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Gustard X16 Owners feedback...

I have mine on a meter. I saw no change when turning on and off....and the meter displays a tenth of an amp. So it must be less than 10 watts.
 
Sorry to hear that you're still having problems. The symptoms you described do not sound like what I experienced with my X16 before I upgraded the firmware. I heard faint ticks, almost like vinyl playback, only when DSD playback levels were very low…like during the fade-out between tracks or moments of silence. I've never experienced a white noise sound like what you're describing.
Can you share your Roon device setup settings for DSD? I had mine on "native"
 
Anyone using Hosa Digital Audio Interface converters S/PDIF (Coax or TOSLINK) to AES? Are these good, any measurements of these?
Is there any convertor to IIS?
 
I just tested bypassing the preamp (using XLR directly from Gustard to my A/B amp XLR input) - so far it works fine. It sounds a little off in the highs but I am also bypassing the room Eq and the sub. On the other hand, the details are standing out quite a bit.

I also got rid of a very faint ground loop hum.

Next on the agenda is figuring out how to use REW and doing room corrections in Roon. And also to change the sub to high level input.

Anybody already do this and can offer suggestions?
 
Gustard x16 is excellent dac ,but as preamp is lifeless like you put blanket on the speakers
I'm using XLR .....if I use the RCA's I use a preamp.
 
Next on the agenda is figuring out how to use REW and doing room corrections in Roon.
I've been doing this for quite a few years using Acourate. This video is a good place to start…can be played back at 1.5 - 2x speed if you don't have two hours to watch in real-time.


PM me if you have specific questions about how to get started.
 
I've been doing this for quite a few years using Acourate. This video is a good place to start…can be played back at 1.5 - 2x speed if you don't have two hours to watch in real-time.


PM me if you have specific questions about how to get started.
Thanks…my first attempt with REW failed….lots of screeching highs ..so I’ll watch the video, for sure.

I think I solved my DSD noise with the Gustard. But I changed two things at once. I bought a new cable and I changed the volume on the Gustard a couple of ticks. No noise for days now.
 
I have a head scratcher. I just changed my furniture around so I can go directly from my iMac to the Gustard via USB.

Previously I had a Raspberry Pi. I had tried with WiFi with a RP3 and DietPi and I also tried Ethernet with a RP4 and Ropieee 2.03

Strangely with either RP setup, Roon allowed more options in setup. I could choose DSD direct for instance. Now, I only have DoP as a choice.

Also, now if I chose to upsample 44.1 to DSD I only get DSD 256 as a choice....I used to also have 512 but that's gone now. ALso in my device setup, I can no longer choose DSD 512 max DSD sample rate.

And --- now I get a blue light on Roon with MQA (DSD is still purple)

Screen Shot 2022-04-03 at 2.34.45 PM.png


Am I limited by the USB ??
 
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I have a head scratcher. I just changed my furniture around so I can go directly from my iMac to the Gustard via USB.

Previously I had a Raspberry Pi. I had tried with WiFi with a RP3 and DietPi and I also tried Ethernet with a RP4 and Ropieee 2.03

Strangely with either RP setup, Roon allowed more options in setup. I could choose DSD direct for instance. Now, I only have DoP as a choice.

Also, now if I chose to upsample 44.1 to DSD I only get DSD 256 as a choice....I used to also have 512 but that's gone now. ALso in my device setup, I can no longer choose DSD 512 max DSD sample rate.

And --- now I get a blue light on Roon with MQA (DSD is still purple)

View attachment 197450

Am I limited by the USB ??
You are limited by CoreAudio on macOS. CoreAudio does not support DSD native mode…only DoP. If the RPi setup was working reliably, I think you were better off with that, but with the Gustard X16, there are no audible differences between DSD256 vs DSD512 and probably none between using a RPi or iMac as the transport.

Personally, I would prefer to not have a general purpose computer in listening environment (makes it feel too much like work, LOL), but that's a personal choice.
 
