Gustard X16 Balanced MQA DAC Review

[dmac6419]

You can rest assured if you ordered with Audiophile Store AU you will get first release of stock

How much more testing (certification) needs to be done before it's released ?

 

[Matpar]

This makes me want to see the Astell&Kern Kann Alpha measured, also an ES9068AS implementation. Interesting for a portable setup (though, more of a theoretical one for me, don't really do portable anymore).

I would be more than glad to send my unit for measure, but being in Italy I believe this might not be that easy...

 

[Scottwhit]

Any preamp to recommend? I am not sure using Topping L30 as preamp for stereo amp is a good idea or not.

I have a Gustard P26 all analog stereo preamp for sale in the “For Sale” forum on this site. It is a super clean pre and has great measurements.

 

[ririt]

I have a Gustard P26 all analog stereo preamp for sale in the “For Sale” forum on this site. It is a super clean pre and has great measurements.

I would like to know if there is way to use one input of this preamp like a HT bypass? Ideally, when switching to that input the volume will be automatically set to max. Moreover, does the remote allow to switch form an input to another? Thanks for your feedback

 

[Scottwhit]

I’m not sure about the HT bypass question but yes you can switch inputs with the remote. The remote also controls volume and can be used to switch inputs on a Gustard DAC also. The volume control is a switching relay type so it is very transparent and very clean.

 

[Scottwhit]

I just looked at the manual and it does NOT appear to have HT bypass

 

[ririt]

I just looked at the manual and it does NOT appear to have HT bypass

Thanks for your reply

 

[Piotr]

This is the reply I've received directly from Tidal:

Hello Piotr,

Thank you for reaching TIDAL Member Support. My name is Nancy and I will be happy to assist you with this playback concern.

Unfortunately, Chromecast does not support MQA. This is because of limitations set by Google.

The highest stream quality via the Chromecast would be HiFi. There is no wireless solution at this time. We do recommend connecting to your device by a direct cable to use MQA quality since Chromecast will automatically downgrade it to HiFi.

You can submit a request to have MQA added to Chromecast through Google Support.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I'm always happy to help.

I bet there is little or no chance Chromecast Audio will be ever supporting MQA, even though Tidal answer is a bit, yeah, not very technical.

Is there any Chromecast Audio alternative that can just pass through the signal optically? I think below are some minimal requirements:

• wifi
• small footprint
• toslink/spdif output (USB is also ok)
• not costing thousand dollars (CCA is about 20EUR)
• can cast music from tidal wirelessly

 

[abdo123]

This is the reply I've received directly from Tidal:



I bet there is little or no chance Chromecast Audio will be ever supporting MQA, even though Tidal answer is a bit, yeah, not very technical.

Is there any Chromecast Audio alternative that can just pass through the signal optically? I think below are some minimal requirements:

• wifi
• small footprint
• toslink/spdif output (USB is also ok)
• not costing thousand dollars (CCA is about 20EUR)
• can cast music from tidal wirelessly

I’m running a Raspberry pi just for that, we can talk over private messages in more details if you want. It should cost you like 60 euros.

 

[renaudrenaud]

I’m running a Raspberry pi just for that, we can talk over private messages in more details if you want. It should cost you like 60 euros.

Endorsed by Eben Upton.

 

[celroid]

Between this and the SMSL SU-9 which would you pick? @amirm

 

[JohnYang1997]

Between this and the SMSL SU-9 which would you pick? @amirm

You can't get these now so probably su9.

 

[dmac6419]

Between this and the SMSL SU-9 which would you pick? @amirm

X16

 

[JohnYang1997]

X16

H16 is fine of course. X16 and A18 are cancelled due to MQA related issues.

 

[abdo123]

H16 is fine of course. X16 and A18 are cancelled due to MQA related issues.

What the? How do you know that?

And why should we trust you knowing that you’re competition?

there are hundreds of people waiting for their units please don’t say unsubstantiated claims like that

 

[dmac6419]

H16 is fine of course. X16 and A18 are cancelled due to MQA related issues.

Time is on my side

 

[renaudrenaud]

What the? How do you know that?

And why should we trust you knowing that you’re competition?

there are hundreds of people waiting for their units please don’t say unsubstantiated claims like that

Yes, I am really waiting and sadly I do not care at all MQA.

 

[JohnYang1997]

What the? How do you know that?

And why should we trust you knowing that you’re competition?

there are hundreds of people waiting for their units please don’t say unsubstantiated claims like that

What what? I thought everyone knew this already. Well ok not actually cancelled but for now. Fine I'll stop.

Everyone, buy X16. Yours will get delivered in the following months.

 

[abdo123]

What what? I thought everyone knew this already. Well ok not actually cancelled but for now. Fine I'll stop.

Everyone, buy X16. Yours will get delivered in the following months.

Either tell us what you know or just say nothing.

It’s not like i want to wait for months and get disappointed.

But be careful of what you say because everyone knows they are direct competition.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Either tell us what you know or just say nothing.

It’s not like i want to wait for months and get disappointed.

But be careful of what you say because everyone knows they are direct competition.

I'm in no good lying. It's basically known by everyone in Chinese HiFi field.
And well shit. You asked for you got it. I'm not worried about any trouble this will cause. As this will give even more detail than what's known by "everyone".
Gustard simply did not apply for certification for A22 A18 and X16. And recently MQA restricted certification in China. There was only British people dealing with us originally. Now they got Chinese representatives/people. And this is basically what happened. A18 and X16 are banned for selling for now. Hence until they got certification right, you guys can't get your X16. A18 is basically dead already due to fire in AKM chip factory. We will run out of 4499 too pretty soon.
If you get a better source, correct me if I'm wrong. But I'll leave it as is. Because I'm also very transparent about issues on products I designed. The volume knob, the fuses, ground loop etc.