Have you used the R26 with a dedicated preamp? I’m using the built in preamp right now and was wondering if I stood to gain anything from a dedicated one.
At the moment I am using it at my Ayre Preamp. I think the internal Preamp is working very well but there are other components like a Tuner, Phone aswell in my system so I need the Preamp…
In the meantime the R26 is simply working as a DAC for my Volumio Rivo. This not only gives a little smal bit of extra sound quality it also bring in Tidal connect that I use a lot.
Cheers
Christian
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I’m excited for the upcoming Gustard DAC A26 with akm 4499ex…
Measurements for the R26 are not exactly where I want them to be , especially the DSD performance
It there an English translation available?
Thanks!
Google translate is what I use. Works well enough for the important parts
Thanks- that worked well!
There is a new Firmware V 1.4 . After the update is done you have to aktivate the R26 in the audio settings in roon again.
Changes are only for DSD use. No new extras like Tidal connect or spotify connect.
Cheers
Christian
On Shenzhen Audio the difference in price between the R2R and AKM versions is currently 200 USD.
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Do you know if the new firmware addresses measurable DSD performance concerns?
Thanks for letting us know!
Firmware 1.4 is for the RoonBridge firmware only. It won’t address any concerns beyond its use with Roon.
Hi all,
Just received my new R26.
When I use the LAN input and the built in NAA in combination with HQPlayer I hear a soft noise at the beginning and end of every song. When I pause a song there is also a soft noise which automatically mutes after a few seconds.
When I stream directly from Roon I don’t hear this noise.
Does anyone have the same experience, is this a known issue and is there a fix ?
Hi one and all I’m also looking at an R26 for use as a roon raat end point. I’ve already got certified end points = naim roon streamer, chord hugo2go and an ultra rendu. All of these can be found on the roon parters page/listed certified devices. As discussed on this thread Gustard isn’t on the list.
Is there any risk on the R26 getting blocked by Roon as a non certified device?. I also understood Roon took a firm position on manufacturers misrepresenting roon certification??? Hopefully I’m completely off target here and no risk on purchase and roon block but would be very keen to hear from Roon on this before I purchase?
Many thanks
Rob Derham
It depends on how they implement their Roon capability. There is Roon Ready certification or there is the Roon Bridge path. Because the streaming module effectively runs a pretty standard Linux OS it is possible for the user to simply download Roon Bridge and press it into service. The Chinese manufacturers are increasingly doing this. I’m not sure exactly how Roon view this by commercial actors but what it does mean is that maintenance and support of Roon capability falls to the manufacturer and not Roon.
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Hi ! I have the R26. In the end it is a DAC. So if anything would change you can still use an extra certified Streamer, like the Volumio Rivo and still enjoy this wonderful DAC.
Cheer and all the best for 2023
Christian
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Can anyone confirm if R26 can do raat multiroom?
Hi Robert while I cannot fully confirm it as I do not have one, any device’s supporting Roon RAAT through Roon Ready or Roon Bridge can be joined to a multi room set-up and should be fully in sync
Hopefully someone who has one can confirm it through experience for you
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If it’s using Roon Bridge yes it can be grouped with any other RAAT enabled zone. You stil may need to play with delays to get them fully in sync as the R26 wont be giving Roon all the information a Roon Ready device would get back from the machine in regards to delays. But any bridge device can be synced with any other bridge device or Roon Ready device.
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Hi everyone, I am interested in getting Gustard’s $200 cheaper “Dual AK4499EX AK4191 chips” version as Roon Endpoint/DAC to feed into my Dirac Live AVR.
My original choice was HiFi Rose RS250A with ESS9028PRO DAC chip. This has an additional touchscreen advantage but it’s not available until March and it costs $1000 more.
Which one do you think will give the better sound quality? I have heard so much about how R2R DACs have superior sounds so I am afraid that if I go to the RS250 route I may up having to get another R2R DAC again like Denafrips.
One thing that annoys me about both Gustard and HiFi Rose is that they both don’t support Tidal Connect. I’s much faster/easier to dive into my Tidal playlists and play instead of diving through Roon.
Feedback is appreciated.
There are reports both gustards have only 128mb ram. And if you don’t use the internal streamer you can’t take full advantage of the gustards clock.
I would think twice about buying a Gustard DAC
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