*DAC
I am down to the last piece of the puzzle. I am very happy with the sound of my system at this point, so I’m not sure if the DAC needs to be improved on. What I am looking for is to hear those background subtleties in the music a little more pronounced. The strum of a guitar, the stroke of the piano keys, the clicks, ticks & tingles that accompany the music. I do here that now, I just wondered if there is a way to elaborate on those background sounds (details) a bit more.
Is it the DAC that will make this happen? If it is, they say my Gustard R26 is as good as a $5K DAC, how far over that $5K do you think I have to go?
Thank you for your help and suggestions and the best to you all over the holiday season and beyond!
PS: I listen mostly to Jazz
Though I haven't heard the X, a friend purchased an "A", so I have heard that one. It is more detailed than the "R", but in a somewhat of a "dry" presentation. It gets all the notes, but with somewhat less "tonality"(?), and less "soundstage". YMMV His system is different than mine for sure. Parasound JC 1+/JC 2, and Triton 1R's. He also has a "hot rodded" Gen Va. |
Thanks @rikkitik I’d still like to kick up a notch from the Gustard line, just not that many “Try Before You Buy” outlets around to do so. Also, just stuck my dad in one of those pricey, senior care homes, so I may be living with my R 26 for sometime to come. That’ll give me some time to try some of the suggested tweaks. |
i have not tried (nor am i inclined to try) the gustard dacs other than the r26... i have been fairly skeptical of these chinese companies in shenzhen cranking out endless dac model variations seemingly every month using a common chassis but about a year ago there was truly a groundswell of positivity about the r26 from all the usual sources of hifi marketing/hype, so i tried one on a lark (bought it used so i could resell in a jiffy if it didn’t please) but to my surprise (and a bit to my dismay), it has, it does -- it is just a wonderful sounding streamer dac that really fits my use case perfectly (roon) all a long way of saying that even in our lofty world of high end hifi, ’being stuck with a gustard r26’ in one’s system is no hardship in the least -- one truly needs to go deep into nosebleed territory to beat it sonically |
@jjss49 👍 |
I've never heard a Gustard but I stepped up early on to a Chord DAVE and indeed it provided the detail, realism and accuracy that you describe. My DAVE will be listed for sale as soon as I get around to it as I have moved to the next level with a Lampizator Golden Gate 3. The soundstage is astounding. the sounds you hear that have never been resolved before will have you looking up and smiling. The DHT preamp section will make the music sound more real, more close and just immaculate. So if you're the kind that likes to upgrade, save yourself some money and upgrade 2 steps at once. Jerry |
