[Ian Origbo]

Google is your friend. This version (F20 beta) is from Oct 2021 but I believe is the most current. Just click on the attachment in the post and it will download
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...stard-x26pro-firmware-release-f20-beta.27242/

Thanks

 

[christal]

Hello,
I have two amplifiers (Yamaha A-S 2200 and tube single ended amp) and intend to try bi-amping on my Klipsch Forte III speakers, the Yamaha will power the woofers and the tube amp tweeters and midrange. Is it possible (and safe) to use both balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs from the X26 Pro to the both amps, or I have to connect just one amp and then connect the amp to the second amp via pre out RCA jacks?

 

[Jon L]

Is it possible (and safe) to use both balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs from the X26 Pro to the both amps

It's fine as long as you have some way to adjust gain/volume of each amp for the treble/mid and bass outputs match.
It's also important to try your speakers full range with the tube amp and then the Yamaha to make sure the bi-amp setup actually sounds better than one amp, e.g. coherence.

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

***Gustard X26 Pro owners - please read this!***

In addition to my "review" of this DAC on Page 39 - despite this DAC being very good right out of the box, there is a way to make it sound absolutely phenomenal.

The way to do this is to override the DAC's internal oversampling. I don't believe that the full modulation etc. can be overriden (one would probably need a DAC like the Holo Audio May for that) but the results I have been getting are nothing short of spectacular. In order to do this, the DAC needs to be put in the "NOS" mode and the incoming signal needs to be upsampled by external software. I have been using Roon + HQPlayer. My journey has been as folows:

• Roon's upsampling - airier, more separated sound than Gustard's stock tuning, however - less body. Overall a nice change but I felt that I was sacrificing one area slightly in order to get gains in another. I got hooked, though, to the point of no longer using Gustard's internal oversampling.
• HQPlayer (PCM) - game changer. I first experimented with PCM, the elsewhere-recommended Sinc-M and Sinc-L filters (apparently closely resembling what the MScaler does). Sinc-M sounded meaty and tactile, but not airy enough for me. Sinc-L sounded like Roon's upsampling on steroids with the body back. I thought my journey was over until I tried the settings recommended by the developer of the HQPlayer...
• HQPlayer (DSD) - ... namely filters called poly-sinc-gauss-long and poly-sinc-gauss-hires-lp with PCM being converted to DSD. This is the biggest jump in audio quality I have experienced since buying the Gus X26 Pro which I thought was already good enough! Two things seem to be happening here - firstly, the different filters, as per the HQPlayer's manual, are much better at reconstructing depth. In comparison, the stock Gus sounds like the D90 sounded to me when I got the Gus. The change is very obvious and changes the musical experience. Secondly (bear in mind my technical knowledge is limited), either the PCM to DSD conversion changes something (which I don't think it should if it's done right, if anything it adds noise which then needs to be filtered out at very high sampling rates) or, more likely, it allows the DAC to better process the incoming signal (1 bit vs 16 bits). My understanding is that the HQPlayer does the PCM to DSD conversion much better than the DAC would have processed the bits internally, hence making things even easier for the DAC in terms of there being even less processing left for the DAC to do internally (or, put more bluntly, fewer opportunities for the limited processing power of the DAC to mess things up/oversimply things).

The results on my gear (Utopia and HEKse, but actually mostly the former, the extra depth results in the HEKse struggling to keep up now!) are spectacular. The conversion to DSD creates even more depth and the kind of separation that I've previously heard @GoldenOne describe in relation to R2R DACs as instruments having a very specific placement within the soundstage (as opposed to sounding hazy or "floating"). To a small degree I experienced that when I had the Ares II but what I'm hearing now is way better than that. And things despite being just as detailed as before are smoother. Whether it's better reconstruction of transients or simply the fact that the depth results in sounds not being so close to/on top of each other ("wall of sound") - I'm not sure, but the overall effect is sound that is so much more life-like and as such engaging, immersive and addictive (in a good way).

I'm certain that the results will vary depending on what headphones one uses (Utopias are known for their depth) but if you are a Gus X26 Pro owner you owe it to yourself to try the above, especially since HQPlayer can be downloaded for free (with a 30-minutes-per-session time limit)! All I wanted from the software was to get what I was getting from Roon's upsampling but with more body and I ended up getting something that truly transformed my already-very-good DAC into the best musical experience I've ever had.

 

[kennyb123]

The way to do this is to override the DAC's internal oversampling. I don't believe that the full modulation etc. can be overriden (one would probably need a DAC like the Holo Audio May for that) but the results I have been getting are nothing short of spectacular. In order to do this, the DAC needs to be put in the "NOS" mode and the incoming signal needs to be upsampled by external software.

I purchased the x26pro because of this. I use PGGB and the results are spectacular.

When streaming from Roon, I use HQPlayer as well but with PCM upscaling. DSD doesn’t float my boat.

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

I purchased the x26pro because of this. I use PGGB and the results are spectacular.

When streaming from Roon, I use HQPlayer as well but with PCM upscaling. DSD doesn’t float my boat.

I initially found DSD "weird". But now I'm really struggling to go back to PCM, it just sounds more 2-dimensional (relatively speaking) and a little brighter, which initially gives the impression of the sound being more lively, but it's actually tiring and overall I find DSD more life-like, less "plasticky". But, like I've said, my initial impressions were not favourable so I'm sure our perception and the kind of sound we're used to hearing (as well as what headphones we're using) play a big role here.

