Building a stack, the technical perspective

[zalayetadk]

The starting point, a dac and power amp.
The power amp is not for discussion here.

But, from a technical/measurable perspective will there be any benefits from adding extra devices into the stack.

-First choice, an example,
If you buy the Gustard x18 dac, xlr out 5V
Will there be any benefits of adding the
Gustard P26 Discrete Class A Balanced, xlr out up to 19V

-Second choice,
Adding the
Master clock C18
And what will the potential benefits be?

-Third choice,
The U18 digital interface, I know this is sensitive topic,
But from a very technical perspective, if there is any noice/distortion coming from your computer/phone, will the U18 in theory be able to reduce that? Or is this just marketing?

This is not about value for money, I interested in learning about the technical side..

Thanks in advance

 

[Keith_W]

1. XLR out up to 19V?!? Surely that would blow up the input stage of the power amp? In any case, preamp output voltage should be matched to the input sensitivity of the power amp. If you don't match it properly, either you will not have enough gain, or you won't have enough granularity (i.e. very small turns of the volume knob result in huge changes in volume).

2. Adding a master clock benefits the manufacturer and your power utility company, but not you.

3. Digital interface's only benefit is to allow you to use multiple digital sources, for e.g. if you want to run a digital signal from your TV via HDMI through your main system. I note that the U18 digital interface lacks a HDMI input, and I am not sure whether it can switch between those other inputs. So, YMMV. It may range from very useful to completely useless. It will not make any appreciable benefit to your sound.

 

[Dunring]

I have a Gustard x16 and a U18 currently. If you want a real world answer, both aren't audibly different than just the X16 which handles USB really well. I tested it with sensitive IEMs and higher end headphones like the Ananda stealth.
Technically, it might benefit someone with noisy USB ports or grounding issues and optical wasn't an option for some reason. The U18 is redundant if you have good USB ports, even for my desktop I added a Febsmart 2 port PCIE card and works great for $14. Wish I could report it does something magical, but in blind, volume matched testing I couldn't tell the difference between it and just the X16 alone.