Gustard A26

@magon - I have not heard the A26 but if you live in the US you can buy one on Amazon and return it to Whole Foods so it's pretty low risk.  I do have an X26 Pro.

I'm looking at your connections with the DDC.  I think I read on this forum that if you connect your clock to the DDC and then connect the DDC to the DAC via HDMI, the DAC "sees" the clock as well .  Might be worth a try.

Maybe the A26 would be a solution. I’m using a 10 MHz clock (the Gustard C16) and a good clock cable, along with the U18 DDC to feed the DAC through a very good Coax cable.

Any cable would ruin your 10 Mhz clock. The external clock phenomenon that got sold to you is snake oil.

All the greatest clocks on earth should be inside your dac box right before the conversion occurred.

I find the R26 has some remarkable qualities in terms of microdynamics, musicality (musical details), but poor quality control and among the 4 R26’s I listened to, all had (different) tonal balance problems.

You bought four R26 dacs, A/B/C/D compared them back to back, and heard "tonal balance" problems on each unit??? This is getting a li’l hard to believe.

I've tried a few Gustard DACs over the years, including the A26 recently. They all seemed nice but had some sort of major bug or malfunction to where each one got returned. One was DOA and its replacement had major issues too. I don't know if I'm just unlucky or what. 

Very easy to believe there are inconsistencies between same model DACs…i.e. R26. These are, after all, made in China sold on amazon cheap low quality garbage stuffed with attractive features.
What is hard to believe though is how persistent one can be in a desire to obtain an imaginary perfect copy. After trying several and concluding they’re not good, just move on dude. You think you’re going to hit a literal and stumble upon one that accuse sounds like MSB Reference? If Denafrips made a DAC with streamer, MQA, wifi, display, etc. and it sounded good, it would have a starting price of $6,000. Forget this junk. Get something that’s made to high standards.

@audphile1 Haha I agree, total glutton for punishment I guess. In my defense this was over the course of maybe 5 years, so trying one every 12-18 months is not so bad. Also in context I tried quite a few other DACs during that time frame, ranging from cheap Topping "measurement queens" to big Lampizator tube devices.

I generally agree you get what you pay for, more or less, but sometimes the little flavor of the month stuff can be nice in a way. 

Below is a link to a forum post that asked the same question.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/comparisons-gustard-a26-vs-r26-discrete-dac.968200/

I don’t consider Gustard to be poor quality junk. Nor do a lot of other happy owners. There have been a few recent posts from guys that had issues.  Prior to that, I’d only read positive comments. I would suggest that you look for other reviews.

@sls883 it’s all relative. It’s good compared to what? Considering the number of these DACs sold and the success rate of just one user reporting discrepancies in sound quality I stand by my previous assessment.

@tubeguy80 yeah the flavor of the month. Think about how that usually evolves. Bargain and miracle seekers splurge on a $1500 DAC based on hype from other bargain and miracle seekers. The baseline is unknown and the bar is low. Let’s not lose sense of reality here. Lol

@deep_333 

Comedy of errors. I bought one from Amazon and it was dull sounding, nothing like people have been describing this unit. I exchanged it for a second unit which was pretty dull too. Then I discovered driving it from the U18 DDC through a very good coax cable I already had. It was a revelation. There were no problems with tonal balance on this unit (#2). Then I started thinking I could save money on this unit by purchasing a used one. I purchased a used unit (#3) for a good price. I had #2 and #3 here at the same time and realized #3 was quite bright. Here I made a mistake. I returned #2 and then lost interest in audio for a while. It's not my main hobby. I'm more interested in piano and composition. I only started critically listening to #3 recently and realized it was problematic. Way too aggressive on piano leading edges and such. #1 and #2 didn't have that problem. So I purchased #4 from Amazon just now, hoping maybe it would be like #2, and it has a different tonal balance problem... a sibilance region that's not well integrated with the midrange. #1, #2, and #3 didn't have that problem. Even #3, being very bright, had well-integrated treble and midrange. 

@audphile1 

The R26 has some wonderful qualities. The problems have been tonal balance. There was one good one. With C16 and the clock cable I got from Igor Kuznetsoff, prepared from Oyaide, the music details are phenomenal, the dynamic shading and macrodynamics are astonishing. And this before Igor does his mods. The problem is that the tonal balance is fatiguing.

I've listened to some expensive DACs. The problem with very expensive equipment is that it often has a distinct signature that detracts from the music. It's like they have to justify the expense by doing something unique. 

@magon you step on the rake and it smacks you in your forehead. You believe that’s not really supposed to happen…I have to try it again…and so you do for a total of 4 times.
Your stick-to-itiveness is truly admiring. 
 

I've listened to some expensive DACs. The problem with very expensive equipment is that it often has a distinct signature that detracts from the music. It's like they have to justify the expense by doing something unique. 
 

I don’t know what you heard and what constitutes as expensive in your opinion but yes DACs sound different. That’s why there’s a choice. So that you can audition various make/model DACs until you find synergy with the rest of your system. Building a system that delivers musical satisfaction takes time, effort and unfortunately funds as well. There’s more to it than just buying random components that are highly rated. Everything has to gel together AND with your room acoustics (often overlooked but extremely critical). 
 

So I would recommend, once again, move on and continue trying other DACs. Get off the Gustard bandwagon. Get your room acoustics and the rest of your system in order avoid playing with modifications done by hobbyists in a silo of their own system using different systems, room acoustics and preference for sound that will never translate to what you like. 
 

Good luck!