Gustard DAC-X26 Pro HiFi Bluetooth 5.0 DAC USB/Coaxial/Optical/IIS LDAC DAC 2 x ES9038PRO K2 Clock Synthesizer DSD512 PCM768KHz Class A DAC with Remote (Silver)

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I can now do a A/B comparison of both DAC's (ESS9038PRO vs AK4499eq) using the same USB QOBOS source or CD's. Of course, there are variables - equipment matching, impedance etc. I am using a very nice preamp and have a revealing system. Nonetheless, you can easily use it as DAC and preamp combo with powered loudspeakers or with a power amp directly, until you can get a dedicated preamp down the road. For the absolute best results, use it as a DAC only unit in a fixed volume position, where it gave everything and approached close to an end-game DAC sound wise.

Sending music from my smartphone that was connected to Qobuz and Tidal worked as a charm and LDAC codec sounded almost indistinguishable to a wired connection. Bottom line is that SU-10 worked great via Bluetooth, but it performed better with those that support BT 5.0 and LDAC codecs. I know you have deep experience in the digital arena, and though I have a long history in analog audio, I admit to a long held bias against digital for consumer audio* which I am now, somewhat pleasantly surprised, was either wrong or, at the least, outdated. In the end, you can make it smoother or tubey sounding, or you can go with the cleanest and most detailed sound possible. It’s up to you to decide which tuning works best for you. X26Pro has one of the most comprehensive decoding functions at the price. It can decode up to PCM 32-bit/ 768kHz, and DSD 512. It has the NOS- No Oversampling mode, which entirely skips the digital signal sampling and sends the analog conversion signal directly to the amplifiers.

Attenuator – Three positions: Auto (default), Off, or On. In the default position, the A26 will enable its analog volume control if the volume is lower than -24dB, which should not lower its dynamic range. The OFF position disables the analog and digital attenuators outputting a fixed voltage, and the On position enables its volume control. Leave it at Auto if you are using it as a DAC and preamp combo, or disable it when used as a DAC-only unit. A noter, les basses sont profondes, impressionnantes. Je dirai même qu’elles sortent de catacombes maintenant. Je ne savais pas que mes enceintes étaient capables d’aller aussi bas, et mon caisson encore moins. Toutefois, pas d’effet de basse qui trainent, c’est percutant quand il le faut, rapide, sec parfois, un vrai régal… APx Project is included in the reports folder should anyone wish to repeat this set of measurements or use it for another DAC

Then why did I decide to spend time with Gustard again? That’s because of my audiofool buddy (we call ourselves like this) who owns x26. One day he came to my place to hear convert-2. We enjoyed dac talk as well. At the end of intensive but directionless chats, he said “Hey bro, you should hear my gustard. You must like it.” If that’s from a random person, I’d just ignore it. But as from one who knows my tastes, the statement a little motivated me. Plus, he kindly loaned me his dac. It might look raw and unpolished around the edges, but it’s not really the case (Audio-GD units are mostly like that), its corners and edges are sanded on a small scale, so it wouldn’t damage your expensive headphones while handling them around. It has a flushed On/Off button, its menu is cleverly designed, looking almost invisible in a dark environment. Its monochrome OLED screen is quite big, a bigger font was also used, so you can easily read it from afar in a loudspeaker setup. It has several brightness levels which makes it even more versatile to be used in late night listening sessions. Treble is the standard ESS Sabre affair, without the usual glare and brightness associated with this chipset. It goes sky high, there are as many details as you please, it just breathes in the treble. You will not find nasty pre or post-ringing in the treble. Its timing its perfect and it never appeared as harsh or bright sounding to me. The interesting part is that X26 PRO was always connected to a Benchmark HPA4 that is straight as a line and doesn’t awake as many emotions, it can even transform several sources into bright ones, but that never happened, even for a micro-second with the Gustard unit. I’m glad to tell you that it pairs very well with lean and linear setups, you can easily use it bright setups too. It worked with warm sounding setups, I personally used several Class-A amplifiers and it worked great with all of them. Keep in mind that you can also alter its voicing a little bit, by the help of its digital filters and NOS modes. There are two independent linear power supplies with their own transformers and hence the two voltage switches and hefty weight of the unit. Exactly a year ago I posted my SMSL VMV D1SE review, which at that time was the coolest ESS-Sabre DAC that SMSL had to offer. It had everything it needed to succeed, starting with a nice-looking case, top-notch build quality and finishing with a great component selection and outstanding sonics to match its lineage. For almost a year, that was The DAC to beat below one grand and ah, you nasty SMSL…you did it again with the release of the SU-10! While this is their highest performing DAC from the SU line, I feel that it should be part of their VMV (High-End) line, as in many ways, SU-10 seems like a true successor to the VMV D1SE.As for the outputs, there are RCAs and XLRs. It is also necessary to pay attention to the voltage switches where it is possible to select between 115 and 230 V input – it is vital to verify that both are with the correct voltage.

