Gustard X16 Balanced MQA DAC Review

[m8o]

Just received a reply“Due to ongoing COVID restrictions in the UK our tests that involve multiple personal have become more difficult but we are doing what we can to operate as normal.”
Unfortunately, I can only continue to wait, hoping to pass the review as soon as possible.

Hello,
Please revisit the idea of shipping these asap without MQA certification. Be that with a firmware reflash or whatever. I can do without MQA. I bought this the day this review was released for its performance without MQA. If they cannot deliver on their end of any bargain, it/MQA needs to get out of the way.

 

[P_Stein]

A couple people here look like they are gonna do the Node 2i---Coax----Gustard X16. So clooose to clickin buy! I kinda got a newb question

My bass management has always been done on the Node. I have it connected to an AVR(SR7013) where the THREE RCAs(L/R/Sub) from the Node are going to the 7CH In. It bypasses Marantz DAC. It sounds waaay better than the CD IN because of that. CD IN does bass management but reDACafies my signal

For a Node with Ext DAC, are you guys taking the TWO RCA outputs from the ext. DAC(like the X16) to an integrated amp where it avoids hitting a second DAC, but does base management?

Just figured out I can take the two additional XLR outputs to my subwoofer. Solved, have two inputs there. X16 needs to ship soon, with or without MQA

 

[kopczas]

I guess this would make a lot of other problems.

 

[Fjfjsh]

So stupid question here. Is it a bad idea to use your DAC as a volume control for your amp? My issue is I like to keep my music room pretty dark, but my topping A90 only has a simple white line as a volume indicator. There is no display or any other indication of volume other than the white line. My DAC however does have a volume indicator and a convenient remote. The remote is nice for when I want to recline and relax, thus making the volume wheel out of reach. I would also like a easy way of knowing what volume I'm set at when I switch between headphones of difference impedances. Going from a 300ohm headphone to a 16ohm headphone at the wrong volume could be disastrous and dangerous. I was always taught to have all your sources to the amp set at max volume and then control the volume from your amp. Would there be any negative effects using my DAC as a pre-out to my amp?

 

[abdo123]

So stupid question here. Is it a bad idea to use your DAC as a volume control for your amp? My issue is I like to keep my music room pretty dark, but my topping A90 only has a simple white line as a volume indicator. There is no display or any other indication of volume other than the white line. My DAC however does have a volume indicator and a convenient remote. The remote is nice for when I want to recline and relax, thus making the volume wheel out of reach. I would also like a easy way of knowing what volume I'm set at when I switch between headphones of difference impedances. Going from a 300ohm headphone to a 16ohm headphone at the wrong volume could be disastrous and dangerous. I was always taught to have all your sources to the amp set at max volume and then control the volume from your amp. Would there be any negative effects using my DAC as a pre-out to my amp?

There are no negative effects, just make sure you don’t clip the amp.

 

[Fjfjsh]

There are no negative effects, just make sure you don’t clip the amp.

Thanks for the response. Where should I set the amp's volume and gain at if I'm going to use the DAC as a volume control?

 

[m8o]

So stupid question here. Is it a bad idea to use your DAC as a volume control for your amp? My issue is I like to keep my music room pretty dark, but my topping A90 only has a simple white line as a volume indicator. There is no display or any other indication of volume other than the white line. My DAC however does have a volume indicator and a convenient remote. The remote is nice for when I want to recline and relax, thus making the volume wheel out of reach. I would also like a easy way of knowing what volume I'm set at when I switch between headphones of difference impedances. Going from a 300ohm headphone to a 16ohm headphone at the wrong volume could be disastrous and dangerous. I was always taught to have all your sources to the amp set at max volume and then control the volume from your amp. Would there be any negative effects using my DAC as a pre-out to my amp?

