[nexgen]

IMO Gustard R26 is the best of the three latest DACs from Gustard X, R & A. For R26, I think you don’t need DDC.
Is your amp Hifiman EF600? Then also consider amp upgrade.

From that what I read for my needs X26 Pro would be best out of three but after listening who knows ??
No no I have old king EF6 like I wrote above. Heavy, powerfull and great amp for me - better for me than iCan Pro so it will stay here.

 

[mRaaghava]

From that what I read for my needs X26 Pro would be best out of three but after listening who knows ??
No no I have old king EF6 like I wrote above. Heavy, powerfull and great amp for me - better for me than iCan Pro so it will stay here.

Okay. I thought it’s EF600

I had auditioned all three DACs with my Soloist GT amp and felt R26 to be a better one. It’s subjective your preference may vary. My headphones were Arya Stealth.

 

[nexgen]

I had auditioned all three DACs with my Soloist GT amp and felt R26 to be a better one. It’s subjective your preference may vary. My headphones were Arya Stealth.

I suspect that whichever one I choose blindly, I will be delighted Gustard makes great equipment at good prices.
I have never listened to any Arya but I have had HE1000se from HiFIMAN for 2 weeks but sent them back. Old Ananda has won in 1:1 comparision for my preferences.

 

[milkdudd]

Opinions differ. I prefer the X26 Pro to the R26. I haven't heard the A26.

If any of you can get a deal on the mostly forgotten about A22 dac I highly recommend giving it a try. Using mine with LOW-d SHOT filter (a must IMO). Also have the U18 connected with i2s and C18 set to square wave. Despite the fact that nearly everyone says use sine wave, my ears say differently. And if you can afford it I suggest solid silver interconnects to your amp

 

[Rantenti]

I have had HE1000se from HiFIMAN for 2 weeks but sent them back. Old Ananda has won in 1:1 comparision for my preferences.

I gather "Old Ananda" refers to the non-stealth version. Will appreciate it if you could share in what aspects it was better than the HEKSe. I've heard good things about the non-stealth Ananda.

 

[nexgen]

I gather "Old Ananda" refers to the non-stealth version. Will appreciate it if you could share in what aspects it was better than the HEKSe. I've heard good things about the non-stealth Ananda.

To be precise I meant Ananda non stealth magnets, silent revision 2 with changed (by manufacturer) earpads and dustproof net on outer side.
In short for me these Ananda have better musicality timbre. Midrange is way more organic, wet, more bodied. HEKse are more thin here, dry, sandy and painfuly detailed in same time - like sand storm. Other case is how headphones presents its directness. With Ananda you have chance to react with music, feel a bit relaxed, nicely pleasured where HEKse push the sound to your head/ears and shouts : shut up and listen to me ! Of course HEKse have better technicalities (superclass) but IMHO not worth the difference in price, not even twice of it.

 

[Rantenti]

To be precise I meant Ananda non stealth magnets, silent revision 2 with changed (by manufacturer) earpads and dustproof net on outer side.
In short for me these Ananda have better musicality timbre. Midrange is way more organic, wet, more bodied. HEKse are more thin here, dry, sandy and painfuly detailed in same time - like sand storm. Other case is how headphones presents its directness. With Ananda you have chance to react with music, feel a bit relaxed, nicely pleasured where HEKse push the sound to your head/ears and shouts : shut up and listen to me ! Of course HEKse have better technicalities (superclass) but IMHO not worth the difference in price, not even twice of it.

Good to hear. Are you using a tube amp for the Ananda?

 

[nexgen]

Good to hear. Are you using a tube amp for the Ananda?

Nope. Previously I have had for long time SMSL SU-9 with iCan Pro with WE 396A tubes but Gustard A20h in comparision had even better body in the sound so I kept this combo instead of mentoned set.

 

[nexgen]

Yesterday arrived Gustard U18 at my home. Gustard answered about that standard HDMI cable is good to connect U18 with my A20h. At first moment I didn't realized about changes much but later I heard more tight bass overall and more prominent but perfectly clear subbas. Over time I found bigger impact on all - for example, the plucking of a guitar or mandolin string is smoking fast, precise and expressive. After listening a while I have reconnected to Shanling H7 and wow what a huge change. Much more clear sound, more lively and soundstage higher all that on ... A20h with U18 Sorry for offtop because here is thread about X26 Pro but for now so much upgrade that I will stay with current configuration. Thank you guys for DDC recommendation

 

[Thetaburn]

Are you able to have multiple inputs plugged in (USB, Toslink, IIS, coax) without hurting the sound quality for the x26pro?
For example, for my old Ares 2 DAC, the instruction manual says do not plug in more than 1 input at a time.

 

[MartinWT]

I haven't tried. Everything comes through the U18 and even that only has a USB input. I am essentially streaming only.

 

[kennyb123]

Are you able to have multiple inputs plugged in (USB, Toslink, IIS, coax) without hurting the sound quality for the x26pro?
For example, for my old Ares 2 DAC, the instruction manual says do not plug in more than 1 input at a time.

In theory, what Auralic espoused would be a good best practice regardless of DAC. In reality though whether one notices a difference depends on a lot of different factor. Letting one’s own ears decide should always trump theory.

 

[milkdudd]

Actually this subject never even crossed my mind until now. I have my C18/U18 connected to my A22 dac (AKM equivalent, more or less) using an i2s cable. For the last year or two I've had my CD player connected to the dac with both coax and AES/EBU cables, toggling back and forth to see if it made a difference. Possible extreme slight edge to the AES. A few minutes ago I removed the coax cable. I'll do some listening with CD player connected and removed to see if I hear a difference. I rarely use the CD player but I'd still like to leave it connected rather than having to reattach it every time. On a side note I have one listen after replacing my Blue Jeans HDMI (for i2s) cable with one from DH Labs. It was on sale for $21 versus the normal $70 so I couldn't resist. I'll report back after I give it a couple of good listens in case anyone is interested

 

[drspeter]

Recently I changed the AC cable feeding my x26 dac from its stock cable to thick (thick as anaconda) silver plated copper cable from Xangsane. Also, I was using a fairly budget friendly USB cable and bought 300$ one from Xangsane as well. It was an impulse buy as 11.11 coupon from Aliexpress was pretty tempting. Anyway, I am pretty happy what I am hearing now as I can hear better dynamics and clarity from the sound, but as I swabbed the both cables at once, I can't tell if this is more by USB or AC cable.

 

[milkdudd]

Recently I changed the AC cable feeding my x26 dac from its stock cable to thick (thick as anaconda) silver plated copper cable from Xangsane. Also, I was using a fairly budget friendly USB cable and bought 300$ one from Xangsane as well. It was an impulse buy as 11.11 coupon from Aliexpress was pretty tempting. Anyway, I am pretty happy what I am hearing now as I can hear better dynamics and clarity from the sound, but as I swabbed the both cables at once, I can't tell if this is more by USB or AC cable.

Not long ago I put purple fuses in my clock, DDC and dac at the same time. Forum members advised me put in one at a time and put 200 hours or so on it and then put the next fuse in and so on so you'll know which made the most difference. Or now that I have a lot of hours on them I could remove them one at a time and figure out which made the most difference. Or I could just enjoy the sound I'm getting and not worry about why or how. That's the path I chose