I have paired Gustard X26Pro with Cayin HA300 and Wells Headtrip II Level 1 as two primary reference systems ( one for tube one for ss), SMSL SP400 as an alternative setup for a budget solution. I also tested X26Pro with BHSE/SR009 for the electrostatic system. The headphones I used are Abyss 1266, Hifiman Susvara, Final D8000, LSA HP-1, Sennheiser HD800s, Focal Utopia. The next one, in my own experience, was that my "memory" of sound is very short, and my conclusions were very different when doing immediate switching between two synchronized sources (but then... maybe it's my switch...?) In a headphone setup it was mostly connected to a Ferrum OOR + Hypsos or to a Burson Soloist 3X GT, driving several high-end planar-magnetics and a bunch of dynamic headphones. Okay folks, enough with the talk, my ears are itching for some music, so let’s hit some ear-drums!All in all, SMSL used the most impressive ESS-Sabre implementation I’ve seen thus far, as two linear transformers and a beefy output stage that should bring those chips so very close to their maximum potential. My ears are heavily itching and I’m expecting wonderful things coming out of it, so what are we waiting for? Let’s hit some eardrums!

X26Pro has a precise and clean mid-range. It somehow reminds me of the signature mids from Aqua Audio but not as creamy as Aquas. The third and last room houses the digital-to-analog conversion stage and the analog output stage in the upper part of the board. Its output stage was crafted mostly from discrete devices such as diodes and transistors, which could have unlimited potential in the hands of a skilled engineer. The current-to-voltage (I/V) conversion stage seems to be a hybrid one, employing tens of discrete devices and an op-amp per channel.This is particularly important in situations where video is involved and audio needs to be perfectly in time with frame capture. The Gustard I2S input from the Singxer SU-1 KTE is excellent. The USB input direct from the Raspberry Pi is very good as well. The Gustard USB is without a doubt better than what is in the Audio-GD NFB7.77. My AGD has the Amanero Combo 384 USB input, but it does not have the isolator & separate power supply that AGD offers today. I did buy the isolator & power supply upgrade kit, but I ended up not installing it. It's a huge PITA. The I2S input on the AGD is what I would use for music anyway. The USB is good enough for TV and movies without any latency issues. I am extremely excited for an Auralic Aries to arrive today. I will see how that goes with SPDIF and AES directly to the Gustard. I expect there to be no difference feeding USB from the Auralic into the Singxer but I will obviously do that too. My experience is that a difference as low as 1% is perceived as "better", but below like 5% you don't actually realize that it is "louder". Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you, may vary. Please allow 3-5 business days for mail-in exchanges to be processed. Fresh power tubes and NOS driver tubes for my Trafomatic Primavera arrived a few days ago and as you can imagine, headphone listening came first but don’t you worry, it was used in an equally impressive stereo setup, getting a complete picture about its performance.