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Posted 20 hours ago

GUSTARD DAC-X16 MQA USB DAC DSD512 PCM768kHz ES9068AS DAC Bluetooth 5.0 Full Balanced Desktop Decoder With I2S/AES/COAX/OPT Input (Black)

£9.9£99Clearance
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X16 has a clean front panel with just a simple monochrome OLED screen in the middle and a nice volume wheel on the far right. If you want to use it in the DAC mode, select maximum volume of 0 dB and if you will be using it as a DAC and Preamp, you can choose the desired volume level via that remote control or via its volume wheel. In the middle of the volume wheel a button is located, a short press on it will select your desired digital input and a long press will engage its user menu, where additional setting can be found. Gustard is not forcing you to use the remote control in case you’ll want to change setting like digital filters, you can do that single-handedly, unlike Topping that is forcing to use its remote for advanced settings. In the MAC system, the volume operation in the system directly calls the "hardware volume", and the mac tries to avoid software volume due to sound quality considerations. At about 2.5 kilos or ~5.5 pounds, it’s considerably heavier than its competitors like Topping D90SE and SMSL M400. A heavier unit suggests that a linear power supply and a bigger capacitance are sitting inside, building confidence that I’m dealing with a serious unit.

X18 together with U18 were used in a headphone setup first and then in a stereo setup. In the living room I’ve tried it as a DAC only unit, leaving the preamp duties to a Ferrum OOR + Hypsos, followed by two Benchmark AHB2 power amplifiers used in mono mode driving a pair of KEF Reference 3 standfloor loudspeakers. In the headphone setup, it was mostly connected to the Benchmark HPA4 or to its soul mate: Gustard H16 balanced headphone amp driving several high-end planar-magnetic headphones 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! Multiple Interfaces: The fully balanced decoder GUSTARD DAC-X16 supports USB/I2S/COAX/OPT/BT/AES input, and has two output modes: RCA single-ended output and balanced XLR input. It is a true fully balanced decoder. I have arrived at the culmination of what makes X16 a good DAC in the first place. Not a single amplifier, preamplifier, or power conditioner can make your music detailed, transparent and see-through, that is the sole job of a DAC, it is to blame or in this case to praise. The whole job of DAC is being right, correct and precise in its math. I know that a lot of people love sugar coated DACs that are adding some kind of flavor into the mix, those kinds of people are calling linear, extended and detailed sounding DACs as clinical. In my view, the DAC should be the truth teller, the law generator and indeed a lot of times the truth is not that easy to accept. After a few years, I’ve finally understood that I can always count on a DAC that is honest with me, that tells only the truth, that is detailed to its core and it seems that X16 goes exactly in this direction. To return your product, you should mail your product to: 4F 405, Building F, No.2 Shangxue Science and Technology North, Bantian Street, Longgang Dist, ShenZhen, 518129 Guangdong, ChinaAS9068 is a current output chip, meaning that a current to voltage conversion (I/V) stage will be needed. Thankfully Gustard went with warmer and more natural sounding OPA1612 op-amps, instead of the regular LEM49860 they are using in A18 and A22 DACs. OPA’s are working much better with ESS chipsets and Gustard seems to be on the right path with them. For this comparison my weapon of choice was the Hifiman HE1000SE, which seems to be extremely detailed and transparent, more so than my loudspeakers and more so to the Audeze LCD-4, Kennerton Wodan and Erzetich Phobos, so it was natural using some detail-oriented headphones. I’d have liked to have seen a headphone output on it which would have made it a very good desktop DAC for not a lot of money

DACs: Gustard X16, Gustard X26 PRO, Matrix Audio Element X, Audiobyte HydraVox + HydraZap, Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10 U18 revitalized the X18, it added more soul into my tunes, while improving every single aspect that was good but not great. For all of the reasons combined, I decided continuing my review with the U18 in place and if you’re still using a PC as a transport, then this thing should be mandatory, it’s that good.Its USB input is galvanically isolated with the help of five isolators, cleaning up all the noise that might travel from the USB ports, completely eliminating jitter, ground loops, noise and hiss.

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