You are limited by CoreAudio on macOS. CoreAudio does not support DSD native mode…only DoP. If the RPi setup was working reliably, I think you were better off with that, but with the Gustard X16, there are no audible differences between DSD256 vs DSD512 and probably none between using a RPi or iMac as the transport.

Personally, I would prefer to not have a general purpose computer in listening environment (makes it feel too much like work, LOL), but that's a personal choice.
I would have never thought of that.....thanks.

I had switched away from the Raspi because it was easier for me to use music streamer Apps other than Roon (Amazon Music, Qobuz, etc) but I can put Roon back on the Raspi and use Bluetooth for the others.

I know what you mean about the computer in the music room. I almost bought a separate computer for the core....but alas, I changed my mind.
 
I would have never thought of that.....thanks.

I had switched away from the Raspi because it was easier for me to use music streamer Apps other than Roon (Amazon Music, Qobuz, etc) but I can put Roon back on the Raspi and use Bluetooth for the others.

I know what you mean about the computer in the music room. I almost bought a separate computer for the core....but alas, I changed my mind.
Qobuz, TIDAL, and local files work great with Roon. You're out of luck with Amazon Music, but since bit-perfect playback is not generally available with Amazon Music, I fail to understand the appeal. You won't run out of things to listen to on Qobuz…that's for sure. :)
 
Qobuz, TIDAL, and local files work great with Roon. You're out of luck with Amazon Music, but since bit-perfect playback is not generally available with Amazon Music, I fail to understand the appeal. You won't run out of things to listen to on Qobuz…that's for sure. :)


Yep....I have Qobuz and Tidal linked with Roon. But I use the other individual apps for putting together playlists for my long dog walks - so nothing for critical listening.
 
Hi Guys,I need Your Feedback
I've a pair of HD600 and Lake People G111
I need a DAC

Among all the DACs that mount the latest generation Sabre (ess 9038/9068), the one that convinces me most in terms of design and build quality the Gustard X16. Compared to the Topping D50/D50 s it seems more complete.. It has balanced outputs and is equipped with a toroidal transformer in the power supply section of the DAC.

Comparing the Sound,Gustard X16 would be an improvement compared to Topping D50/s?
The price difference between the two is considerable.
Thanks
 
Hi Guys,I need Your Feedback
I've a pair of HD600 and Lake People G111
I need a DAC

Among all the DACs that mount the latest generation Sabre (ess 9038/9068), the one that convinces me most in terms of design and build quality the Gustard X16. Compared to the Topping D50/D50 s it seems more complete.. It has balanced outputs and is equipped with a toroidal transformer in the power supply section of the DAC.

Comparing the Sound,Gustard X16 would be an improvement compared to Topping D50/s?
The price difference between the two is considerable.
Thanks
I have the Gustard X16 and love it. That said, I suspect that it would not be easy to hear a difference between the X16 and D50s in a level-matched blind test. :) But I get where you're coming from wrt build quality, heft, etc. My only gripe with the X16 is the tiny display, but that probably won't be an issue for your setup.

If you don't mind dealing with TRS to XLR cables, I'd also look at the Topping E50 (same DAC chip as the X16…I have this one too) and D10 Balanced. I've really been impressed with the E50 so far. Only niggle is that it takes a couple of tries to get it going after a cold boot when streaming to it via a Raspberry Pi using Roon.
 
I have the Gustard X16 and love it. That said, I suspect that it would not be easy to hear a difference between the X16 and D50s in a level-matched blind test. :) But I get where you're coming from wrt build quality, heft, etc. My only gripe with the X16 is the tiny display, but that probably won't be an issue for your setup.

If you don't mind dealing with TRS to XLR cables, I'd also look at the Topping E50 (same DAC chip as the X16…I have this one too) and D10 Balanced. I've really been impressed with the E50 so far. Only niggle is that it takes a couple of tries to get it going after a cold boot when streaming to it via a Raspberry Pi using Roon.
The other option for me would be Matrix-X Sabre.
 
Anyone used a Coax S/PDIF to AES cable with this DAC? I have two coax sources. A Pioneer DV-310 modded CD transport and a Blu-Ray player.
 
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