Gustard R26 DAC Review (British Audiophile)

[Nikhil]

Tarun always does a thorough job in his reviews and he seems to like what he sees in the Gustard R26 DAC.
The fit and finish on the inside of the R26 is absolutely stellar. Seems like another top offering from Gustard.

Product Link:

GUSTARD R26 R2R Digital to Analog Convertor (DAC) | SHENZHENAUDIO

Product Specifications: Sample Rate Supported by Digital Input Channels: COAX/AES/OPT :PCM 16-24bit/44.1-192kHz; DSD DOP64 USB : PCM 16-32bit/44.1-768kHz DSD DOP64-DOP256 NATIVE DSD: DSD64-DSD512 OS support: Windows 7~11 32/64bit; macOS; Linux IIS: PCM 16-32bit/44.1-768kHz; DSD DOP64-DOP256...

shenzhenaudio.com

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[kib_reddy]

Recently acquired the R26. I can clearly see the clock inside the R26 is of a VERY high quality, far superior to the one in Dinafrips Pontus which I sold to get this. The funny thing is, even connecting the Dinafrips Hermes DDC does not improve the timing/imaging like it does in the Pontus. Guess the clock in the R26 is just that good. The Dac also has the classic R2R thick tone, though I sometime I miss the sharp and clear note of good Delta Sigma chip dacs like the one inside the Denon A110. Sadly the streamer inside the R26 is practically worthless, it needs a external streamer. I use the Mercury Streamer over AES. Somehow AES is at least as good and maybe better when connecting the two with the I2s over HDMI.

 

[Nikhil]

The R2R ladder and Clock looks just superb. Such a clean design.
Speaks volumes about their design capability and manufacturing.

Recently acquired the R26. I can clearly see the clock inside the R26 is of a VERY high quality, far superior to the one in Dinafrips Pontus which I sold to get this. The funny thing is, even connecting the Dinafrips Hermes DDC does not improve the timing/imaging like it does in the Pontus. Guess the clock in the R26 is just that good.

That's impressive. Should be interesting to see what clock has been used in the R26.

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[Nikhil]

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[Yelamanchili manohar]

The R26 seems to be universally praised.

 

[Vandal]

The R26 seems to be universally praised.

Hope so. I just bought one.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Hope so. I just bought one.

Hearty congratulations on your new acquisition....enjoy

 

[Nikhil]

Hope so. I just bought one.

Congratulations! Please share your listening impressions on here.
Did you order direct on Shenzen Audio? Would be interesting to know if you had any problems with importing the DAC.


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[Vandal]

Congratulations! Please share your listening impressions on here.
Did you order direct on Shenzen Audio? Would be interesting to know if you had any problems with importing the DAC.


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Hi Nikhil, I sure will. It's yet to arrive. I ordered it off Amazon but it is from Shenzen.

0 issues. I'm based in Australia BTW.

Was kinda having 2nd thoughts looking at Burson over here. You know, buy something and then double think

DAC arrived. I have set it up. Also purchased an Audioquest USB cable with it, which I am yet to use.

1st impressions were the weight and build quality which is pretty nice. Dial and button on the front are tacky and lack resistance (built to a budget). Sound wise, this is just 8 hours, but I can definitely say that it's not what I expected of R2R DACs, given the other user opinions. Quite a bit of detail, definitely very natural sounding, instruments and vocals sound realistic.

Since this is my 2nd sound rig, it is also be used for gaming definitely helps with positioning and micro sounds are picked up well.

Still early days.

 

[Naturelover]

I can definitely say that it's not what I expected of R2R DACs, given the other user opinions. Quite a bit of detail, definitely very natural sounding, instruments and vocals sound realistic.

This is confusing. What did you expect?

 

[SKR]

Recently acquired the R26. I can clearly see the clock inside the R26 is of a VERY high quality, far superior to the one in Dinafrips Pontus which I sold to get this. The funny thing is, even connecting the Dinafrips Hermes DDC does not improve the timing/imaging like it does in the Pontus. Guess the clock in the R26 is just that good. The Dac also has the classic R2R thick tone, though I sometime I miss the sharp and clear note of good Delta Sigma chip dacs like the one inside the Denon A110. Sadly the streamer inside the R26 is practically worthless, it needs a external streamer. I use the Mercury Streamer over AES. Somehow AES is at least as good and maybe better when connecting the two with the I2s over HDMI.

I agree with your assessment that with R26 you miss clear tone of Delta Sigma chip DAC. Also agree It has a thicker tone compared to Chip DAC. My DAC is still very new.
I just purchased the unit about 25 days back so it may still need few hours to fully burn in. Also got a Gustard 3.15V fuse installed. Not sure if that will make any difference. DACs normally take at least take 200 to 300 hours to fully open up .
But I don’t agree with your assessment of the built in streamer. In my case the LAN inputs using internal streamer is sounding very good.
I have SOTM streamer and Gustard U18 DDC which I am using via I2s to the DAC and using HQPlayer in the loop both while using SOTM streamer and R26 Internal streamer. And in no way internal streamer is lacking anything.
My first experience of an R2R DAC.
I bought based on the very good reviews both by professional reviewers and audiophiles. Hope ultimately I get to hear the music which I am waiting for. It already is sounding very good but I think it needs another 100 hours. Fuse also takes long time to burn in which I installed just 10 days back.