on the board instead of connecting a 24v supply to the DC input.

This bypasses the onboard switcher and demonstrably improves performance

 

[T 1000]

Got the measurements done this morning.
The U18 does 'fine' but is beaten in both noise and jitter performance by most other DDCs I've tested including the Pi2AES, KTE SU2, SU6, DI20HE and Gaia

The X18 itself seems to have a slightly bottlenecked I2S input but even so, using a lower jitter DDC such as the KTE SU2 demonstrably reduces jitter in comparison to the U18

https://goldensound.audio/2022/04/07/gustard-u18-ddc-measurements/

Thanks for the review.
I appreciate showing flaws, more than constant praise

 

[mantraone]

One thing that's worth doing with the pi2aes if you're able to is connecting a 5v PSU directly to the 5v pins on the board instead of connecting a 24v supply to the DC input.

This bypasses the onboard switcher and demonstrably improves performance

wich is the best DCC with Rockna Wavelight via I2s interface? Did you tested the U18? How do you think about this combination?

 

[GoldenSound]

wich is the best DCC with Rockna Wavelight via I2s interface? Did you tested the U18? How do you think about this combination?

Have a look at this post: https://www.head-fi.org/posts/16904300/

I've posted all the DDCs I've tested there including prices

 

[Highfive99]

It's not just much pricier DDCs.
Cheaper products like the Pi2AES beat it too

The U18 is a good product. I'm not at all saying it's bad, it isn't.

What I found interesting is on the website that you credit for the pic of the U18 internals, there's a user reviewer who states he likes the U18 more than some of the other units you tested and he has owned with better numbers. I think reviews/comparisons like yours should be a combination of objective numbers testing and subjective listening comparisons. I think too many people base product like/dislike decisions based on numbers alone. Personally I think the U18 would be hard to beat in terms sound quality per cost. Thanks again for the time spent on this. 2 thumbs up!

 

[Researcher]

What I found interesting is on the website that you credit for the pic of the U18 internals, there's a user reviewer who states he likes the U18 more than some of the other units you tested and he has owned with better numbers. I think reviews/comparisons like yours should be a combination of objective numbers testing and subjective listening comparisons. I think too many people base product like/dislike decisions based on numbers alone. Personally I think the U18 would be hard to beat in terms sound quality per cost. Thanks again for the time spent on this. 2 thumbs up!

What a proper DDC does is the reduction of noise and jitter. It is clearly seen through measurements that U18 fails at both.