Depends on if the DAC has an analog volume control or digital (some are a hybrid having both). If it's a purely analog volume control, the DAC is operating at max resolution; concern may be channel imbalance and other things. But if the latter (digital), it matters if it's performing the 'maths' in 16, 24, 32 or 64-bit (or other); the higher the bit depth the better. That said, I've read replies from several manufacturers who have addressed this and generally, they say not to go below about 2/3 volume, else you are losing resolution.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Depends on if the DAC has an analog volume control or digital (some are a hybrid having both). If it's a purely analog volume control, the DAC is operating at max resolution; concern may be channel imbalance and other things. But if the latter (digital), it matters if it's performing the 'maths' in 26, 24, 32 or 64-bit (or other); the higher the bit depth the better. That said, I've read replies from several manufacturers who have addresses this and generally, they say not go go below about 2/3 volume, else you are losing resolution.

The bits of digital volume don't matter like at all. It's because the noise of most DAC outputs doesn't decrease with the volume.

 

[m8o]

Thanks for the response. Where should I set the amp's volume and gain at if I'm going to use the DAC as a volume control?

Set the DAC to 100%. Play music that is not overly compressed. And turn the amp volume to a level where the music is about as loud as you'd want it. Then use the DAC volume to trim. If you're commonly getting below about 2/3 volume, turn the amp volume down and turn the DAC volume up a bit.

 

[m8o]

The bits of digital volume don't matter like at all. It's because of the noise of most DAC outputs doesn't decrease with the volume.

I forget all the manufacturers I've read address this similarly, but I do recall the first. It was Grace, regarding his M9XX.

But yes, 100% you are going closer to the noise floor, too. I had typed that but then left that out for brevity.

But another truth is you know better than me. So, thanx, noted.

 

[redboat77]

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:

View attachment 92496

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:

View attachment 92497

Like the nice gold plated connectors.

Gustard X16 Measurements
Let's open the show with our usual dashboard:
View attachment 92498

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:
View attachment 92499

Here is our top 10 list:

View attachment 92500

So little separates these DACs from each other.

Here is the performance of the RCA output:

View attachment 92501

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:

View attachment 92502

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:
View attachment 92503

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:
View attachment 92504

Intermodulation distortion using our 32-tone test is extremely low:
View attachment 92644

THD+N versus frequency where a lot of DACs fail is excellent as well:
View attachment 92506

This is partially due to good filtering of which only three are available:
View attachment 92508

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:
View attachment 92509

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.

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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/

Great review. The price/performance differences are striking.

Pricing for each of amirm's top 5 DAC list:

1. Octo DAC8 Stereo $1240
2. Gustard X16 $499
3. Mola Mola Tambaqui $11,500
4. SMSL M400 $810
5. Matrix Audio X-SABRE Pro $1,999

 

[Gradius]

But if the latter (digital), it matters if it's performing the 'maths' in 16, 24, 32 or 64-bit (or other); the higher the bit depth the better.

Actually 32-bit is used for editing/capturing (studio stuff) only. There is absolutely no point going beyond that.

Believe me, all you need is 96kHz @ 24-bit (DSD anyone? yep and DSD).

No one can hear beyond 124dB anyway and that's ~21-bit. For instance, 24-bit would be 144dB.

Those 32-bit DAC we use, are all in float realm.

More here:
https://www.androidauthority.com/why-you-dont-want-that-32-bit-dac-667621/
https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-...ence-between-floating-and-fixed-point-systems

 

[Gradius]

Great review. The price/performance differences are striking.

RME ADI-2 dac fs is also a wonderful DAC, fully loaded with top headphone amp, really nice EQ, real time spectrum analysis, and much more:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...version-2-dac-and-headphone-amp-review.13379/

You can even found it sub-$999. A price hard to beat.

 

[m8o]

Actually 32-bit is used for editing/capturing (studio stuff) only. There is absolutely no point going beyond that.

Believe me, all you need is 96kHz @ 24-bit (DSD anyone? yep and DSD).

No one can hear beyond 124dB anyway and that's ~21-bit. For instance, 24-bit would be 144dB.

Those 32-bit DAC we use, are all in float realm.

