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Gustard X20 DAC
Mar 11, 2016 at 10:19 AM Post #513 of 1,320
My X20-U has arrived at the destination delivery facility.
I called DHL to inquire if I could just pick it up.
 
Apparently it's already on the truck and will be delivered today. Ohhhh Yeeeeeah.
dt880smile.png

 
It sat around for like a week in Hong Kong but once it was released from customs and on the plane, I has barely taken 24 hours to travel half way around the planet. Good job DHL
 
Mar 11, 2016 at 10:25 AM Post #514 of 1,320
mhztweaker said:
  My X20-U has arrived at the destination delivery facility.
I called DHL to inquire if I could just pick it up.
 
Apparently it's already on the truck and will be delivered today. Ohhhh Yeeeeeah.
dt880smile.png

 
It sat around for like a week in Hong Kong but once it was released from customs and on the plane, I has barely taken 24 hours to travel half way around the planet. Good job DHL
Click to expand...

beerchug.gif
.  Good news, you will enjoy it, be aware the sound changes every day, 72 hours with constant music signal and it is still changing.
 
Mar 11, 2016 at 1:57 PM Post #515 of 1,320

 
Look what just landed on the workbench!!!
 
I don't have time to hook it up in my main rig right now...(work and such)
I just connected it to my main office workstation and fed it a PCM stream via a Foobar2000 playlist on repeat to start the burn-in process.
I am shocked at how heavy it is. Nice.
 
Mar 15, 2016 at 1:35 PM Post #517 of 1,320
As I have mentioned before I
 
received my Gustard X20u Monday March 7, I immediately connected it to my system via coax to the oppo 103 and began streaming Tidal it remained that way for 48 hours.  My initial impression was relaxed (no glare or edginess) yet I could hear lots of information.  The next evening the sound had changed enough that relaxed was not my first word, it still presented lots of information but now the tonal scale was tilting up more and some cuts may of had some glare.  Third evening I installed the USB drivers and connected the X20u to my dedicated audio PC (win 10 pro, i7-4790, 8gb ram with dac-up usb port) with AQ jitterbug at PC and modified up tone regen at dac (linear PSU), back to relaxed (maybe because the usb card had not had a signal applied before?). 

Thursday I began some simple mods (Ric Schultz at tweakaudio.com has posted these) to the unit; first was to bypass the fuse by wrapping it in copper foil (you could alternatively use a audiophile fuse), wow transparency was now off the charts, couldn't listen long but this was really nice.  Next day I opened the top and took out the steel bolts and nuts holding the tranny's in place, I then disconnected the Ac lines from the tranny at the IEC, cut off the shrink wrap and twisted the AC wires then reattached them to the IEC.  I did the same for the wires from the tranny to the digital and analog boards, I also added some old cheap damping to the big caps on the analog board (old blu tack, and cork).  I closed the top, put it back and ran a signal for a couple of hours before listening.  That evening I listened for 6 hours, my notes say "I do not think I have ever enjoyed music more than I did tonight". The stage was the widest and deepest it has ever been, transparency was the best ever, dynamics were the best ever, no glare just pure, hi-end analog like sound.  Density of information as I call it; outstanding.  Saturday I did a few more mods which many of you may not want to do since it involves removing the voltage selector switch, PC board soldered to the IEC and direct soldering the tranny wires to the IEC, and eliminating the wire from the front on/off switch to the PC board at the IEC (which is no longer there), so if you want to now turn the unit off you have to unplug it.  The sound took another step up with even more transparency and a slightly bigger stage, though now maybe on a few tracks I was getting a slight bit of glare.

