Gustard A26 DAC & Streamer Review

[muslhead]

I like it. But really a bit pricey for a DAC.

But not really for a good measuring, dac+streamer which this is.
Why compare apples and bananas?

 

[IAtaman]

Sorry to be a hard ass, but I feel your description isn't accurate neither. It's not "for the average listener" It's for any listener, and it's not "under normal listening condition", It's under any listening condition. It's not a treshold of audibility neither. It says that you can't hear anything below, but it doesn't say you can hear above.

No no, fair comment, I just stringed together a list of parameters I thought were somewhat relevant to make a point, got no accuracy claim.

Maybe "Threshold of proven inaudibility"

Since the graphs are distortion and noise related, I assumed it was implied it meant Threshold of hearing levels for distortion or noise. It is still not accurate or precise, but maybe good enough as uninterested consumer advice?

 

[PeteL]

No no, fair comment, I just stringed together a list of parameters I thought were somewhat relevant to make a point, got no accuracy claim.


Since the graphs are distortion and noise related, I assumed it was implied it meant Threshold of hearing levels for distortion or noise. It is still not accurate or precise, but maybe good enough as uninterested consumer advice?

I don't know IAtaman, I stand by my point. Treshold of human hearing have been considered forever to be .00002 Pa or 0 dBSPL, we can't just redefine engineering constants. There is no relation with the number set by Amir and the treshold of hearing.

 

[JustJones]

In the Speed reading DAC Audio Measurement thread amirm around the 4:30 mark he also refers to -115dB as " level of transparency threshold".

 

[dogmamann]

Heavily overpriced. Topping e30 should sound the same at the fraction of its price.

 

[PeteL]

Heavily overpriced. Topping e30 should sound the same at the fraction of its price.

But Topping E30 is not a streamer.

 

[voodooless]

But Topping E30 is not a streamer.

Then get a WiiM Mini or Pro. You'll still be off much cheaper and you'll have some EQ possibilities as well.

 

[dogmamann]

But Topping E30 is not a streamer.

Add a wim streamer. Still would cost way less

 

[PeteL]

My question would be, how would that work if I want to stream Tidal to this? I use to have it integrated with my streamer app and remote app

Then get a WiiM Mini or Pro. You'll still be off much cheaper and you'll have some EQ possibilities as well.

Not for me anyway, I already have a E30 and a Bluesound Node 1st gen streamer that I paid the price of a Wimm on the used market.

 

[Kagemusha]

Nice product but at €1500 seems a bit expensive.

Seems to have only RJ45 input, no Wifi in this device ? (or at least I can not find that info)

 

[Snoopy]

But not really for a good measuring, dac+streamer which this is.
Why compare apples and bananas?

The streamer part is about as good as a cheap raspberry pi for less than 100 bucks.
It adds some value for sure and a DAC that should make ASR user's and headfi users happy at the same time

If only simgxer would upgrade their AKM DAC to the new 4499EX chip.

 

[PeteL]

The streamer part is about as good as a cheap raspberry pi for less than 100 bucks.
It adds some value for sure and a DAC that should make ASR user's and headfi users happy at the same time

If only simgxer would upgrade their AKM DAC to the new 4499EX chip.

That may be true, if you are ok with installing and configuring softwares, in the end everybody tells you buy this or that instead , but so far only two streamer DACs have been proven to measure SOTA on all aspects in this site. The Matrix Element at 4399 and this one at 1499. none others... If it is so "overpriced" Why can't competition jump on this and make one for cheap? Should be easy right?

 

[MacCali]

Roon bridge should be fine. For DSD direct mode it needs to be in fixed volume mode anyway.

And it supports the NAA protocol. So great for HQPlayer.

I would always use a pre-amp/headphone amp with R2R volume control anyway instead of the DAC Volume.


A Raspberry pi 4 would probably be better as streamer.

No idea if the XMOS 216 Vs 316 makes much of a difference?

It checks all the audiophile boxes with that powersupply, the big spacious chassis . And it measures well.

I like it. But really a bit pricey for a DAC.

Does the new XMOS 316 make a difference? Maybe wrong, as I’m no expert, but isn’t xmos for usb input only or what the heck is xmos

 

[Deleted member 51584]

Add a wim streamer. Still would cost way less

Frankly, I would have thought most people looking at a streamer/DAC (I bought my first one in 2009) are first looking at the streamer functionality and connectivity, because they are most concerned about how they are going to control it and use their chosen music service. There is little special about budget DACs these days. The Bluesound Node 2i does pretty much everything with a superb app and costs one third of this product. I had a Powernode for about 3 years and was very pleased with it. I can't see the Gustard being a popular choice.

 

[PeteL]

Does the new XMOS 316 make a difference? Maybe wrong, as I’m no expert, but isn’t xmos for usb input only or what the heck is xmos

XMOS is a micro-controller. You can do much more than a USB only Interface, but it will depend how the Designer use it. It just happened to be the Go to solution for USB. 316 vs 216 is just more processing. If it's used only as a USB Interface, it wouldn't make a difference but on a complex project like this, I would think they would use it for Network streaming and control too and that would be the reason to go bigger. Not for performance.

 

[prerich]

"The overall design is professional looking and fits better in a home stereo rack than many desktop products do." This line right here! People complain about the cost, but I've learned that gear also has an aesthetic value...how it looks in a rack, or out in the open. You pay for heavier, machined gear. One person's budget may say $1500 is a bargain...for some it's not about getting the cheapest gear that also measures well. Excellent review @amirm!

 

[VQR]

The streamer part is about as good as a cheap raspberry pi for less than 100 bucks.
It adds some value for sure and a DAC that should make ASR user's and headfi users happy at the same time

The Gustard added cream to my listening experience: compared to a bog standard streamer like the Pi2AES or the (bleh!!!!) Allo Boss 2, the Gustard attacks, liquidates, and beats all over the sub-$1000 competition. Still, the internal digital to analog decoder is inferior to standalones, especially the Chord DAVE + M-Scaler.

-Someone on Ad-fi, probably

 

[Gio]

If it was ROON READY it was very good. Without it....it's just good.

 

[peniku8]

@amirm I have a question and instead of writing a wall of text I illustrated it. I don't quite understand your threshold of hearing line. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[sarumbear]

I don't see the benefit of streamer at that price. You cannot stream music from any of the music distributors like Spotify, Apple Music, etc. but you pay around $1000 extra. Why not buy a top performing Topping or SMSL DAC and an iPad? If gives you way more flexibility than this unit at less price.