*DAC


I am down to the last piece of the puzzle. I am very happy with the sound of my system at this point, so I’m not sure if the DAC needs to be improved on. What I am looking for is to hear those background subtleties in the music a little more pronounced. The strum of a guitar, the stroke of the piano keys, the clicks, ticks & tingles that accompany the music. I do here that now, I just wondered if there is a way to elaborate on those background sounds (details) a bit more.

Is it the DAC that will make this happen? If it is, they say my Gustard R26 is as good as a $5K DAC, how far over that $5K do you think I have to go?

Thank you for your help and suggestions and the best to you all over the holiday season and beyond!

PS: I listen mostly to Jazz

128x128navyachts

I found the Gustard X26 Pro (not the R26 which I never owned) much warmer than the Yggi+ LIM. My Office system is the Magnepan LRS+ speaker, which is a tinge on the bright side of things. The Yamaha NS5000 speakers in the Livingroom is a tinge warm. The Yggi+ plays very nicely with both. I would not use the X26 Pro with the NS5000.

When I used the X26 it was with a super bright system and the X26 cooled it down. Interesting, that same system with a new implementation of a key part allows me to use silver cables. I had to use copper before.

On Wednesday my friend, who worked with the Schitt guys, is coming to my place. I am buying one of his amps. He has some golden ears, and I am very interested in his take on the Yggi+ and some other gear I have.

He is going to hate some of my gear, but as they say, "different strokes for different folks."

Some interesting comments on this review.
Schiit Audio Yggdrasil Less is More Review - Reviews - Audiophile Style

BTW - the Yggi+ LIM can be demoed at home for 2-weeks. After 2 days I threw the shipping box away.

@jjss49 @yyzsantabarbara They say there are noticeable differences between the X - R & A 26 DACs, so I can see where the confusion lies. I would love to try both the A26 and the Yiggi+ LIM (not to mention a 1/2 dozen others that are out there)

Though I haven't heard the X, a friend purchased an "A", so I have heard that one. It is more detailed than the "R", but in a somewhat of a "dry" presentation. It gets all the notes, but with somewhat less "tonality"(?), and less "soundstage". YMMV

His system is different than mine for sure. Parasound JC 1+/JC 2, and Triton 1R's. He also has a "hot rodded" Gen Va.

Thanks @rikkitik I’d still like to kick up a notch from the Gustard line, just not that many “Try Before You Buy” outlets around to do so. Also, just stuck my dad in one of those pricey, senior care homes, so I may be living with my R 26 for sometime to come. That’ll give me some time to try some of the suggested tweaks.

@jjss49 @yyzsantabarbara They say there are noticeable differences between the X - R & A 26 DACs, so I can see where the confusion lies. I would love to try both the A26 and the Yiggi+ LIM (not to mention a 1/2 dozen others that are out there)

i have not tried (nor am i inclined to try) the gustard dacs other than the r26... i have been fairly skeptical of these chinese companies in shenzhen cranking out endless dac model variations seemingly every month using a common chassis

but about a year ago there was truly a groundswell of positivity about the r26 from all the usual sources of hifi marketing/hype, so i tried one on a lark (bought it used so i could resell in a jiffy if it didn’t please) but to my surprise (and a bit to my dismay), it has, it does -- it is just a wonderful sounding streamer dac that really fits my use case perfectly (roon)

all a long way of saying that even in our lofty world of high end hifi, ’being stuck with a gustard r26’ in one’s system is no hardship in the least -- one truly needs to go deep into nosebleed territory to beat it sonically