Measurements of Gustard P26 Preamplifier

[Buster Chestnut]

I'm considering this pre as well. The rotary encoder digitally controls the stepped attenuator? Wolf's volume graph is stepped. That is one thing I haven't been able to figure out. the two balanced and one rca input is kind of limiting compared to the freya s. I should also mention to those lurking/looking for preamps, In another thread JohnYang1997 has said that topping will be coming out with a pre amp too. Does anyone know if the p26 is readily available and from whom? Is see it on Apos, but I'm not sure if it is one you have to wait months for.

I ordered mine from Shenzhen Audio; took less than two weeks in the midst of the current global crisis, which I thought was pretty good. Great customer service as well.

You can use the knob or remote control for volume control.

 

[Chilli]

I'm considering this pre as well. The rotary encoder digitally controls the stepped attenuator? Wolf's volume graph is stepped. That is one thing I haven't been able to figure out. the two balanced and one rca input is kind of limiting compared to the freya s. I should also mention to those lurking/looking for preamps, In another thread JohnYang1997 has said that topping will be coming out with a pre amp too. Does anyone know if the p26 is readily available and from whom? Is see it on Apos, but I'm not sure if it is one you have to wait months for.

I just had a quick look at the Freya and the P26. Both appear to be relay stepped attenuators. Because they have matched thin film resistor networks for each channel, it means the channel balancing should be very good.
I have been looking for one of these for a while now. Like a couple of years.
I agree that the Freya has more inputs. Not sure how many bal inputs one needs though. I would say usually one, coming from a dac or CD player. But some may wish for 2 gal outputs, like the headphone user suggested before. I suppose if there were 2 and both active then someone running biamps could too.
There are quite a few preamps like this in China. Some expensive and some not so. i saw this on Aliexpress as well. it depends how much you want to spend.
I have never owned a Schiit product but he Freya appears to be very well built and measures well, as it should.
Gustard has been producing products for some years. I have their H10 headphone amp and it has been built very well.

 

[bigLP]

I just had a quick look at the Freya and the P26. Both appear to be relay stepped attenuators. Because they have matched thin film resistor networks for each channel, it means the channel balancing should be very good.
I have been looking for one of these for a while now. Like a couple of years.
I agree that the Freya has more inputs. Not sure how many bal inputs one needs though. I would say usually one, coming from a dac or CD player. But some may wish for 2 gal outputs, like the headphone user suggested before. I suppose if there were 2 and both active then someone running biamps could too.
There are quite a few preamps like this in China. Some expensive and some not so. i saw this on Aliexpress as well. it depends how much you want to spend.
I have never owned a Schiit product but he Freya appears to be very well built and measures well, as it should.
Gustard has been producing products for some years. I have their H10 headphone amp and it has been built very well.

I bought the Freya S and have had it in my system for a couple days. I was using digital volume control from bluesound node2i unbalanced into my ATI ncore amp(was all Naim up until 6 months ago). I needed more than 1 unbalanced in, which is why I chose the Freya over p26. The Freya seems more or less transparent so far. I do love being able to switch between my Tuner, Turntable, universal disc player and my streamer without plugging and unplugging wires.

 

[ScofieldKid]

I just had a quick look at the Freya and the P26. Both appear to be relay stepped attenuators. Because they have matched thin film resistor networks for each channel, it means the channel balancing should be very good.
I have been looking for one of these for a while now. Like a couple of years.
I agree that the Freya has more inputs. Not sure how many bal inputs one needs though. I would say usually one, coming from a dac or CD player. But some may wish for 2 gal outputs, like the headphone user suggested before. I suppose if there were 2 and both active then someone running biamps could too.
There are quite a few preamps like this in China. Some expensive and some not so. i saw this on Aliexpress as well. it depends how much you want to spend.
I have never owned a Schiit product but he Freya appears to be very well built and measures well, as it should.
Gustard has been producing products for some years. I have their H10 headphone amp and it has been built very well.

