Gustard X16 Balanced MQA DAC Review

[dan kolov]

[QUOTE = "dan kolov, post: 728068, member: 22469"] Conecta el cable coaxial del reproductor de CD al Gustard x16. Selecciona una entrada coaxial desde el mando a distancia
y reinicie el dаc desde el botón de encendido. Esto también se aplica a la entrada óptica. [/ QUOTE]
Muchas gracias. Como se reinicia el dac? No lo pone en las instrucciones o me oo he pasado

After connecting the coaxial or optical cable, turn the gustard x16 power off and on again. And from the arrows on the remote up and down, select your input.

 

[ABall]

Still not 100% sure on the NOS on/off preference, mind helping me out? Listen mostly to Tidal hi-res, Amazon Music HD and flac files via usb (storage attached to Node 2). In case it matters, my X16 is downstream of my Node 2 via coax and then to AVR using analog outputs and played back in Pure Direct. Seems to me NOS should be “on” in my case according the manual since I am streaming CD and greater resolution files but I’ve also seen conflicting opinions. Thanks.

If your streaming CD quality it should be off, this is what Gustard said. "If it is lower than PCM176.4K, please do not turn on NOS, otherwise the sound will be very dark and there is no high frequency".

 

[Alfer]

Buenos dias. Podriais indicarme cual es la mejor manera de reiniciar el X16? Apagando y volviendo a encender desde el dac o desde el mando? Para poder desbloqiear las entradas, coaxial, AES y optica. Seria suficiente tener un cable coaxial u optico conectado a su respectiva entrada del X16 para desbloquear esa entrada. Despues de apagarlo y reiniciarlo? O tendria que estar el cable conectado a fuente funcionando?
Muchas gracias de antemano a todos.

 

[Arvind]

Ordered yesterday. Waiting eagerly to replace my Sabaj D5.

 

[ABall]

Ordered yesterday. Waiting eagerly to replace my Sabaj D5.

Is the D5 broken?

 

[Arvind]

Is the D5 broken?

No, not at all. Sabaj D5 is excellant DAC but I am not a headphone guy and just wanted Bluetooth facility. Though not interested in MQA.

 

[dan kolov]

Buenos dias. Podriais indicarme cual es la mejor manera de reiniciar el X16? Apagando y volviendo a encender desde el dac o desde el mando? Para poder desbloqiear las entradas, coaxial, AES y optica. Seria suficiente tener un cable coaxial u optico conectado a su respectiva entrada del X16 para desbloquear esa entrada. Despues de apagarlo y reiniciarlo? O tendria que estar el cable conectado a fuente funcionando?
Muchas gracias de antemano a todos.

I use Google Translate and maybe you don't understand me.
1-Turn on gustard x16. 2-Connect the coaxial cable from CD player to coax in Gustard x16. 3-From the remote control of gustard x16 you choose coax in (probably 2 devices will not connect immediately). 4-Turn off and on gustard x16. And you should already have a connection showing up on your display.

 

[Alfer]

[QUOTE = "dan kolov, post: 729091, member: 22469"] Utilizo Google Translate y tal vez no me entiendas.
1-Encender gustard x16. 2-Conecta el cable coaxial del reproductor de CD al coaxial en Gustard x16. 3-Desde el mando a distancia de gustard x16 eliges coax in (probablemente 2 dispositivos no se conectarán inmediatamente). 4-Apagar y encender gustard x16. Y ya debería tener una conexión en su pantalla. [/ QUOTE]
Gracias. No ha funcionado lo he intentado varias veces. Me ha dicho el vendedor que lo lleve a un taller a ver si pueden repararlo. Agradecido de sus respuestas y tiempo dedicado. Saludos

 

[misterdog]

The only reason to has products that support it, is so as not to miss out on any music that becomes available only on MQA.

And is then released in reverse order, 24 bit download, CD, Vinyl, DSD, MP3, Cassette.

Then in 5 years time we can have remastered versions of all the above.

I spoke to one of Meridians main dealers in the UK, he attended the launch of MQA and said that every MQA track sounded like it had come from the same recording studio .

Though strangely not every track was recorded in the same recording studio.

Still if people wish to spend more money, then of course it is the best thing ever.

 

[misterdog]

This is going to sit in a specific spot on my rack and will be very awkward to have to reach behind to turn the unit off all the time. Not sure I'd be comfortable leaving it completely powered all the time.

Just switch the entire rack off.
There is no difference between using the switch at the rear or pulling the plug.

 

[ABall]

True... but then what kind of product these days can't be switched on/off via remote or at least on the front of the unit?

Just switch the entire rack off.
There is no difference between using the switch at the rear or pulling the plug.

