[mocenigo]

   
What you described is one of reasons for a group of people against up-sampling. 

Technically, converting PCM to DSD is not proper up-sampling - yes the sampling frequency increases but you also move from a resolution depth of 16 or 24 bits to just one bit. The DSD formats may have better bass but there is less effective resolution in the high frequencies and therefore you are just throwing out some information (at least in cases like redbook to DSD64 tor 24/96 to DSD64 and DSD128). Whether this loss is audible and whether it offsets the other advantages of DSD is another matter entirely and I do not want to get involved in this religion war here and now
 
 Roberto

 

[Fabio Lovato]

 
Do you own it? In that case I should pay you a visit next time I come to Italy
 
 Roberto

 
I'm sorry... forgot.
This is studio recording in Padua, you are welcome. www.queenpeppers.com

 

[Fabio Lovato]

[color=rgb(33, 33, 33)] Adventures in I2S... the the saga. :-)[/color]

 
 
Continue test under your advice but without success.
Tried as suggested MINORISUKE (MCLK should not be connected) but nothing.
 
Chose to concentrate efforts only on Raspberry PI 2 because I hope there more support about this.
 
As soon as possible i send a picture of device wires connection.
 
Thanks a lot of your support.

 

[MINORISUKE]

 

[color=rgb(33, 33, 33)] Adventures in I2S... the the saga. :-)[/color]

 
 
Continue test under your advice but without success.
Tried as suggested MINORISUKE (MCLK should not be connected) but nothing.
 
Chose to concentrate efforts only on Raspberry PI 2 because I hope there more support about this.
 
As soon as possible i send a picture of device wires connection.
 
Thanks a lot of your support.

How about No.18 5V?
[DAC-X20] https://img.alicdn.com/imgextra/i2/125808208/TB2Ay6TcXXXXXXCXXXXXXXXXXXX-125808208.jpg
[Audio-gd HDMI Output kit] http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/diy/I2Skits/I2SEN.htm

 

[chrispiyux]

Hi Guys,

I'm always very happy with my X20 .

I'm wondering if some of you already tried to change the X20's feet ?

I'm looking for good black feet not too expensive, do you have some advice ?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Quadman]

Ah virgin poster, I have read most of this thread and this dac intrigues me.  I am not a head phone listener at home.  I currently run Roon, with HQplayer to up-sample to 24/176 or 192 depending on filter used (my dac NAD M51 does not support DSD) and in the past three weeks I added Audio Fidelizer (free to plus and then pro).  I am surprised in the whole thread no one mentions Roon or HQplayer or Audio Fidelizer.  Because this DAC can do DSD via USB up to DSD 128 and the consensus seems to be that it is an excellent dac bettering many that cost up to $4K, I am seriously considering buying it.
 
HQplayer is widely regarded as the gold standard in up sampling software programs, my thought is to up sample redbook PCM to 2xDSD and send that to the Gustad X20u via USB from my dedicated windows audio computer thru AQ jitterbug and Uptone regen;  Audio Fidelizer removes any digititis (digital glare) and greatly expands the sound stage and separation between performers.  This combination seems to compliment the X20 strengths and may help cover it's few weaknesses.
 
Has anyone tried up sampling with HQplayer and/or using audio fidelizer with this DAC?  I have not tried foobar and it is not a consideration as it does not integrate with Roon like HQplayer does.
 
Be well

 

[Triplefun]

  Ah virgin poster, I have read most of this thread and this dac intrigues me.  I am not a head phone listener at home.  I currently run Roon, with HQplayer to up-sample to 24/176 or 192 depending on filter used (my dac NAD M51 does not support DSD) and in the past three weeks I added Audio Fidelizer (free to plus and then pro).  I am surprised in the whole thread no one mentions Roon or HQplayer or Audio Fidelizer.  Because this DAC can do DSD via USB up to DSD 128 and the consensus seems to be that it is an excellent dac bettering many that cost up to $4K, I am seriously considering buying it.
 
