beerandmusic

Well I got my Gustard A18 and it sounds as good or better than any DAC I have heard, and I am pleased. Most notably is depth and detail especially with native DSD256.

before the dac all that exists is digital music and noise....and the digital music is received perfectly, so nothing left to compensate for besides noise.

I asked Barrows the same question comparing to the Teac Nt503 about 4 years ago and he couldn't answer and the teac was only about $1k if i remember. I am not convinced it would sound any better than just streaming to a marantz nd8006....put your money in speakers.

i have been using sony blu-ray players to stream dsd since 2013 and i think the Teac NT503 network dac came out in 2014?

how did the qutest compare with your hegel dac? I thought about trying "chord magic" after Davide talks up his mojo so much, but then ran into someone else that had the mojo and said it sounds the same as any other dac he has owned, and has had pretty much same experience as me, hoping for an appreciable upgrade from a dac and never getting one. Qutetst was going to be my last hope...curious if i will hear any real appreciable difference.

do you happen to know if the remote allowed you to power off the unit with long-hold, or no way to turn off with remote?

sorry, i didnt make the video or the cover...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuRHSt-6fHk

i got the gustard a18 from them (Apos audio). I am surprised they let you return it after 4 weeks? I understand the gustard a18 is heavier and feels more solid than the d90.

i would think so, comparing $700 topping d90 dac to your $2500 dac...that hegel looks nice... i don't think my $500 gustard a18 dac will compare much to your $2500 dac either....but there is always the other side of the fence that believes all dacs that measure well will sound the same....who knows...

I just bought the gustard a18 It's the lowest price DAC that supports DSD with an LPS that measures "well". Sports the new ak4499 chips In all likelihood, i won't hear an appreciable difference, and will prefer streaming via my marantz (yawn)....but i need a new toy. AND IT'S ON SALE !! I love sales. $505 (bought at apos.audio and had them match shenzenaudio https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/gustard-dac-a18-ak4499-balanced-dac-lme49860-6-decoder-with-remote-control )

I think any new dac i buy will specifically market galvanic isolation, and if that isn't really necessary, then the topping d90 is looking better all the time...but i still don't think it will sound any better than just streaming with my marantz, as that has been my experience after trying about 15 different dacs.

Anyway, i liked your first response better, that i believe, if i understand correctly, is that all dacs "regenerate" (term used loosely) to indicate it goes through some processor, and no dac literally isolates the usb 5v reference....so we are back at square one...do dacs compensate for usb noise sufficiently or not....one side will say they do and that usb noise cannot make a difference and they will all sound the same, and the other side will say you have to spend a lot of money and they still will not compensate enough.......which is why i would like a dac that does isolate as best as possible since it is "debatable" that audio engineers cannot agree on. That said, i guess, I can simplify my desires in my next usb dac to just be galvanically isolated that measures well and I can skip the part about having it's own 5v reference voltage or one that reclocks....not sure there would be anything else to look for in making a decision.

That may be true, but how is it possible for anyone to make a decision then on which ones to try? They can't base it solely on measurements, and they can't base it on debatable technologies. THat is the problem with the hobby. Sure you can say base it on your own hearing...I have already tried that as well trying a multitude of them. No one can seem to offer "logical" reasoning for the layman. By definition of function of the dac, all dacs should sound exactly the same, and I have yet to find one usb dac that sounds as good as other interfaces. I am very close to giving up on the endeavor again to find a usb dac that sounds any better than playing from a smart phone or streaming through a cheap avr... Even the objectivists on the "other site" suggest that all dacs with good measurements will sound the same...so that I guess is where this will end...i guess I just had higher hopes. I know davide256 suggest the mojo is the answer, where one person over there (that is presumably well respected there), has the mojo and suggests it sounds exactly the same as any other dac that isn't "trash". Then when you question people (whether they believe all dacs sound the same or you have to have the best pc, the best power supply, the best isolation, and even then it won't be good enough), they belittle you and just say "just believe us", even though they are on totally different belief systems. One side suggests spend whatever you want they will all sound the same, and the other side suggests you have to spend a fortune, and there are so many improvements....I personally believe that it has to be somewhere in between the two extremes, so I have to use something to guide me....sure i can just buy another 15 dacs and resell them again, and let my own ears decide....and i will probably still be of the same mindset after all that effort, that all these improvements haven't really amounted to anything and that streaming DSD through my marantz still sounds better....and that's not necessarily a bad thing...it actually sounds pretty damn good....i just would prefer to have it sound this good through usb....yawn.