Ah, yeah. I didn't notice that the Freya was stepped attenuator. That's pretty epic. See also: Denafrips Hestia, which seems like a similar design to the Gustard.

 

[OX_TYO]

Hey guys,

is the volume function on the remote press & hold or individual press for each volume step (like audio-gd)

also is the speed "normal" or unusually fast / slow, i realize it's a random question but my past 2 preamps have had terrible / frustrating volume controls

thanks in advance

 

[Buster Chestnut]

Hey guys,

is the volume function on the remote press & hold or individual press for each volume step (like audio-gd)

also is the speed "normal" or unusually fast / slow, i realize it's a random question but my past 2 preamps have had terrible / frustrating volume controls

thanks in advance

You can either press and hold or clink individually on the remote. If you press and hold, the volume will change about once a second for the first 3 levels and then change about 10 per second after that.

 

[Scottwhit]

Hey guys,

is the volume function on the remote press & hold or individual press for each volume step (like audio-gd)

also is the speed "normal" or unusually fast / slow, i realize it's a random question but my past 2 preamps have had terrible / frustrating volume controls

thanks in advance

I own a P6 and feel the volume is just about right, not too slow or fast. It will go faster if you hold the remote button down for a couple of seconds.

 

[OX_TYO]

Thank you both for your help, much appreciated.

 

[RobJ]

I am looking at the P26 as an option since I also want to run a phono pre. Are both the RCA and XLR outs active concurrently? I recently went with the D90 and THX 887 after all my reading/research here (thanks!). I am adding an amp/speakers too, hence the need for the P26 or similar. My thought is D90 XLR out to the P26, RCA out from the P26 to the power amp and XLR out to the 887. Is that correct logic? Pretty new on this stuff, so maybe I am off base. Thanks!

 

[WolfX-700]

I am looking at the P26 as an option since I also want to run a phono pre. Are both the RCA and XLR outs active concurrently? I recently went with the D90 and THX 887 after all my reading/research here (thanks!). I am adding an amp/speakers too, hence the need for the P26 or similar. My thought is D90 XLR out to the P26, RCA out from the P26 to the power amp and XLR out to the 887. Is that correct logic? Pretty new on this stuff, so maybe I am off base. Thanks!

It's both act

 

[james_0075]

The rumor of Topping new Preamp is more clear than before - which probably will have 4 XLR and 2 RCA input / output, but without bypass for AVR . Hopefully will see it in market by this year end. Anyway, it is a good thing, a real preamp with competitive price is quite difficult to be found today.

 

[TXinD76121]

I'm very interested in this preamp. I'd been considering a Gustard A22, which has been slandered a bit around here but looks promising to me. But I wonder about getting locked in to running a DAC as a preamp; I'm in the middle of an epic exchange with a friend who is firmly in the "passive pre" camp (he uses a Goldpoint SA2 as a preamp https://goldpt.com/sa2.html ), but my experience over many years is that I prefer the liveliness of active preamps to the transparency of passives. Anyway I notice that this preamp can be switched between active and passive modes (gain can be set at 0 dB or 6 dB). While I don't think this is enough to satisfy my friend--he will probably complain that the circuit path through the preamp on the 0 dB setting might not be as direct as a Goldpoint--but I wonder if anyone has any thoughts about the active/passive nature of the P26.

Right now I'm leaning toward getting a P26 and A18. It's very difficult to shop for a stereo system these days--I'm essentially working "deaf" (i.e., blind), dependent on reviews and forum discussions to guide my way. The P26/A18 seems like it would give me several different options to mix-'n'-match at home so I can actually hear things before deciding on the best way to go. I've been out of the hi-fi hobby for well over a decade, using just a desktop computer system, and it's been a bit baffling trying to get back into it.

Mike

P.S. I'm just here for shopping help. So far so good--I purchased a pair of Revel M16's based on Amir's review and they're surprisingly good. I've had numerous small 2-ways, which used to be called "mini-monitors," over the years, starting with Rogers LS3/5a's many years ago, so the Revel 2-ways occupy an area of the hobby I'm familiar with.

