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Gustard X16 Balanced MQA DAC Review

dan kolov

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[QUOTE = "Veri, post: 634770, member: 909"] Това е просто избор на филтър. Да. [/ QUOTE]
NOS=No oversempling?Do I understand you correctly?
 

MiradoOne

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Just bought this and a THX 789 as part of a long overdue audio overhaul. Quick question: if I have no desire to use MQA, I shouldn't be missing out on any of the potential of this device, right? From what I've read MQA seems somewhat contentious and the benefits dubious (or at least untested), so I'd probably steer clear of it for the time being.

Given that the measurements listed in the review showcase what the device is capable of in general, rather than something specifically tied to its abilities when decoding MQA, I assume I am correct, but I've never purchased a DAC with this kind of information available to me (just found out about this forum), so I figure I'd double check.
 

JohnYang1997

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Just bought this and a THX 789 as part of a long overdue audio overhaul. Quick question: if I have no desire to use MQA, I shouldn't be missing out on any of the potential of this device, right? From what I've read MQA seems somewhat contentious and the benefits dubious (or at least untested), so I'd probably steer clear of it for the time being.

Given that the measurements listed in the review showcase what the device is capable of in general, rather than something specifically tied to its abilities when decoding MQA, I assume I am correct, but I've never purchased a DAC with this kind of information available to me (just found out about this forum), so I figure I'd double check.
You are correct.
 

Fjfjsh

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So rather painful lesson learned recently. If you have very accurate audio gear but something in your audio chain isn't up to par, your highly accurate audio gear will point it out like a sore thumb lol. I've been enjoying listening to the Monolith M1070 recently, and couldn't figure out why people where complaining about the 8khz ring. Well with the new update to my audio gear they have become almost unlistenable. It was a painful lesson to learn lol. The reason I mention this is because I'm now scared what other faults the X16 will point out :(.
 

MiradoOne

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So rather painful lesson learned recently. If you have very accurate audio gear but something in your audio chain isn't up to par, your highly accurate audio gear will point it out like a sore thumb lol. I've been enjoying listening to the Monolith M1070 recently, and couldn't figure out why people where complaining about the 8khz ring. Well with the new update to my audio gear they have become almost unlistenable. It was a painful lesson to learn lol. The reason I mention this is because I'm now scared what other faults the X16 will point out :(.

This was part of the reason why I went for the X16 after seeing these measurements. I was considering a new pair of headphones but was worried about the rest of my chain, which currently is a Schiit stack (Modi Multibit and Magni 3). Just for reference I decided to look up some reviews of the Modi, which lead me here and to the realization that it places pretty close to the bottom of the pack. I decided to go with the X16 (and the 789) for the peace of mind of rendering that part of the chain as transparent as possible.

I'm not under any illusions that things will sound "better" by doing so, but at least I'll know that any subjective conclusions I draw between new headphones while running through the X16 and the 789 will be down to the headphones themselves and not because of the Modi's lackluster performance.
 

Fjfjsh

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This was part of the reason why I went for the X16 after seeing these measurements. I was considering a new pair of headphones but was worried about the rest of my chain, which currently is a Schiit stack (Modi Multibit and Magni 3). Just for reference I decided to look up some reviews of the Modi, which lead me here and to the realization that it places pretty close to the bottom of the pack. I decided to go with the X16 (and the 789) for the peace of mind of rendering that part of the chain as transparent as possible.

I'm not under any illusions that things will sound "better" by doing so, but at least I'll know that any subjective conclusions I draw between new headphones while running through the X16 and the 789 will be down to the headphones themselves and not because of the Modi's lackluster performance.
I'm not dissatisfied with my choice to upgrade, because I don't want my audio gear "lying" to me lol. It has definitely made me pay a little attention to what reviewers are saying though. Turns out if quite a few people are saying the same thing that there might be some merit to it.
 

Pdxwayne

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With covid still very bad in England, I wonder if listening tests will be delayed again.....Not sure if I want to wait much longer than 2 months that I already waited....apos already suggested alternatives during the last update I got near end of year.
 

ArturoKiwi

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With covid still very bad in England, I wonder if listening tests will be delayed again.....Not sure if I want to wait much longer than 2 months that I already waited....apos already suggested alternatives during the last update I got near end of year.
Could I ask you which alternatives?
 

gustard

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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.
 

boblo

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Hi,

I'm going to buy the Bluesound Node 2i streamer and I would like to have full MQA decoding/rendering with Tidal Hi-Fi, so the X16 is my only option so far (Mytek Liberty and iFi Neo iDSD are too expensive for me).

I currently have the SMSL SU-9 DAC, but I won't get full MQA rendering with the Node 2i due to the lack of USB output on the Node 2i, so I'm seriously thinking in buying the X16 and sending the SU-9 back to Amazon. I also am not happy with the SU-9 build quality and other 'features', sound is awesome though:
- I have the 3 rubber feet issue, mine is not stable
- I have issues with the USB connector
- I don't like the volume indicator so huge, so I prefer the sample rate with big numbers like the X16 does (yes, I'm a rare guy).
- The remote control seems cheap, there are 3 buttons with no associated functions (it's a generic remote control for other devices too).
- The sound color filters are placebo (but I already knew this before buying).

In short:
Will there be any problem with the Node 2i<->X16 connection in order to play MQA at 352.8kHz as maximum? I need to know this before ordering.

Thanks in advance

PS. I got in touch with Audiophonics, and they told me that the X16 should be back in stock at the end of this month. Hope that helps.
 

Veri

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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.
This really doesn't reinforce my liking of the people behind MQA. A subjective 'seal of approval' kind of thing is something of days long past.
 

gustard

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X16 requires front-end equipment to output mqa core (except USB). I am not sure whether Node 2i can output mqa core. Roon can output mqa core signals.

The delivery time of X16 depends on the speed of MQA review. Due to the current COVID restrictions in the UK, the review process has been slowed down.
 

gustard

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This really doesn't reinforce my liking of the people behind MQA. A subjective 'seal of approval' kind of thing is something of days long past.
very sorry! This is really not good news, but there is no way.
 
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