A26 Bit depth?
Bit depth only applies to PCM.
SDM/DSD output is 1-bit
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Duh 
My brain malfunctioned 
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Only peasants output PCM ! 
(hope nobody gets offended, this is a joke - I’m listening to PCM353kHz output right now myself)
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Some details ! And inside !
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I hope it will have the DSD part too…
From the pictures it would seem like it has 8 + 8 element DSD side as well though.
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DSD part is underneath this board ?
I see galvanic isolated USB input also.
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This is my guesstimate:
Cyan2:
Spring3:
So the difference would be that Cyan 2 has 8+8 DSD ladder and Spring 3 has 16+16 DSD ladder. If I’m right…
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What does that mean? 8+8 or 16+16. One better than the other or just different in some way.
The other has double the number of elements - all else being equal means the one with more elements has double the number of analog output levels and less ultrasonic noise passing through to the analog filter section. Final result depends on the combination. So it is too early to say about the performance on analog outputs. Less elements just puts more stress to the analog stage.
Now the Cyan 2 is more like what you get from regular DAC chips.
We’ll see!
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I see nothing more than a Holo Budget option. Meant to compete with Denefrips Ares/Enyo.
Lame.
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So Kitsune have said performance is closer to Spring2 than Spring3.
I can only guess they are talking about sound quality performance, not measured because in some ways Spring2 is better than Spring3!
Costs have been kept as low as they can with no screen, no remote control , no preamp/volume control function, less elements as you said
Will be interesting product for sure
I’m mostly interested in networked DACs these days but if this thing performs like Spring2 for much lower cost than Spring3, I might be interested
Especially with USB galvanic isolation built-in
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Only peasants output with I2S/USB!!
hope nobody gets offended, this is a joke
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Clearer pic of the front. Here playing DSD1024.
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I have written to Gustard about the update of the machine FW to correct the DSD direct issue. What they sent me is FW 1.43 which looks like the streamer FW. Does 1.43 also update the machine FW?
Doesn’t sound like a correct one. The file I got is called “GUSTARD_A26_CT_m12.8.zip”.
The controller firmware is flashed through the Type-C USB connector right above the Ethernet interface.
The Gustard Dac A26 thread on Head-Fi has some info. Ask Gustard again for the DSD Direct fix. It appears they store their updates on MediaFire
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Thanks guys, I was able to download the GUSTARD_A26_CT_m12.8 FW file from the headfi thread. Its size is 110kb
The A26_Gustarender_1v43_onlyA26_A26only FW file they sent me the link for also came via Mediafire and is 420Mb in size. It is also installed via a USB A-C cable. This is the picture they added to the email
So the two files are clearly different.