If that rave review is even close to accurate the Gustard is worth a try at it's price.
can i get a significant dac upgrade over my Lumin d2 for 2k?
going to take my first plunge into standalone dac
went from bluesound to lumin d2
moving to using the bluesound as a streamer feeding DAC feeding power amp
IMPORTANT, next dac needs to be able to drive a signal well direct to power amp
leaning towards the new gustard r2r
is 2k enough to get me a big upgrade?
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I very much doubt that you will get anything more than minimal to negligible. In essence, a likely sideways move at best. In my experience, the lower limit “cut-off” pricing threshold of where the contenders start to materially separate themselves from the bevy of pretenders, is going progressively north of $3K ( Pre-COVID pricing strata).And that does not include the added matched cost of a separate stand-alone stablemate DAC. That is where the upgraded build quality and resulting audio performance-step-up follows the price-point upward $$ curve. A simple example is the improved design and better build with the implementation of robust linear power supplies.( either external or fully isolated built-in) |
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+1 My rule of thumb is never upgrade less that 2x. While you could argue this would be a 2x upgrade… i would not consider it to be. I would not go less that $3K - $4K. You want to be delighted with the sound improvement… not disappointed in a lateral move, just trading strengths and weaknesses. I would save up. |
For those of you saying you need to spend more to get a meaningful improvement I’d encourage you to read the review of the Gustard R26 on soundnews.net. The thing is built to a very high standard from the power supplies to the resistor ladder, and the results according to the review are not far off the Terminator +. Sometimes the audio Gods give us poor folk a true gift, and this sure looks like one of them to me. |
I ordered the Gustard R26 last night. I have been reading looking snd driving my self nuts for more than a year. I came down to Holo Spring, Denafrips Pontus, Gustard x26 pro, Sokris, and the I heard about Gustard doing r2r discrete. In my search the first eliminator was no balanced xlr. This removed some very well like tube dac’s. Tubes were not a big deal as my pre is a tube unit. Check the net nightly for reviews on the R26 and it finally showed up last week. That was all in needed to end my search. I also feel in this hobby spending more money does not always result in the equal amount of improvement. To spend 100 times more for only a 20% improvement does not add up for me. If the R26 holds up to 3/4 of the review I will be a happy camper. Only hope the new shut down in china does not cause me to be sitting here waiting until Christmas for it to come. |
+1 for the Denafrips Pontus II DAC, though I have not heard the Gustard. I'm also a little over a week into testing a Denafrips Iris DDC feeding the Pontus, and yes does it make a very noticeable difference.......from a Node 130. Cost of the Pontus II and Iris DDC is $2,300.....I should get a report out this weekend or early next week. I also can recommend the Holo Audio DACs, but they'll run you even more |
Good for you Greg. It's likely to be a great sounding dac for you. But this R2R craze brings me to the following thoughts: Why would anyone who is so in love with analog sound would want to find it in digital? Point being analog will always sound different than digital and vice versa. Both can sound wonderful but in a slightly different presentation. I am 68 years old and never thought I would get into the digital world. Analog was it for me for 50 years and my 2,000+ vinyl collection. But since I have always wanted to live in the present, researching digital became inevitable. Boy, am I glad I took the dive this year. CDs came first and now streaming. What a wonderful world of discovery! All this to say if you really want to live with your analog sound, then stick to analog. If you want to explore the present and hear the wonderful sounds digital has to offer, go full digital. The R2R thing makes very little sense to me now and I regret having followed multiple advice received here getting me to purchase the Aries2. It did not work for me. But no big deal, it was easy to sell it.
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My quest for a quality dac is not about trying to replicate analog sound. For me it is just trying to have multiple ways to enjoy music any way I can get it. I still run my Nakamichi tape deck in my system and think it sounds good. Streaming for me has led to discovery of new bands I would have never found without my access through Qobuz and Austin Blues Radio station. The convince of putting on a stream and being able to sit for hours and enjoy it without having to leave my chair is nice. While this is my first attempt at a high end dac I have heard others snd will say to my ears streaming does come very very close except for drums. That just seems to be where digital can’t keep up. Granted I am not saying it is bad just vinyl is better here. Thanks for the reply and remember to enjoy and love the music not your system. Music will love you back your love of system will eat you alive! |
Music first, system second, agreed and understood. However it would be nice if you post your system. It always makes it easier to understand why a member may think certain ways about anything audiophile they comment on. I try to be as transparent in my system page as I can so folks may understand better why I think certain ways about anything audiophile. The music is most important but obviously it is always system dependent . |
@vthokie83 Glad to hear your Iris is working out although I’ll say I’m not really surprised given the reviews and other users’ experience. My Iris arrives tomorrow from The Music Room and can’t wait to get it hooked up. BTW, what HDMI cable are you using and what length? @sgreg1 Congrats on that excellent new DAC — I’m sure you’re gonna love it. Down the road do consider getting a DDC so you can take advantage of the Gustard’s i2S input as it can up your performance even more. Please let us know what you think if you could once the DAC is broken in. What digital cable will you be using? Try to go with at least 1.5m length if you can for better sound. |
Soix, As of right now using a 1 meter Audioquest Vodka 48 HDMI (8K) for testing, and since I'm comparing the system with/without Iris.....don't yet want to muck up the works with different cables. I do have a Supra 2.1 UHD (8K), that I think should give excellent performance, and I have a Wireworld Sphere 48 (8K) that's inexpensive and am looking for another reasonably priced high speed HDMI cable to compare (maybe Furutech?).....open to recommendations $250 and under |
@vthokie83 Makes total sense to keep Vodka as a constant, and I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts. I’ll be getting my Iris on Sunday now (shipping delay), and since it’s used it won’t take too long to settle in and get a take on what it’s doing. I’m starting with a cheap 1-foot Monoprice HDMI cable — I read some stuff that said HDMI doesn’t travel well so try to use 1 foot or less and the Monoprice was one of the only ones I found at such a short length. Plus, from people who installed DDCs they seemed to indicate there was not a huge difference relatively speaking between HDMI cables so figured the Monoprice was a good place to start. Once I get a feel for the sound I’m gonna try a DH Labs HDMI 2.1 that’s $95 for 0.5m (yeah I know, but it’s the shortest length they offer) and see if there’s a meaningful improvement. Anyway, that’s my plan for now and subject to change when someone inevitably shares some info that points me in a completely different direction. It never ends… |
@sgreg1 Who did you order the DAC through? If it’s one of the bigger guys I wouldn’t worry, plus you also have protection thru your credit card and likely PayPal too. Did you get confirmation on screen they got the order when you paid? The only thing I’d worry about is if the order never processed due to an internet glitch. Did it show up as a charge through PayPal and/or your credit card? If it did there’s a good chance it’s in process. They may just be inundated with orders after the soundnews.net review, so maybe contact them just to make sure, and you can check on delivery time too while you’re at it but sounds like it’s at about a month right now. I wouldn’t be concerned yet if they got your order. |
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@sgreg1 Ugh. Sorry man, but I have a feeling it’s gonna be well worth the wait. BTW, and not to point this thread in a different direction, but does anyone else think China is dealing with the virus foolishly by continually locking things down? If they have such control over their people why not just mandate everyone gets vaccinated and be done with it rather than negatively impacting themselves and whole world with these stupid lockdowns? Just sayin’. Sorry — now back to our regularly-scheduled program. |