More here:
https://www.androidauthority.com/why-you-dont-want-that-32-bit-dac-667621/
https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-...ence-between-floating-and-fixed-point-systems

I was talking attenuation. And processing done internal within the dac or dsp or an app/player which is performing that attenuation. But if you think that should be done in 24-bits... we're done here.

 

[redboat77]

Actually 32-bit is used for editing/capturing (studio stuff) only. There is absolutely no point going beyond that.

Believe me, all you need is 96kHz @ 24-bit (DSD anyone? yep and DSD).

No one can hear beyond 124dB anyway and that's ~21-bit. For instance, 24-bit would be 144dB.

Those 32-bit DAC we use, are all in float realm.

More here:
https://www.androidauthority.com/why-you-dont-want-that-32-bit-dac-667621/
https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-...ence-between-floating-and-fixed-point-systems

You make me wonder if I even need an external DAQ. My 10-year old mid-fi stereo receiver/integrated amp (Harman Kardon 3490) has an internal 24 bit / 192 kHz DAC and an optical input to feed it.

 

[redboat77]

RME ADI-2 dac fs is also a wonderful DAC, fully loaded with top headphone amp, really nice EQ, real time spectrum analysis, and much more:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...version-2-dac-and-headphone-amp-review.13379/

You can even found it sub-$999. A price hard to beat.

The RME ADI-2 dac has lot of very nice features and good performance at a good price. But only one optical input - those of us that still use CDs need two.

 

[boblinds]

Hello,
Please revisit the idea of shipping these asap without MQA certification. Be that with a firmware reflash or whatever. I can do without MQA. I bought this the day this review was released for its performance without MQA. If they cannot deliver on their end of any bargain, it/MQA needs to get out of the way.

I agree. MQA should just f-off. However, since as I understand it, the MQA decoding is in the DAC chip, would it be possible for Gustard to remove MQA compatibility as a feature for the time being and then enable it in a firmware update when MQA gets its greedy sh*t together? For my part, they could do away with MQA entirely and I'd still be happy, but I guess the audio world doesn't revolve around me... even if it should.

 

[abdo123]

Thanks for the response. Where should I set the amp's volume and gain at if I'm going to use the DAC as a volume control?

I'm surprised by the amount of bullshit the other members has spewed after my reply.

Anyway every Amp (without a pre-amp) requires a certain amount of input voltage to reach maximum capacity.

The Gustard X16 outputs 4.16 Vrms via XLR outputs, and 3.3 Vrms via RCA outputs (At max volume or 0 dB).

Now every Amp has an input sensitivity, and if you provide more voltage than that input sensitivity the amplifier will clip, here is a handy equation to use (Pic from Hypex NC122MP amplifier)

So in this example, anything above 1.17 Vrms on balanced inputs (XLR) will clip the amplifier, 1.17 will provide the full 125W at 4 ohm, and anything below will be 'just fine'.

so when will the amp clip if its input sensitivity is at 1.17 Vrms? That would be 20log(1.17/4.16) = -11 dB

Anything above that will clip that specific Amplifier.

 

[Atanasi]

Set the DAC to 100%. Play music that is not overly compressed. And turn the amp volume to a level where the music is about as loud as you'd want it. Then use the DAC volume to trim. If you're commonly getting below about 2/3 volume, turn the amp volume down and turn the DAC volume up a bit.

Topping A90, for example, has a noise floor of 0.2 microvolts and D90 has 2.5 microvolts with XLR outputs. That's a difference of 22 dB. So with state-of-the-art devices, if one attenuates more than about 20 dB, there is some benefit to attenuate analogically at least 20 dB. The rest may be digital. After about 20 dB, it doesn't matter, because the noise floor is not getting any lower.

 

[gustard]

I’m glad to tell you that X16 has passed the hearing test. After waiting for the certification documents to be completed, a certificate will be issued and then delivery can be made. Looking forward to this day soon. Friends, thank you very much!