Gustard R26

@calieng 

Anyway I thought it sounded very good and well built. Very punchy and good width of sound stage. Then I swapped for one of my Denafrips R2R DACs and realized I need to return the A26. R2R is so much more organic sounding and much better soundstage.

I'll give the R26 a try instead to see how it compares. 

I'm looking for a reasonably priced dac for my second system in the home office. Been doing a lot of research and it sounds like your assessment about Denafrips sounding more organic holds true even in case of R26. For example, the British Audiophile guy likes the R26 for its treble, soundstage, and speed but he thinks if you want more solidity in the midbass region and below and prefer a more organic sound, then Pontus is still the way to go. This is not to say one is better than the other ... horses for courses. Since my taste leans towards jazz, vocals, blues, etc. I'm thinking I'll be happier with the Pontus. The R26 is great for electronic, rock, pop, etc. 

Another reviewer compared the R26 to the new Denafrips Ares 12th Edition and said he would go with the Ares due to the same reasons I outlined above. Interesting problem to have. Of course, I'm saying all this without ever having listened to the R26 so take it with a giant grain of salt :)

@arafiq 

I just got the LADDER Schumann DAC and was really impressed with it. It sits above the Denafrips Aries 12th that I have for resolution. It seems to be a little more analytical sounding but is also very musical. I might even consider it against the Pontus II depending on what it is driving.

Right now I have the Aries 12th, Pontus II, Venus II, and the Ladder all doing a great job in my stereo and headphone systems. Using Lumin U1 and U1 Minis all with LPS. The are primarily running into Icon Audio, Woo Audio, Feliks, and AmpsandSound.

Have a Innuos Pulse Mini inbound to try as well as a PI 2 Mercury V2 streamer. Will check out the Gustard R26 as soon as able.

It's all about system matching!

This reviewer, who I hold in high regard due to his knowledge and breadth of equipment reviews, compares the Gustard R26 favorably to the Denafrips Terminator.  That speaks volumes to me, FWIW. 

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/a-new-point-of-reference-gustard-r26-discrete-r-2r-ladder-dac-review/
 

I’d also highly recommend a DDC that will allow you to take advantage of the Gustard’s i2S input.  I did this with my Musician Pegasus DAC and it was a game changer.  Hope this helps, and best of luck. 

Other reviews have said A26 is better.

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/gustard-a26-dac-review-can-it-get-any-better/

Flavor of the month.

Denafrips lives long and prospers. 

I stopped believing online reviewers a while ago. It is good to get some details but their opinions are next to useless. One of them loves it and another hates it.

Case in point - Steve Huff gushing over the Willsenton R300 - amp of the year. I bought one and yes I was keen on it at first then I compared it to some other tube amps - I realized half the music was missing - no symbol crashes that were clearly evident on another amp....etc

These reviewers may mean well but in the end they are there to make money thru views on YouTube and some I believe get freebies or kick backs from the vendors and manufacturers.

I would rather trust the opinions on here.

@soix Like they say, horses for courses. I know Sandu has a lot of fans here, but just looking at his equipment and preferences I can tell that we are quite different when it comes to the type of flavor we like in our music. I respect him a lot and think he's one of the better ones out there. But his choice of amps (Benchmark) and speakers (KEF) tells me that he prefers a more neutral tonality. Nothing wrong with that, but I know that our tastes are quite different. 

Another reviewer compared the Gustard R26 to Denafrips Ares 12th Edition and preferred the Ares. Go figure! 

And Steve Huff ... well, the less we say about him the better .. lol!