Gustard R26

@arafiq 

I just got the LADDER Schumann DAC and was really impressed with it. It sits above the Denafrips Aries 12th that I have for resolution. It seems to be a little more analytical sounding but is also very musical. I might even consider it against the Pontus II depending on what it is driving.

Right now I have the Aries 12th, Pontus II, Venus II, and the Ladder all doing a great job in my stereo and headphone systems. Using Lumin U1 and U1 Minis all with LPS. The are primarily running into Icon Audio, Woo Audio, Feliks, and AmpsandSound.

Have a Innuos Pulse Mini inbound to try as well as a PI 2 Mercury V2 streamer. Will check out the Gustard R26 as soon as able.

It's all about system matching!

This reviewer, who I hold in high regard due to his knowledge and breadth of equipment reviews, compares the Gustard R26 favorably to the Denafrips Terminator.  That speaks volumes to me, FWIW. 

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/a-new-point-of-reference-gustard-r26-discrete-r-2r-ladder-dac-review/
 

I’d also highly recommend a DDC that will allow you to take advantage of the Gustard’s i2S input.  I did this with my Musician Pegasus DAC and it was a game changer.  Hope this helps, and best of luck. 

Other reviews have said A26 is better.

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/gustard-a26-dac-review-can-it-get-any-better/

Flavor of the month.

Denafrips lives long and prospers. 

I stopped believing online reviewers a while ago. It is good to get some details but their opinions are next to useless. One of them loves it and another hates it.

Case in point - Steve Huff gushing over the Willsenton R300 - amp of the year. I bought one and yes I was keen on it at first then I compared it to some other tube amps - I realized half the music was missing - no symbol crashes that were clearly evident on another amp....etc

These reviewers may mean well but in the end they are there to make money thru views on YouTube and some I believe get freebies or kick backs from the vendors and manufacturers.

I would rather trust the opinions on here.

@soix Like they say, horses for courses. I know Sandu has a lot of fans here, but just looking at his equipment and preferences I can tell that we are quite different when it comes to the type of flavor we like in our music. I respect him a lot and think he's one of the better ones out there. But his choice of amps (Benchmark) and speakers (KEF) tells me that he prefers a more neutral tonality. Nothing wrong with that, but I know that our tastes are quite different. 

Another reviewer compared the Gustard R26 to Denafrips Ares 12th Edition and preferred the Ares. Go figure! 

And Steve Huff ... well, the less we say about him the better .. lol!

Steve Huff is turning into a hermit!

I was laughing at him because he spent $1k for a power bar to improve his stereo when he actually had preamp ground loop hum. I left him a comment to let him know...

Anyway he seems like a nice guy....used to like his camera reviews. He should stick to photography.