Gustard X30 DAC

I have not had any issues with my X-30.  One of the YouTube reviewers did a 6 to 8 month follow up on his review and he's had zero issues.  

The reviewer says that the X-26 mkIII is 75% of the performance of the X-30.  I'm good with the X-30 if it's that much better. 

@baylinor I have not heard the A26, but I’ve read good things about it.

I’m curious to see what the temp is on the X-30. For grins, I ordered an infrared thermometer on Amazon. It was cheap and if I ordered some coffee with it, I get free same day delivery. lol.

Yes.  I've had one for a few weeks.  It replaced a Gustard R26 dac.

I'd say that the positive reviews that I read are accurate. I'm quite happy with it.

I'm using an Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer into a Gustard ddc to the I2s input on the dac. 

I've also used the coaxial input with my Denon DCD-1700NE player serving as a transport.  It sounds great.  

More detail and clarity, but not bright or sibilant. Better separation of instruments.

It's like one reviewer said.... It has the positive attributes of both a r2r dac and a chip dac. I was concerned about going from a r2r dac to a chip dac, but there's no loss of soundstage size, etc.

I'm not good at describing what I hear. It just sounds right. 

@baylinor I leave my dac on 24/7.  I just checked my X-30 and it's slightly warm. Not at all hot.

I'm using a LHY ock-2 clock, but I don't really hear a difference. I have the clock connected to the U18, so I thought it made sense to connect it to the dac as well. The X-30 has a really good clock. 

@baylinor It’s been about an hour of playing music. Top is still around 91 degrees. The right side is 93 degrees.

For grins, I pointed the thermometer at a tube in my preamp. It measured 137 degrees.

@baylinor My infrared thermometer showed up.  Pretty neat little device.  

The temperature of the X-30 is at 91 degrees.  That's with the U18 sitting on top of it and potentially keeping it a littler warm.

The U18 ddc is around 87 degrees.

My Coda amp is at around 90 degrees at idle.

I'll play some music and see if anything heats up.

And, they are supposedly coming out with an R30, or something like that, towards the end of 2025.

I like the X-30, so I won't worry about the other offerings. 

I watched again. He did say 85%. Question is, what is his 15% worth? Idfk. Lol.

I’m going to be happy with what I have. I just ordered a new audio cabinet, so I have something else to focus on. :)

You haven't heard the X-30 which is the topic of this post.

You might research where some of your gear is made. 

I'm not talking about the review. I'm referring to your comment about Chi gear. 

I apologize if I've offended you. That was not my intent. I'm not like that. 

We have had different experiences with products and that's fine. 

That's fair. It's also fair to say that thousands of people have had positive results from well reviewed Chinese gear.  Especially dacs. 

As an owner of "Chi", I find your comments disturbing much like you do my "idfk". 

Make excuses for my rudeness?  Right.  I've tried really hard to not be rude. How was my last post rude? 

I'm not bothered by the term Chi-fi. I never said that. 

I’m not a big Chinese buyer. My amp, preamp, speakers, and phono preamp are made in the USA. Streamer in Portugal and turntable in Germany. SACD player and phono cartridge in Japan. Cabling is made in USA and Germany.

I've successfully emailed Gustard and they always respond.  It sometimes takes a day, or so, due to the time difference.  You might email them.  I purchased mine from Aoshida and they are responsive. You might email them.   I was told that they have a warehouse in North Carolina if I were to return a purchase, but I doubt they do any repairs there.