Ive been running mine 24/7 with the display off, ive forgotten its even on, i will report back if it fails but you can look at 2 sides of advice here, one says repeated on/off can cause premature failure and therefore will last longer leaving it on, the other side is the opposite. I have tried both methods with my TV, I put it in standby for 2 years until the power supply failed big style tripping the RCD, I replaced the power supply and put it on a remote switch that cut power, this didnt last 2 years and the failure was less severe, it was a dry joint that I found and repaired as the power supply is no longer available. I know its no scientific proof that one way is better but I install electronics in peoples homes as part of my job and some stuff lasts and some stuff doesnt, seems like its the luck of the draw these days unless you buy something built and priced to last.

 

[sommerzeit]

Hi,

I have the gustard since 2 weeks and it's connected to a Topping A90 with mogami xlr interconnects driving a Hifiman HE5xx with a aftermarket balanced head phone cable. Feed by Raspi Moodeplayer and EQed to the autoEQ measurements. The music is provided by a Samsung Tab and BubbleUPnP application.

compared with my beloved (also EQed) RME Adi 2 and DT1990 and I have to say, that the Gustard Combo sounds clearly better: deeper and textured bass, wider space, better voice, drums and cymbals.

I compared Tidal MQA and Qobuz. My ears do prefer Qobuz more than the MQA.

 

[ArturoKiwi]

Hi,

I have the gustard since 2 weeks and it's connected to a Topping A90 with mogami xlr interconnects driving a Hifiman HE5xx with a aftermarket balanced head phone cable. Feed by Raspi Moodeplayer and EQed to the autoEQ measurements. The music is provided by a Samsung Tab and BubbleUPnP application.

compared with my beloved (also EDed) RME Adi 2 and DT1990 and I have to say, that the Gustard Combo sounds clearly better: deeper and textured bass, wider space, better voice, drums and cymbals.

I compared Tidal MQA and Qobuz. My ears do prefer Qobuz more the MQA.

Theoretically both of them are transparent.
Could I ask you if the differences could be because you used 2 different headphone?

 

[sommerzeit]

Theoretically both of them are transparent.
Could I ask you if the differences could be because you used 2 different headphone?

Yes it does, but the DT1990 is also known as a bright sounding head phone. This is not a fair comparison, I know. I am comparing two different riggs.

 

[tparm]

Hi,

I have the gustard since 2 weeks and it's connected to a Topping A90 with mogami xlr interconnects driving a Hifiman HE5xx with a aftermarket balanced head phone cable. Feed by Raspi Moodeplayer and EQed to the autoEQ measurements. The music is provided by a Samsung Tab and BubbleUPnP application.

compared with my beloved (also EQed) RME Adi 2 and DT1990 and I have to say, that the Gustard Combo sounds clearly better: deeper and textured bass, wider space, better voice, drums and cymbals.

I compared Tidal MQA and Qobuz. My ears do prefer Qobuz more the MQA.

Nice summary. Do you find Qobuz library limiting at all? I’ve used Amazon HD (do not care for the user interface) and Tidal (really enjoy using Tidal, some hi res tracks missing). I don’t have experience with Qobuz. Thanks.

 

[sommerzeit]

I have used Amazon HD for a while, the advantage of Qobuz is the possibility to stream to raspberry player via UPnP.
Listening to Alt, Rock, pop, Jazz, folk and electronic I haven't experienced any limitations in both libraries. Amazon and Qobuz are identical sounding, Tidal MQA sounds definitely different in some hi res tracks.

 

[Poganin]

My X16 is here!

With some initial hassle with the drivers magically disappearing from their place of installation after the required reboot it's now working great.
Slight sound improvement over Aune S6 (not as scratchy/grainy).
I now need to decide what solid-state amp to pair it with.

 

[ninetylol]

My X16 is here!

With some initial hassle with the drivers magically disappearing from their place of installation after the required reboot it's now working great.
Slight sound improvement over Aune S6 (not as scratchy/grainy).
I now need to decide what solid-state amp to pair it with.

A90 stacks fine on it

 

[Poganin]

A90 stacks fine on it

Yes, A90 is on my short list.

 

[prateek]

I'm getting the one from Pi2Design; it is a lot more expensive but it's the only one I've found that has a Gustard pinned I2S connector (and the creator is pretty active on other forums which is reassuring in case I have any issues). In theory it would work with PiCorePlayer as long as it has drivers for other HATs; in Volumio, it seems that both the Allo DigiOne and HiFiberry Digi+ options work with the Pro Audio Shield (which doesn't have its own specific option), so I'd assume the same would be true with PiCorePlayer but you may want to double check that with the creator before buying.

As for the link you posted, that seems like a perfectly fine option if you want to use AES. I doubt there's any detectible difference between the two barring any shoddy engineering.

@MiradoOne Hi, you seem to have the same combination I plan to buy. Already placed the order for pi2aes, getting x16 shortly.

Can you please do a small favor/poc.
1. Does x16 play well with i2s from pi2aes. I heard Zeos say pi2aes was not playing through i2s on x16. Check out his x16+h16 review.
X16+h16 review
2. DoP testing - Not related to x16 but with pi2aes. Does it do dsd64 as dop to x16 over i2s?
I am looking at Volumio/Moodeaudio.
Thank you so much for your attention!!!