Review and Measurements of Gustard DAC-X26

[777]

What type of op-amps use it ?

 

[maty]

The question is how may people have a good preamp, integrated or power amp do not miss the excellent measurements of some DAC. Very few I think.

From a certain price it is very important to foresee what would happen in case of having a problem.

By the way, with the widespread use of super/low noise voltage regulators the power of these devices will not have problems with a grid every day dirtier.

 

[Soniclife]

Now, the dilemma is Gustard DAC-X26 ($ 1,289) vs RME ADI-2 DAC (€ 989 at home -> $ 1,112, in EU).

Buy based on looks and feature set, there is no wrong answer to that question.

 

[JohnYang1997]

May you measure 5khz and 8khz spectrum please? Is the nosing up at higher frequency noise or distortion?

 

[JohnYang1997]

What type of op-amps use it ?

According to their description, it's class a discrete.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Not sure its a dilema. The ADI has a superb ADC, is cheaper and has performance that is very close on its DAC.

Cant knock the Gustard though as I think its the first implementation of a 38pro that I have seen that hasnt been completely ballsed up

View attachment 23339

I believe he meant adi2dac which is cheaper tham pro and doesn't have adc.

 

[chashaodan]

I`d like to see the sectrum of 5khz & 10khz @90khz. What`s going wrong here?

 

[JohnYang1997]

I`d like to see the sectrum of 5khz & 10khz @90khz. What`s going wrong here?
View attachment 23340

Should be just distortion. Probably due to their discrete iv stage or output.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Glad to see a "Chi-Fi" brand with all these marketing codes: "double ES9038 Pro", "Double toroidal transformer"... But at the end nails ALL the tests.

Plaudits to Gustard. This is true engineering!

Well one thing is that there is supply noise. Not 100% it's from usb or the power supply itself.

 

[Dro]

I was prepared to be disappointed when I saw the price tag. I ended up being surprised.

 

[graz_lag]

I think it is a fair point that the RME is cheaper, but it is also true that you can get a transparent DAC for much less than the RME too. As expensive hifi goes this Gustard is not over the top (the high end enthusiasts would probably deride it as mid-fi). My own view is I see no reason to spend so much on a DAC but I also think that the measurements at least show a genuine depth of engineering and it does perform extremely well. I think once you reach audible transparency that further improvement is slightly moot but I also understand the attractiveness of seeking ultimate performance even if it is not necessary in audible terms. However, I really don't see why being made by a Chinese company is a reason to judge a product. Good performance and engineering is good performance and engineering regardless of the point of origin.

Sure, however the lack of proper QC processeses within these Chinese manufacturing chains, sucks.

 

[la2ygoo]

Hi,amirm.
In this measurement , Is GPLL MODE high?
Gustard claim that in high GPLL MODE，jitter will be very low.

Gustard claim with GPLL ,they don't use ess 9038 pro's asrc ,so maybe that is why x26 do not have "ESS IMD hump" .

 

[Dro]

I`d like to see the sectrum of 5khz & 10khz @90khz. What`s going wrong here?

I think you are looking at the Khadas Tone Board graph.

 

[JohnYang1997]

I think you are looking at the Khadas Tone Board graph.

both
look at d1 and dac3

 

[JohnYang1997]

I`d like to see the sectrum of 5khz & 10khz @90khz. What`s going wrong here?
View attachment 23340

Oh just take a look at multitone. It's indeed the distortion there (10-20k). It's really useful that they amirm provided multitone measurements.

 

[Vovgan]

Now, the dilemma is Gustard DAC-X26 ($ 1,289) vs RME ADI-2 DAC (€ 989 at home -> $ 1,112, in EU).

How about Gustard vs. Chord Qutest? Can they be meaningfuly compared based on their measurements?

 

[JohnYang1997]

How about Gustard vs. Chord Qutest? Is there a way to compare them based on their measurements?

in terms of thd+n they are quite similar.

 

[March Audio]

I don't believe the RME ADI-2 DAC has an AD converter. The ADI-2 Pro has an AD converter, and costs substantially more than the Gustard.

Yep already pointed out, I mis read Matys post assuming his comments about the ADC presuming he was referring to the pro
Thanks

 

[March Audio]

Oops, sorry, I hadn't read all the way down. My apologies.

Nothing to apologise for

I suppose the issue with DACs now is that there is very little else to eek out in performance terms. There are some very cost effective dacs that are only few dB behind the SOTA.

Not knocking the Gustard. 38 Pro Implementations are conspicuously absent from the mainstream. The unbalanced output manages 113dB sinad which is only marginally better than much cheaper offerings.

 

[badboygolf16v]

in terms of thd+n they are quite similar.

On visual inspection the Chord has the the best measurements IMO.