This is, admittedly, an exaggeration, but now going from PCM to DSD sounds like when I upgraded my Focal Clear to the Utopia.

 

[kennyb123]

This is, admittedly, an exaggeration, but now going from PCM to DSD sounds like when I upgraded my Focal Clear to the Utopia.

You haven’t heard PCM upscaling at its best with HQPlayer. This is why I use PGGB. The improvement can be equivalent to upgrading a better DAC (providing that the associated gear allows the transparency to come through).

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

You haven’t heard PCM upscaling at its best with HQPlayer. This is why I use PGGB. The improvement can be equivalent to upgrading a better DAC (providing that the associated gear allows the transparency to come through).

I must admit I'm struggling to see how this could be even better given the wide choice of filters in the HQPlayer but this hobby has surely taught me not to make assumption and just check it myself, hehe. I'll give it a try if there's a free version, although from what I remember it doesn't work with streaming.

 

[kennyb123]

I must admit I'm struggling to see how this could be even better given the wide choice of filters in the HQPlayer but this hobby has surely taught me not to make assumption and just check it myself, hehe. I'll give it a try if there's a free version, although from what I remember it doesn't work with streaming.

No PGGB doesn’t work with streaming.

Offering many more filters only gives one more choices. PGGB is built around taking one filter as far as it can go. That filter is based on a sampling theory that provides a way to do perfect reconstruction. Perfect isn’t possible given the current technology but PGGB keeps getting closer. If you audition it be sure to choose the highest precision.

A new version is coming that is a lot better. You may want to wait. The new version uses less memory.

 

[taipan254]

I must admit I'm struggling to see how this could be even better given the wide choice of filters in the HQPlayer but this hobby has surely taught me not to make assumption and just check it myself, hehe. I'll give it a try if there's a free version, although from what I remember it doesn't work with streaming.

Hi @Mista Lova Lova ! What is your chain upstream of the x26pro? What are you using as your server? Got a streamer? Using a clock or a Ddc?

Just curious because upsampling does nothing for me but I’m running Hqp off a laptop so no surprise. I’ve been doing my listening through thie audio oracles balanced through a A90 lately. I did buy an ultraRendu powered by Lps 1.2 and heard an improvement w/o ext upsampling but had to travel for holidays the day after I received it. New desktop is a high priority this year.

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

Hi @Mista Lova Lova ! What is your chain upstream of the x26pro? What are you using as your server? Got a streamer? Using a clock or a Ddc?

Just curious because upsampling does nothing for me but I’m running Hqp off a laptop so no surprise. I’ve been doing my listening through thie audio oracles balanced through a A90 lately. I did buy an ultraRendu powered by Lps 1.2 and heard an improvement w/o ext upsampling but had to travel for holidays the day after I received it. New desktop is a high priority this year.

Hey. It's just an A90. Just using USB directly from my PC, nothing fancy. I could hear a difference even on the D90 although to a much, much smaller degree.

What headphones are you using? In my experience the changes are mainly in separation and depth; I'd think that a rather small number of headphones are actually good enough in these categories to make these changes obvious.

 

[taipan254]

Hey. It's just an A90, nothing else. What headphones are you using? In my experience the changes are mainly in separation and depth; I'd think that a rather small number of headphones are actually good enough in these categories to make these changes obvious.

I actually meant what’s upstream of your DAC, meaning what is feeding your DAC? What kind of computer / server? Is the DAC fed directly from computer or server via usb or are you going through a streamer or some other digital to digital converter?

Thanks in advance and apologies for any confusion!

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

I actually meant what’s upstream of your DAC, meaning what is feeding your DAC? What kind of computer / server? Is the DAC fed directly from computer or server via usb or are you going through a streamer or some other digital to digital converter?

Thanks in advance and apologies for any confusion!

Oops, sorry. I'd actually updated my original post but you must have been typing your reply at the same time, hehe.

Just a PC, Tidal to Roon with HQPlayer (if only Qobuz had the same discography... Bloody MQA!), USB to the Gus and XLR to the A90.

 

[taipan254]

Oops, sorry. I'd actually updated my original post but you must have been typing your reply at the same time, hehe.

Just a PC, Tidal to Roon with HQPlayer (if only Qobuz had the same discography... Bloody MQA!), USB to the Gus and XLR to the A90.

Ha! I love this and other forums so I’m always in here.

Got it. That gives me hope that if I upgrade my laptop I’ll be able to hear some differences with upsampling!

I’ve been hard pressed to hear many differences. However upgrades in fuses, power conditioners, and adding a streamer have all yielded improvements.

 

[Mista Lova Lova]

Ha! I love this and other forums so I’m always in here.

Got it. That gives me hope that if I upgrade my laptop I’ll be able to hear some differences with upsampling!

I’ve been hard pressed to hear many differences. However upgrades in fuses, power conditioners, and adding a streamer have all yielded improvements.

Hm, why would a new laptop help with that, assuming that you'd be using the same software and the same settings (unless of course you mean that a new laptop would give you the necessary processing power for more advanced settings)? Upsampling in PCM doesn't require a powerful computer at all and I don't think that a "newer" USB port would make much of a difference.

What headphones are you using?