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Gustard U18 with Gustard R26 dac?

Greetings.  

I've done some searching in the forum and I know there are people with the Gustard R26 dac and/or the U18.  I currently have a R26 dac and I'm quite happy with it.  I'm just wondering if I might get a bit of improvement if I add a U18.

I'm using the R26 with an Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer via a Inakustik usb cable. 

If I add a U18, I've read that the I2s connection would be best. Questions that I have are:

- is this a worthwhile upgrade? I think the rest of my system is revealing enough. 

- will I need an expensive I2s cable? 

- does the I2s cable need to be really short? I can make it work if I rearrange my gear. 

Thank you for any input. 

sls883
sls883 OP
322 posts
 

@soix

Thank you very much.  That's the information that I was looking for. 👍

I'll need to order a cable of some sort. All of the hdmi cables that I have are at least 6 feet.  

sls883 OP
322 posts
 

@soix

Well, I ordered one from Amazon. They have a 30 day return policy, so I can send it to back if I can't notice any improvement. I also ordered a monoprice cable 12 inches long. I might get the DH Labs cable if I like the U18. 

sls883 OP
322 posts
 

Nice grammar (mine). Lol. 

soix
9,456 posts
 

Nice!  Love to hear your impressions once it settles in. 🤞🤞🤞 And hey, if everyone’s grammar here was anywhere near as good as yours this would be a much more user-friendly place. 🙄

sls883 OP
322 posts
 

@soix

I've done enough listening now to feel safe saying the U18 was a worthwhile addition.  It's added a bit of clarity/detail and realism to what already sounded quite good. No additional harshness.

This is with the $15 Monoprice hdmi cable. I have a DH Labs cable on order. 

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