That DAC is hardly what one would categorize as one of the “best native DACs for use with HQPlayer”. In fact, that DAC setup is not even in the vicinity of “best”.
I’ll take my “boring” Holo Audio May KTE DAC using USB over any DAC that is part of an RPi4 sandwich.
I was thinking more along the lines of Merging+
If you follow the context of the discussion, it was simply a reply a question… it was not a general post claiming best anything…
Update here as well. Gustard has made updated firmware for their A26 DAC and now the DSD Direct mode works as expected. If you already have A26, you can request firmware update from them. New production coming out from their factory will have the new firmware already.
I have confirmed that DSD128 and DSD256 seem to go through at their native rate (4499EX always operates at 5.6/6.1 or 11.2/12.3 rate).
For best performance:
Does all DACs with the AKM4499EX chip support DSD Direct?
and another question would be, does it matter what happens with the signal after the digital to analog conversion within the DAC? Meaning, does the signal goes straight out to the anaolg outputs or is there a relevant “analog section” within the DAC which potentially could influence sound quality?
Thank you for this good news, Jussy.
2 questions :
No, it is a specific set of configuration options on the AK4191+AK4499EX chip combination.
You will always need a proper I/V (current to voltage conversion) section and analog post-filter section. Plus possibly separate output buffers. For example in my designs I always use separate cable capacitance compensated output buffers.
DAC chips like 4499EX and ESS output just current within specified range and contain also fair amount of high frequency switching noise. So especially the I/V stage needs to be wide bandwidth low distortion for 100+ MHz.
Yes, that’s the case.
No, based on my measurements, the wide setting gives notably better performance.
No, but it is not native rate for the AK4499EX chip which always operates at 128fs or 256fs speed. It cannot operate at 512fs or higher, or 64fs or lower. So any other rate requires rate down-conversion for the converter chip. This results in worse audio band SNR performance at DSD512 because some of the ultrasonic noise is aliased back to audio band. Distortion remains unchanged though.
Thanks Jussi,
I am always contemplating if I should upgrade from the tiny(/cheap) SMSL D6 to something bigger(/way more expensive) like a Gustard A26. Could this analog part something were a bigger device could be better or is the anaolog section pretty much standard and there is not much improvement to be expected?
P.S. Just read, that the Topping E70V has no DSD direct mode, that also answered my question. 
D-6 is at DSD256/DSD512 is very good, especially for the price. It is also totally different DAC architecture than A26 (switched capacitor filter vs switched resistor array).
In audio band, it’s performance is the same with DSD256 or DSD512 and it is very good. Distortion is higher than A26, but still very low.
In ultrasonic frequencies it has some interference from the built-in SMPS. And the amount of ultrasonic noise getting through is also higher. So the price is visible for example in the PSU (partially due to the small device size) and in the analog section, especially regarding very simple post-filter.
And of course, A26 has a built-in NAA.
Whether these differences are enough to warrant the price difference is something everyone needs to evaluate on their own.
A26 process firmware updated !!
And go-on to the DSD 256 sweet spot (even if I did everything possible to be able to produce DSD 512) 
What version of NAA is it running?
Can you see in your log?
Happy with the SQ?
This involves updating the “machine” firmware that decodes the signal (DSD filter update).
A115_131_234
It’s the renderer firmware that manages the streamer (1.42 to date).
And for NAA, I have version 4.50 … since I updated it myself (independently of the version included in the 1.42 firmware).
Which NAA Linux package does it use?
Which distro?
And what kernel version are they running?
I have sent an email and they only replied to me www.gustard.cn.
Why don’t they put the firmware on the website? Is it because they are still testing ？
I understand it is because they’d like to avoid people bricking their devices for example by installing firmware on a wrong device. Denafrips has been having similar approach regarding the firmware update. I can totally understand it.
I made same experiences. I asked them to provide me with dsd firmware but they just send me to their official download page where the update is not available. What should I do next?
Tell them that it’s not available there?
Yes I did.
And did they say anything?
