This is a review and detailed measurements of the just announced Gustard X16 Balanced USB DAC with hardware decoding. It was kindly sent to me for testing by SHENZHENAUDIO. The X16 costs US $499.
The X16 is based on the new ESS ES9068AS DAC which has built-in hardware decoding of MQA bitstream. Until now, this was performed upstream of the DAC but now the functionality is core to the DAC chip itself.
The X16 has a solid feel to it but doesn't distinguish itself from other desktop DACs:
While a remote control is provided, navigation is easy enough using the rotary control and center button. I like the informative display but as with other Gustard products, I question showing the volume level in such tiny letters. It needs to be center and large with the sample rate shown small.
Back panel shows the usual connection including Bluetooth:
Like the nice gold plated connectors.
Gustard X16 Measurements
Let's open the show with our usual dashboard:
Wow! I must say, I did not know in advance they were shooting for the moon this way. This is superb performance in a $500 package, placing the X16 second in the list of all DACs tested ever:
Here is our top 10 list:
So little separates these DACs from each other.
Here is the performance of the RCA output:
In both cases, full audible transparency is achieved and then some. Sum of noise+distortion is well below the self-noise of our ears.
Signal to noise ratio is wonderful:
If you have noise in your system, this is NOT the place to look!
Intermodulation distortion vs level shows a bit of our famous "ESS IMD Hump" which we discovered two years ago:
Shame on ESS for not helping its licensees solve this issue across the board. Fortunately the impact here is very small and it really shows up because the system noise floor is so low.
Jitter and spurious tones are almost nonexistent (difficult in a low noise DAC) and this is even true of Coax input which these days is typically neglected:
Intermodulation distortion using our 32-tone test is extremely low:
THD+N versus frequency where a lot of DACs fail is excellent as well:
This is partially due to good filtering of which only three are available:
Did ESS take out the other options or did Gustard? Either way, it is fine by me. I used L Fast for my testing by the way. Default is M Slow I think. Wonder if that is also the MQA filter?
Linearity which is a test of accuracy was the most perfect I have seen:
This thing glued itself to the 0 dB error line like nobody's business!
Conclusions
The Gustard X16 comes in an unassuming package making you think you have bought a mid-priced DAC. But looks are deceiving as it produces some of the best measurements I have seen out of some 350+ DACs I have tested! Talk about getting ready to battle with the best of the best. Yes, there is a hint of ESS IMD Hump but it is not excessive enough for me to worry about it although I hope they look at eliminating this.
It is my pleasure to strongly recommend the Gustard X16 MQA DAC.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Appreciate any donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The X16 is based on the new ESS ES9068AS DAC which has built-in hardware decoding of MQA bitstream. Until now, this was performed upstream of the DAC but now the functionality is core to the DAC chip itself.
The X16 has a solid feel to it but doesn't distinguish itself from other desktop DACs:
While a remote control is provided, navigation is easy enough using the rotary control and center button. I like the informative display but as with other Gustard products, I question showing the volume level in such tiny letters. It needs to be center and large with the sample rate shown small.
Back panel shows the usual connection including Bluetooth:
Like the nice gold plated connectors.
Gustard X16 Measurements
Let's open the show with our usual dashboard:
Wow! I must say, I did not know in advance they were shooting for the moon this way. This is superb performance in a $500 package, placing the X16 second in the list of all DACs tested ever:
Here is our top 10 list:
So little separates these DACs from each other.
Here is the performance of the RCA output:
In both cases, full audible transparency is achieved and then some. Sum of noise+distortion is well below the self-noise of our ears.
Signal to noise ratio is wonderful:
If you have noise in your system, this is NOT the place to look!
Intermodulation distortion vs level shows a bit of our famous "ESS IMD Hump" which we discovered two years ago:
Shame on ESS for not helping its licensees solve this issue across the board. Fortunately the impact here is very small and it really shows up because the system noise floor is so low.
Jitter and spurious tones are almost nonexistent (difficult in a low noise DAC) and this is even true of Coax input which these days is typically neglected:
Intermodulation distortion using our 32-tone test is extremely low:
THD+N versus frequency where a lot of DACs fail is excellent as well:
This is partially due to good filtering of which only three are available:
Did ESS take out the other options or did Gustard? Either way, it is fine by me. I used L Fast for my testing by the way. Default is M Slow I think. Wonder if that is also the MQA filter?
Linearity which is a test of accuracy was the most perfect I have seen:
This thing glued itself to the 0 dB error line like nobody's business!
Conclusions
The Gustard X16 comes in an unassuming package making you think you have bought a mid-priced DAC. But looks are deceiving as it produces some of the best measurements I have seen out of some 350+ DACs I have tested! Talk about getting ready to battle with the best of the best. Yes, there is a hint of ESS IMD Hump but it is not excessive enough for me to worry about it although I hope they look at eliminating this.
It is my pleasure to strongly recommend the Gustard X16 MQA DAC.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Appreciate any donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
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