GUSTARD X26PRO DAC - I2S DAC X GIESEMANN 10M MASTER CLOCK

[addac]

Here is pictures of the subject. 

[addac]

Better picture

[FIndingit]

To complicate things a bit: see this document from Belden, point 3:

 

https://www.belden.com/blogs/13-common-bnc-connector-installation-mistakes

[addac]

Belden cables are very good. 

[R1200CL]

It’s hard to believe Gustard is shipping with 75 ohm connectors and claim it’s 50 ohm. 
 

I must check my Singxer SU-2 after this shocking news…..

[kennyb123]

On 1/29/2022 at 12:09 PM, MartinT said:

I unlocked its full potential by feeding it with my AfterDark Emperor Triple Crown clock, via a Belden 4694R cable. I also upgraded the Gustard's firmware to version F20 beta.

 

The sound took a step jump up in quality with amazing insight into the tiniest detail in a huge soundstage. Dynamics and impact are up, too. Despite the internal K-2 clock being very good, the AfterDark pulled away comfortably and truly revealed what the Gustard is capable of.

 

Glad to hear you got such a nice bump from the clock.  It looks like the Triple Crown has slightly lower phase noise at 1 Hz (-118) than my REF10 (-116).  That may explain why you reported a bigger jump than what I experienced with the REF10.  My REF10 is on the way to Mutec and will eventually make its way back to me as a REF10 SE120.  That'll bring the phase noise down to -120.  I am very much looking forward to hearing what it brings to my X26pro and EtherRegen.  

 

Very attractive price on the Triple Crown.  But I guess you have to add a power supply?  

[MartinT]

When you get the Ref10 SE120 back, try it with sinewave into both the ER and Gustard. Maybe it's just me, but I think sine clocks sound better regardless of what the manufacturer says.

 

Yes, the ADs need a good external power supply. I've discovered an excellent inexpensive ultracap PSU, the Zero Zone 01-A from AliExpress.

[kennyb123]

1 hour ago, MartinT said:

When you get the Ref10 SE120 back, try it with sinewave into both the ER and Gustard. Maybe it's just me, but I think sine clocks sound better regardless of what the manufacturer says.

REF10 is square wave only.  It’s my understanding that square wave can more easily be degraded if it’s not precisely implemented.  I suspect Mutec got it right.  Likewise for the Shunyata clock cables.

 

Prior to the REF10, I did evaluate the Gustard C18 reference clock.  This has both square and sine wave outputs but both at 50 ohms.  I found a nice uptick with the square wave.  The C18 is a heck of a clock for the money.  I opted for the REF10 though because it gave me both 75 and 50 ohm outputs plus an upgrade path.

[mitch751]

Quote from John of Uptone

 

"Yes, a mismatch has a larger affect on a square wave than it does on a sine wave, BUT the sinewave is already significantly worse than the squarewave. i still think a single mismatch on the squarewave will probably be better than the mismatch on the sinewave.

 

But that is just a guess, I haven't actually done that test and actually measured the output of the clock circuit.

 

John S."

[MartinT]

Fair enough, I'll be sticking with AfterDark clocks with sinewaves and very short Belden 4694R cables. They give me an astonishingly low noise floor and gorgeous sound quality.

[Cristrix]

Just ordered a customized Trifecta Emperor Triple Crown with Adrians great help for 2 x 50 ohms and 1 x 75 ohms square wave outputs. The two 50 ohms will go to the gustard x26 pro and gustard u16 ddc. The one 75 ohm will go to the Etherregen on a B->A configuration to optical rendu. Will receive hopefully in 3 weeks from now.  Currently using a gustard c16 clock which is already giving me very good improvements. Also playing via hqplayer dsd 512 output on roon/tidal to maximize the x26pro tech and the sound is already sublime. Cant wait to test the AD ETC and will feedback the outcome.

[addac]

@Cristrix Upgrade the to the U18 DDC. It is totally worth it. You will get a much level of performance. The U18+X26Pro is a crazy good combo.

/Jan

[R1200CL]

6 hours ago, Cristrix said:

The one 75 ohm will go to the Etherregen on a B->A configuration to optical rendu.

You may discover this isn’t the optimal setup. The moat degrades the phase noise. How much is unknown. 
I and a few others have placed an opticalModule between the EtherRegen and the opticalRendu. It works remarkably well. 
 

I understand it doesn’t make sense to have external clocked EtherRegen followed by a FMC with lower phase noise numbers, but that’s what’s been observed to work best. 
 

There is an experiment ongoing with external clock on the opticalRendu. I don’t expect much to happen this year. 
 

I have several times requested a EtherRegen with optical B side. This wish requires a whole new switch to be developed, at a quite hight cost. 3K has been indicated. My understanding is this isn’t going to happen in any near future. If ever. 
If we’re lucky, we can hope for an upgraded EtherRegen that accepts sine wave clock. (A built in sine to square converter). 

[Cristrix]

Thanks @addac and @R1200CL for the suggestions. The u18 and opticalmodule will likely be the next itch. The sound coming out from the c16 clock is already gorgeous for the x26pro, u18 and ER clocked together. Cant wait to hear the difference in quality for the AD Trifecta ETC  from a phase noise of -100 dbc/hz to -118dbc/hz.

[R1200CL]

Have any of you Gustard owners tried the Gustard fuse ?