Sunday was my final tweak, so far, I took some 3M5030 emi/rfi absorbing material and applied it in a few places: placed 1 long piece over both transformers, cut a piece to fit between the LED PC board the the digital section, cut a piece to fit behind the usb card attached to the divider wall, cut a 3"x7" piece to go under the digital board, and a few small pieces to cover some small openings between the boards on the dividers.  This was an excellent tweak that took any hint of glare and now gave me that density of information that before only analog could achieve.  By that I mean digital has for a while given me a very solid 3D image in the lead center position, palpable presence as I call it, but images to the back and sides and center even tho they had very distinct position and transparency were more 2d'ish.  With all these mods done I now had the 3'dish effect on the back and side performers.  Their image was distinct in space with great tone and dynamics and body that hereto before was only possible on the better analog set ups.  Listening last evening the X20u has now surpassed the 168 hour mark with signal and I am enjoying music more than ever.  Relaxed, analog like sound with tremendous 3d palpable presence thru the entire stage.  This dac truly loves strings of all types, the attack is there the body and the sustain are the best I have heard.  I also hear things that before blended in with the sound, percussion now has taken on new meaning to me as everything is just clearer and has a dynamic envelop that makes it more real.  This DAC is a bargain at $870 and I suspect it will hang and even embarrass dac's costing many thousands more.  Marty from North Carolina has said his stock unit beat a yggy and Vega.  This modded one will crush a stock X20u.

My old dac was a NAD M51 that I had sounding very good in my system, I even wondered how can the X20 be better.  I bought it because of the very favorable comments on head-fi, and whats best forum (yes you need to read thru a lot of crap) and the fact that I could up-sample redbook to 2x DSD via usb.  I run roon, tidal and HQPlayer on my audio PC with one physically attached HDD.  I never thought this dac would be a paradigm shifter for me.  I am sure there are better dac's, but for how many thousands more?

So to summarize this very long post, sorry.  Stock Gustard is stunning, needs a lot of break in, probably 7 days of continuous signal.  To get the most out of it: 1) bypass the fuse by wrapping it in copper tape, or use a good audiophile fuse and 2) remove the steel bolts and nuts holding tranny and then cut shrink and twist the ac wires from tranny to IEC and digital and analog boards.  Those simple easy to do mods will take your dac to a new level.  The other stuff I did is great as well but requires some soldering skills and things that will void a warranty.  Ric is continuing the mod process well above this level.  Picture above of dac with bolts removed and twisted ac wires.
 
Mar 15, 2016 at 3:36 PM Post #519 of 1,320

@Triplefun Yes I currently up sample all signals to 2xDSD via HQplayer integrated with Roon.  PCM 352/384 sounds very good too, but I find the images a tiny bit more diffuse with PCM and the stage slightly smaller.  2x DSD closer to hi-end analog.  Settings I use on Gustard  (DSD) are 60Khz filter, and auto for clock, for PCM I use Sharp and auto for clock.  Ric really is the guy behind the mod ideas and if needed, everything I did is reversible, tho the pc board at the IEC did have one trace slightly damaged on removal.
 
I expect to try a few other mods that Ric is working on now, I will report on those when done.
 
Mar 15, 2016 at 3:47 PM Post #520 of 1,320
Here's a photo of the dac with the shielding installed, note that almost all of it can easily be removed as the protective backing is still in place.  In upper right is my shield piece over the two tranny's.  Not visible is the 3"x7" (7.5cmx18cm) piece which I slid under the digital PC board.  Center top is the piece I cut to slide nicely under the white ribbon connector to shield the LED board from the digital.  Bottom center see 2  pieces of yellow tape which hold the piece I cut to place behind the USB board.  I forgot I also added some 1/4" (6mm) thick wood under the tranny's to lift them off the chassis I had to cut a apprx. 28mm doughnut hole in the center to accommodate the raised part of the chassis.
 
 
 
 
 

 
Mar 15, 2016 at 5:35 PM Post #523 of 1,320
rdaneel said:
  Thanks for the pics, Quadman, but are you really claiming that you can hear an audible difference in "glare" after putting some EMI shielding in the chassis? 
Click to expand...


I guess I am, saturday after removing the front on/off connection which also removes the dac's ac filtering; on some cuts I felt a bit of hardness, not all just a few.  Since the shielding (sunday) I have not "felt" any hardness, just wonderful analog like sound.  That is apprx 8 hours of listening since shielding.  YMMV 
 
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