Be interested in what @sgreg1 concludes.
Has anybody had both the R26 and the X26Pro at the same time to compare them? I bought the X26Pro a couple years ago now, I was quite surprised by how supple it sounded (using the Vivid setting). I'm not deep into digital playback, more an LP/analog guy, but huge level of performance for the money. It is still not comparable to my analog chain, but it was a minuscule outlay compared to that.
TIA.