 

[Harmonie]

I'm very interested in this preamp. I'd been considering a Gustard A22, which has been slandered a bit around here but looks promising to me. But I wonder about getting locked in to running a DAC as a preamp; I'm in the middle of an epic exchange with a friend who is firmly in the "passive pre" camp (he uses a Goldpoint SA2 as a preamp https://goldpt.com/sa2.html ), but my experience over many years is that I prefer the liveliness of active preamps to the transparency of passives. Anyway I notice that this preamp can be switched between active and passive modes (gain can be set at 0 dB or 6 dB). While I don't think this is enough to satisfy my friend--he will probably complain that the circuit path through the preamp on the 0 dB setting might not be as direct as a Goldpoint--but I wonder if anyone has any thoughts about the active/passive nature of the P26.

Right now I'm leaning toward getting a P26 and A18. It's very difficult to shop for a stereo system these days--I'm essentially working "deaf" (i.e., blind), dependent on reviews and forum discussions to guide my way. The P26/A18 seems like it would give me several different options to mix-'n'-match at home so I can actually hear things before deciding on the best way to go. I've been out of the hi-fi hobby for well over a decade, using just a desktop computer system, and it's been a bit baffling trying to get back into it.

Mike

P.S. I'm just here for shopping help. So far so good--I purchased a pair of Revel M16's based on Amir's review and they're surprisingly good. I've had numerous small 2-ways, which used to be called "mini-monitors," over the years, starting with Rogers LS3/5a's many years ago, so the Revel 2-ways occupy an area of the hobby I'm familiar with.

Hello Mike,

I feel that the A22 has a preamp function with slightly more than passive. Not sure if the 6/3v output is the reason, but it kicks. I had a passive preamp and feel much happier without it now. I lurcked at the Goldpoint before, but it doesn't have any IR does it ? So otherwise the P26 + cables + A18, just for the 1 source preamp function ? You have a probably better& cheaper solution with the A22. I'm convinced that their output stage has been well thought over as well with double transformers.
PS- I also feel the the A22 has been bashed. No idea why, reason for my other post: who bought (and still keeps) the A22 ?

 

[stuartmc]

Greetings Wolf-X and other ASR's. I have the P26 in house and I see that the LME49860's are socketed. I had a blast trying out different opamps in the Gustard H10 and would like to do the same with the P26. In your measurements, were you able to determine the max voltage seen by the 49860's? The spec sheet for these opamps says they handle +/- 22 volts. Some other opamps I would like to try (particularly the discrete variety) aren't rated for over 17 volts. I'd like to know if I'm in danger of frying them in the P26. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give. My measurement skills are sorely lacking.

 

[yodog]

Greetings Wolf-X and other ASR's. I have the P26 in house and I see that the LME49860's are socketed. I had a blast trying out different opamps in the Gustard H10 and would like to do the same with the P26. In your measurements, were you able to determine the max voltage seen by the 49860's? The spec sheet for these opamps says they handle +/- 22 volts. Some other opamps I would like to try (particularly the discrete variety) aren't rated for over 17 volts. I'd like to know if I'm in danger of frying them in the P26. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give. My measurement skills are sorely lacking.

which opamp(s) sounded best to you in your opinion?

 

[stuartmc]

which opamp(s) sounded best to you in your opinion?

Are you asking about the opamps that I tried in the Gustard H10?

 

[yodog]

Are you asking about the opamps that I tried in the Gustard H10?

yee

 

[PaulD]

which opamp(s) sounded best to you in your opinion?

Why would the opamps sound any different to each other?

 

[yodog]

Why would the opamps sound any different to each other?

Dunno why not? But I guess they sound the same so nevermind. I guess I got the answer to my question either way.

 

[Scottwhit]

FYI.....I have a P26 for sale in the Equipment For Sale forum. I’ve decided to go all digital and don’t need analog inputs.

LMK if you have any questions