Gustard R26

@yyzsantabarbara the #16 is too expensive for me at this moment given the looming recession but if my investments weather the storm I might go for it. Which Krell specifically are you thinking?

I just put my KRELL DUO 175XD up for sale. It is sonically a lot like the CODA #16 because the KRELL is Class A like the mostly Class A #16. The CODA #16 is more powerful even though it is 150 watts vs the 175 of my amp. The current is very high on the #16.

I am going back and forth between the CODA #16, KRELL 375XD mono, or if my investment succeeds, the upcoming KRELL KSA i400. Though that maybe too big, too heavy, and more expensive than KRELL originally stated.

I want a powerful amp for the KEF Blade 2 Meta. The 175XD is not enough for the room I am putting the speakers into (high volume).

I hope they begin 1v1 Battle all of these firmware upgrades online.

OP, any update of the r26?

Yes I received the r26 and have been out of country for a while but now back. Have about 150 hours on it. I will try to make this short. I have never been more pleased with a purchase ever. First listening the bass jumped out and highs were sharp and sterile. At about 75 hours it all started to come together. I have thrown every thing at this I can and I just want to listen to more. My favorite setting is Qobuz through lan and nos. The sound stage is huge and at any time you can single out sny instrument you want to listen to. I think the biggest take away is my Vandersteen 2 se signatures sound like they are four times bigger than before. This dac is best described as musical you just want to sit and list to more. My go to Stevie Ray “tin pan alley” was given new life. When Stevie is singing the lyrics “better place to be” when both b’s are started you ban hear the air hitting the mic. Same with Tull “thick as a brick” you can almost feel Ian Anderson spitting on you when playing the flute. With the majority of dac’s I have heard the one thing I have never been impressed with have been drums. To me digital just can’t do drums until now. It is not perfect but the note decay for drums is the best I have heard. This will not go down as the best dac that can compete with the 20k and 30k models but it should win the award for best bang for the buck dac hands down. Down the road I will look into a ddc unit to take advantage of the I2S connection and external clocking but right now the Gustard R26 does not make me feel rushed at all. Anyone sitting on the fence jump off head first.