Gustard R26 vs hi end streamer

I tried Ifi ZS which has isolated asynchronous usb with R26 already and it does not resolve the issue.  MXN10 sounds better (than Ifi) so I stay with it.  

Maybe Audirvana sounds better than MConnect, but I doubt it can make that big of a difference. The reason I call it awful (sorry for the strong wording; how about "at best average" used by the other gentelman here) is that it costs over $1k more yet sounds worse than the MXN10, iFi Zen Stream, and Wiim. Both my primary (humble) and secondary (still humble) systems can easily reveal the sound quality disparity. 

Wharfdale Linton & Burchardt S400 mkII), both have quiet background, sound transparent, good SS, decent bass BUT R26 does not outperform my $400 MXN10’s DAC.

a) Sell Linton, not resolving enough...Move up to the Elysian

b) Treat your room, increase room's resolution 

c) Sell Gustard with some mustard. 

d) Get the new Schiit Gungnir 2 dac, all R2R goodness made in America.

e) Make things liquid by getting the Schiit Saga 2 Class A preamp.

f) Bring ultimate glory by getiing 2 Schiit Tyr Class A-ish continuity monoblock amps.

g) Welcome to the world of American Schiit..the Schiitiest world to be in....Hold hands with the other Schiits as we walk into the sunset together.

My son is using my R26 with a Cambridge CXA-60 integrated amp (also mine, lol).  He's using a Bluesound Node for a streamer.  It sounds really good, but he's got the system crammed into a small bedroom (less than ideal).  Speakers are Wharfedale Diamond 10.7 which are pretty nice for the money.  He has a huge cabinet between them and the speakers can't be pulled out into the room.  I'd like to hear the system in a larger room.

Picked up a used R26 (recommended by fellow Agon’r) last year ($1100) for my second system to replace a Black Ice Glass DSD Dac and Ifi Zen Stream. Simplified and vastly Improved functionality over the temperamental  Zen Stream.   Noticably improved sound quality  is excellent and I am very happy and I have no issues with it’s streamer.  I do notice it isn’t quite as warm and full sounding when comparing it to my Mojo Mystique Evo Dac / Bricasti M5 on my main system.  But it definitely holds it own and I am very happy with the way it draws me into the music just in a different way.  My simple second system is Raven Blackhawk Integrated Amp, Gustard R26, Stack Audio Smooth Lan, optical FMC filtering, Sonictransporter Roon Core, Roon, Fritz Monitors.

@deep_333 

I am not sure if you actually own Linton or had given it a fair trial.  The trerrific soundstage, flat response (see below) and nimble bass are the three main reasons I kept them for a good two years and might be many more years to come.  Look at the flat in-room response from Erin's measurements.  Lack of details, might be, but that is not the trait I had concern with. 

The concern I am having is related to the elevated treble beyond 10khz.  The tactic is to mitigate it is to toe them out a bit but that does not fully address the issue.  That is why I am looking for a DAC that could do the trick, starting with r2r DAC.  I acquired Saga 2 when it was announced and like it.  But the Cambridge Azur 851A's preamp could sweeten the sound as good as Saga 2 if not better.  I had tried AKM chips-based DAC but sound is a bit too warm for me.

I will give R26 one more week and, if not working, move onto the next which might be Qutest, gumby (as you have suggested) / yggi or hybrid or pure tube DAC like Black-Ice.

I could eq the treble region too but not really like what wiim pro + sounds in comparison (w/ MXN10).  Additionally, eq sound does not really sweeten / liquify the sound I found.