I just want to share a Nucleus positive experience, as often times you only hear about the issues. I am ‘Stress’ testing my Nucleus and burning in a new Gustard X16 this morning. Not a single issue with integration. I’ve connected the X16 directly to the Nucleus, and it recognizes all native features. The X16 connects balanced to the AAA789 HP driving the HD820s. Playing Rebecca Pidgeon from the Nucleus SSD indicates DSD 5.64MHz. Naturally it sounds superb. I paused the X16 play while another endpoint is active with Tidal, and raised the AAA789 gain to maximum - dead silent. I was not personally concerned about direct USB connection to Nucleus. This completes my recent upgrades to GigE connected Nucleus, WiFi connected SMSL SU-9 (ProJect S2 Ultra) to a Parasound HALO, and USB connected Gustard X16 to the AAA789. Everything went together seamlessly, and is working as advertised. Now having native MQA (SU-9), and native DSD and MQA (X16) is a big plus for audio and network utilization. Very pleased, thus far can highly recommend the Nucleus if your budget supports the purchase (now with 1TB internal HDD included !).
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I’m a big fan of the Gustard X16 and THX AAA 789 as well. 
Although modern DACs like the X16 are highly resistant to noise and jitter, I still prefer to avoid connecting DACs directly to Core. If nothing else, the separation of concerns feels cleaner that way. Let Core be Core and Outputs be Outputs. 
Regardless, I’m glad that it’s working well for you. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy!
Well we only tend to hear about the issues because it is largely a support forum and many otherwise happy users don’t even seem to join it until they have an issue.
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