 

https://shenzhenaudio.com/collections/gustard/products/gustard-hifi-replacement-fuse-nano-alloy-high-end-fuse-compatible-with-u16-c16-x16-a18-630ma-gustard-upgrade-fuse

 

[Cristrix]

Thanks for sharing this. Ordered two of this to try out and will arrive in a week. Will update if I can hear any difference.

[MartinT]

On 3/20/2022 at 5:41 AM, addac said:

@Cristrix Upgrade the to the U18 DDC. It is totally worth it. You will get a much level of performance. The U18+X26Pro is a crazy good combo.

/Jan

 

I agree.  Since replacing the Mutec MC-3+ USB with the Gustard U18 and switching to I2S between the U18 and X26 Pro, I have reached a whole new level of performance.

 

It's worth knowing that the I2S connection passes the master clock through, so you only need one external clock on the U18, which in my case is the superb AD Emperor Triple Crown.

[Cristrix]

On 3/28/2022 at 10:29 PM, MartinT said:

 

I agree.  Since replacing the Mutec MC-3+ USB with the Gustard U18 and switching to I2S between the U18 and X26 Pro, I have reached a whole new level of performance.

 

It's worth knowing that the I2S connection passes the master clock through, so you only need one external clock on the U18, which in my case is the superb AD Emperor Triple Crown.

Its interesting that x26 no longer needs clocking and will pick up from u18. Hopefully it sounds the same and also works for u16. There is some digital harshness if unclocked that can be fatiguing for long term listening. The digital harshness dissapears and sounds more analog if externally clocked. Will try this out once I receive the unit. Thanks.

[kennyb123]

On 3/20/2022 at 3:45 AM, R1200CL said:

Have any of you Gustard owners tried the Gustard fuse ?

Interesting, plus gotta love the price.  I went with a Synergistic Purple fuse for my X26pro.  It nicely opened up and extended the treble.  It was worth the price.

[kennyb123]

Owners of the X26pro likely already know that an external reference clock can improve the sound quality quite a bit.  What they may not know though is that returns don’t diminish as you move to an even better clock.  
 

I had my REF10 sent out for the SE120 upgrade.  It returned yesterday so it’s obvious not even close to being burned in.  Despite that the sound quality lift is significant in musically-important ways - and the lift is significantly larger than adding the REF10 in the first place.
 

One might argue that it would have been better for me to drop what I put towards the X26pro + used REF10 + SE120 upgrade on a much better DAC instead.  That may very well be right, but I am thrilled with where I landed.  Reproduction of drums and percussion have always been the most important to me and the upgraded REF10 brought the most significant improvements to instruments that are struck, plucked or blown into.  It’s crazy how much more realistically rise and fall times are now reproduced.  

[addac]

@kennyb123

If You don't use the Gustard U18 DDC, I2s (HDMI) with the X26Pro, I strongly advice You to do it. I also use the REF10 SE120 and with the U18 DDC, You will get an additional performance lift. And it is not a subtle one. I am using Gustard's own HDMI cable and the result is amazing.

 

The U18 is a cheap product but used with a high end External Oscillator like the REF10 SE120 it is bringing "wonders" to the result. I think some of the secrets for this great performance lays in the K2 clock synthesizer, present in both products (U18, X26Pro).

 

/Jan

 

 

[kennyb123]

1 hour ago, addac said:

If You don't use the Gustard U18 DDC, I2s (HDMI) with the X26Pro, I strongly advice You to do it. I also use the REF10 SE120 and with the U18 DDC, You will get an additional performance lift. And it is not a subtle one. I am using Gustard's own HDMI cable and the result is amazing.

What server are you using?  I'm guessing the better the server, the less a DDC might benefit.

 

I appreciate the recommendation but I won't be pursuing a DDC. I am doubtful that a DDC can bring a performance lift over what I get from my Shunyata Omega USB.  Plus I am trying really hard to avoid adding any more boxes.  

[addac]

I am using NAS servers with stored music and use Raspberry Pi's (4B) with special care for their power supplies (Ultra Silent LPS's) I also use one Class A psu for one of the players. USB cables are of high quality and with silver based conductors. I am using Logotech Media Servers Beta (from here: http://downloads.slimdevices.com/nightly/index.php?ver=8.3 ) on Qnap and Netgear NAS, Network player software used is piCorePlayer from here: https://picoreplayer.org/ . I am on version 8.1.

 

Please. Give the U18 a test at some point in Your setup. Try to borrow a unit and feed via HDMI (I2S) to the x26pro. You will be surprised.

 

/Jan

[Cristrix]

I have received the customized Trifecta triple crown 4 days ago and I can attest with all the reviews here for Afterdark. All x26pro, U16, and ER are connected to this clock and I cant stop listening to various kinds of music genre and appreciate everything all over again. I can now complete a whole album of Neil Young and David Bowies last album Blackstar appreciating the artist talent and not the noise. Noise is now more musical. The audio has become immersive by the soundstage and instrument separation. Also updated the fuse of the x26pro and U16 to Gustard fuse which contributed. Am now waiting for an ordered bnc from Geoff from aurealisaudio to upgrade the stock BNC cable. Thanks to Adrian for his responsiveness on the order of this unit.

[addac]

I say it again. Upgrade Your U16 to a U18. You will end up a much happier camper..😄

The difference between the U16 and U18 isn't subtle. Fed by a clock like yours will do wonder with your performance, I think the K2 synthesizer in the U18 has some part with the very high end result. Trust me on this.

 

I am now waiting for my second U18 to replace a U16 with in my headphone rig.