[remoss]

Why not? The R2R7 has normal XLR outputs and the Gustard XLR inputs, so technically is shouldn't be a problem. If it's a match sound wise, i don't know.

 

[bunkbail]

Thanks. I have no experience of separate DACs and amps before and I'm looking for a good combo as my first purchase. What usually people use as amp to connect to these DACs?

 

[remoss]

Well, this dac deserves a good amp. I use the Master 10 from Audio GD and that's a very good match!

 

[mowglycdb]

Maybe this is a stupid question, can the R2R 7 be paired with a Gustard H10 balanced amp? If it can, is it a good idea to pair with it? Can the sound quality be any good?

I'm looking forma the rated input voltage of the XLR input of the Gustard, but I can't find it. R2R 7 has 5v output on XLR

 

[bunkbail]

Well, this dac deserves a good amp. I use the Master 10 from Audio GD and that's a very good match!

I'm new to this, but does the amp affect the sound by that much? I mean, look at the price difference between the Master 10 and the H10. Correct me if I'm wrong, I thought the DAC is the one that produces the nuances of the sound, the amp is just to drive the headphones?

I'm looking forma the rated input voltage of the XLR input of the Gustard, but I can't find it. R2R 7 has 5v output on XLR

Welp, I can't find it either.

 

[remoss]

I'm new to this, but does the amp affect the sound by that much? I mean, look at the price difference between the Master 10 and the H10. Correct me if I'm wrong, I thought the DAC is the one that produces the nuances of the sound, the amp is just to drive the headphones?.

I've used several different amps in my set and they all sound different. But i use mostly loadspeakers.

 

[FredA]

I'm new to this, but does the amp affect the sound by that much? I mean, look at the price difference between the Master 10 and the H10. Correct me if I'm wrong, I thought the DAC is the one that produces the nuances of the sound, the amp is just to drive the headphones?


Welp, I can't find it either.

The master-10 is a speaker amp. If you are considering audio-gd, the best match is a master-9 headphone amp. You should consider running you phones balanced with it to maximise sound quality and power. Then you can consider the nfb-1amp for a third of the cost or so (balanced as well) or the c-2, which don't require you to run you phone balanced (would not give any performance increase if you chose to do so with it).

The h10 seems a very good choice. It is able to handle +21dBu signals, according to amazon.com, which translates to 8.6V, so it's fine with the r2r 7.

 

[bunkbail]

The master-10 is a speaker amp. If you are considering audio-gd, the best match is a master-9 headphone amp. You should consider running you phones balanced with it to maximise sound quality and power. Then you can consider the nfb-1amp for a third of the cost or so (balanced as well) or the c-2, which don't require you to run you phone balanced (would not give any performance increase if you chose to do so with it).

The h10 seems a very good choice. It is able to handle +21dBu signals, according to amazon.com, which translates to 8.6V, so it's fine with the r2r 7.

Exactly the answer I was looking for! Thanks!

 

[drez]

Thanks. I have no experience of separate DACs and amps before and I'm looking for a good combo as my first purchase. What usually people use as amp to connect to these DACs?

I would recommend master 9. It is well regarded in its own right and the two were designed to be used together so there are no impedance matching issues or concerns over synergy etc.

 

[Articnoise]

All audio components needs to be good for ultimate sound quality. An amp has as big impact on sound as a DAC and source. Speakers or headphone is the most importance. Start with select those if you haven’t already done that.

 

[Wynnytsky]

Speakers or headphone is the most importance. Start with select those if you haven’t already done that.

+1
splurge on the things that don't ship well (I can think of speakers and house)

I often thought of a component chain as a balancing act where you didn't want the weakest link to be so weak that it would draw attention to itself.
I also thought of better components of being more critical, and they'd actually do more to expose the weakest link, hence a reason to not splurge in any one area.

I can't say the R2R7 fits that view because so far it's been more of an enabler than anything. I probably would have turned over less gear if this was in my chain years ago (wish I still had the CJ Premier 18LS to try today)
A TEAC DAC gave me a poor opinion of using class D amplification, and in reaction to that I went with a less dynamic A/B amp. Same story with a hyper dynamic Axis USB cable -- TEAC just couldn't make it sound natural. Together that class D and Axis formed the worst combination for the TEAC, and for the R2R7 they've been my best combination. So maybe my take away was that there's little consequence to splurging on the source.

 

[FredA]

+1
splurge on the things that don't ship well (I can think of speakers and house)

I often thought of a component chain as a balancing act where you didn't want the weakest link to be so weak that it would draw attention to itself.
I also thought of better components of being more critical, and they'd actually do more to expose the weakest link, hence a reason to not splurge in any one area.

I can't say the R2R7 fits that view because so far it's been more of an enabler than anything. I probably would have turned over less gear if this was in my chain years ago (wish I still had the CJ Premier 18LS to try today)
A TEAC DAC gave me a poor opinion of using class D amplification, and in reaction to that I went with a less dynamic A/B amp. Same story with a hyper dynamic Axis USB cable -- TEAC just couldn't make it sound natural. Together that class D and Axis formed the worst combination for the TEAC, and for the R2R7 they've been my best combination. So maybe my take away was that there's little consequence to splurging on the source.

Synergy is indeed very important for ultimate sound quality. Trial and error is usually required.

 

[FredA]

Cool down/heat up cycling can help with breaking-in a DAC. I turned off my r2r 7 2 days ago. The bass finally came back tonight (again, there is a price to pay when you turn it off, it takes that long to stabilize). It had not sounded so great lately. Especially the bass (firmware stability issue?). Now it's back on its feet and sounds crisp, tight, smooth, resolved and dynamic. Very coherent from top to bottom. Combined to my speakers, which are without crossover, it's audio nirvana. This dac is phenomenal.

There is a comeback on the r2r 2 on a French forum. Looks like it sounds great. Similar to the r2r 7, it seems, but less resolved. Very dynamic. A nice addition to it is the settings button on the faceplate allowing switching from NOS to OS.

 

[Wynnytsky]

I got fed up forgetting to correct for the channel&phase when switching between spdif and i2s (my box is doesn't have i2s dip switches like the Singxer).
So I decided to give my box a rest and try the amanero. Even though I was exclusively using i2s till now, the usb input is sounding way better than it did 700 hours ago.
It's got better speed, and that's revealing texture and spacial cues all over the place. This thing is the gift that keeps on giving (or taking, if you really value your time).

The stock market and my system just reached another all time high, but I'd wager my R2R7 will hold value better than my stocks

 

[sarang-i]

Cool down/heat up cycling can help with breaking-in a DAC. I turned off my r2r 7 2 days ago. The bass finally came back tonight (again, there is a price to pay when you turn it off, it takes that long to stabilize). It had not sounded so great lately. Especially the bass (firmware stability issue?). Now it's back on its feet and sounds crisp, tight, smooth, resolved and dynamic. Very coherent from top to bottom. Combined to my speakers, which are without crossover, it's audio nirvana. This dac is phenomenal.

There is a comeback on the r2r 2 on a French forum. Looks like it sounds great. Similar to the r2r 7, it seems, but less resolved. Very dynamic. A nice addition to it is the settings button on the faceplate allowing switching from NOS to OS.

Can i ask you to tell me what that forum is and is its address?