HQplayer is widely regarded as the gold standard in up sampling software programs, my thought is to up sample redbook PCM to 2xDSD and send that to the Gustad X20u via USB from my dedicated windows audio computer thru AQ jitterbug and Uptone regen;  Audio Fidelizer removes any digititis (digital glare) and greatly expands the sound stage and separation between performers.  This combination seems to compliment the X20 strengths and may help cover it's few weaknesses.
 
Has anyone tried up sampling with HQplayer and/or using audio fidelizer with this DAC?  I have not tried foobar and it is not a consideration as it does not integrate with Roon like HQplayer does.
 
Be well

 
Rather than an x20u have you thought of getting the x20 and something like the u12 for support of iis over HDMI and dsd256.

 

[mocenigo]

  This is incorrect.

So DSD256 works on a vanilla X20U? I haven't tried, I guess I can always upsample something and try.
 
 Roberto

 

[BrainFood]

Regrettably, I ended up returning my X20 to the seller. Why?  Mainly because there wasn't enough treble energy. My very cheap Sabre 9023 dongle (U2 Sabre Async) has noticeably more top end and, in comparison, the X20 seemed defective. Maybe Gustard's QC was lacking because the sound was too thick and grainy, losing vital leading edges and becoming boring as a consequence. The X20's has been described on these pages as 'Sabre done right, without the typical glare' but mine went further than just lack of glare.
 
Less important but still annoying was that I could not get the modified Luckit U12 2.23 driver (that's been floating around for a while) to enable Kernal Streaming in Server 2012R2 (GUI). It would install okay as an asio driver but no KS. Same thing with m2tech latest 3.26, which I modified myself. The drivers posted in this thread earlier do indeed support KS in 2012R2 but do not enable changing of latency (less latency is good for SQ).
 
Finally, the 'forced' quality, although diminished with a dual pc set up, would still sometimes be apparent, depending on material.
 
Anyhow, I will miss interacting with others on this thread. I might give Gustard another try in the future but my confidence in their products has been dented.

 

[MINORISUKE]

 
So DSD256 works on a vanilla X20U? I haven't tried, I guess I can always upsample something and try.
 
 Roberto

 

 

[mocenigo]

That is using an ASIO driver under Windows? The stock Core Audio driver on the Mac does not support it because it needs DOP and must piggyback a 768khz PCM format to do it. What would be the best way to get DSD256 to the X20(U) from a Mac?

 

[Quadman]

@Triplefun, No I did not consider the stock, no usb X20 and the U12.  I was under the impression that the u12 was a potential bottleneck (weak point) in the chain.  Several posters talked about a Tanly but I can find very little on it.  I have been into usb audio for over 2 years now and I guess that is where my mindset is.  Should I not go in the Gustard direction then the Auralic Vega would be my go to Dac.  If the U12 is not a bottleneck then I certainly would entertain adding a u12 to the chain.
 
@MINORISUKE That looks like dsd256 thru USB, what driver were you using to achieve that?  Interesting.
 
@BrainFood That is very unfortunate about your unit, that does seem to be an anomaly based on posters here and other forums, by chance you didn't run any test tone thru your dac and read the output with a spectrum analyzer app, which are available for smartphones to verify rolloff did you?  Obviously some part or chip failed on your unit.

 

[Wynnytsky]

 
 
Quote:

  Several posters talked about a Tanly but I can find very little on it.

 
Check out what Tanly sent me this morning



 
new power section, and the USB port is now in the back, $487 shipped
Tanly said people are doing DSD256 with the X20 over I2S.  I would be happy with DSD128.  At some point DSD up-sampling will be more expensive than vinyl when you consider the amount of space each track is occupying on the SSD.
 
I PM'd @stuart to find out his long-term impressions on his Tanly
 

 

What computer+os+player did that?

 

[Quadman]

@Wynnytsky thanks for the info, worth considering.

 

[Quadman]

Okay let me ask what is probably a stupid question, most computers have HDMI out, mine does, could you run HDMI out of PC to I2S in on the X20? And if so could you them stream up to 512 DSD.