Gustard X18 Review (Stereo DAC)

[TomJ]

the support and warranty are horrible

Thank goodness there are exceptions, like miniDSP and now WiiM whose support teams are so impressive

 

[Reynaldo]

Thank goodness there are exceptions, like miniDSP and now WiiM whose support teams are so impressive

I can say the same thing about Oppo.
I have two BD Players here, a 205 and a 103D.
Even though they are no longer producing, to this day they have excellent support.
These DAC manufacturers should try to learn something.

 

[mccririck]

All it would take is a firmware update reducing their peak V output slightly. That would also lower their SINAD and their rank in bar charts like ours.

Re firmware, I sent Gustard an inquiry last week using the message box on the gustard.cn support webpage and asked when they plan to release a MacOS utility for firmware updates. They replied right away that there will be no future firmware updates for the X18 and therefore no update utility. I answered that I was sorry to hear that because as a prospective customer, I hoped they would fix three problems reported here and elsewhere:
- clipping >4 V output
- jitter on SPDIF and AES inputs (worse than X18 USB, also worse than X16 SPDIF and AES)
- inconsistent V out on reconstruction filters.
They never replied further.

That's pretty shocking to hear. It's not like it's an old product, either!

 

[Snoopy]

That's pretty shocking to hear. It's not like it's an old product, either!

I wouldn't even expect updates from Chinese DACs that support firmware upgrades for more than a short time.

 

[Gradius]

In case for firmware (support), they should make it open source then.

 

[mccririck]

In case for firmware (support), they should make it open source then.

They should be doing firmware updates for at least the first two years when problems are identified. It's unforgivable not to

 

[Reynaldo]

They should be doing firmware updates for at least the first two years when problems are identified. It's unforgivable not to

Unforgivable is not being able to update by USB, and need to disassemble the device.

 

[mccririck]

Unforgivable is not being able to update by USB, and need to disassemble the device.

what do you mean?

 

[Reynaldo]

what do you mean?

To update the FW of this device you need to disassemble.

 

[kiyu]

To update the FW of this device you need to disassemble.

I did the firmware update 1.18a to c, with USB normal, without opening it

 

[mccririck]

To update the FW of this device you need to disassemble.

Ah, how much disassembly is required? Where is the connection?

 

[Reynaldo]

I did the firmware update 1.18a to c, with USB normal, without opening it

Are you sure you update the X18's FW via USB?
How was the procedure?

 

[TomJ]

Are you sure you update the X18's FW via USB?
How was the procedure?

I read somewhere that Gustard provided a Windows utility for the EOL X18 FW update
[edit: but I think that was mistaken, it was for installing Windows drivers]

 

[Reynaldo]

Gustard provided a Windows utility for the EOL X18 FW update but no MacOS utility

Great news, is it also possible for the X16?
The devices are similar.

 

[kiyu]

I would recommend you to write to [email protected] they replied really fast in my case.

 

[Reynaldo]

I would recommend you to write to [email protected] they replied really fast in my case.

I'll write
Thanks

 

[Reynaldo]

I read somewhere that Gustard provided a Windows utility for the EOL X18 FW update
[edit: but I think that was mistaken, it was for installing Windows drivers]

Yes for Windows drivers there is, but it is not for FW.
I thought Gustard had fixed the problem.