Gustard R26 vs hi end streamer

@lanx0003 I'm listening to Maria Duenes and it sounds wonderful. I don't care for a lot of classical music, but this is something I enjoy. As I mentioned, I'm not a good judge of violin music, but it sounds great.

I wasn't trying to say anything negative about your Cambridge gear. They make great stuff. I own some. I bought my first Cambridge piece around 35 years ago. 

I didn't get great results hooking my cd player to the R26 using coaxial digital. I felt that the dac in the Denon DCD-1700NE sounded better. I bought a better coaxial cable and that closed the gap. I never tried optical.  But, that could be why the Cambridge streamer/dac sounds just as good as the R26..  I used the I2s connection on the R26 for streaming. 

Thanks for the music recommendation.

@sls883  I need to apologize for claiming the R26 streamer's performance was awful. I believe there’s a glitch in the unit I currently own. For some unknown reason that I haven’t yet identified, the LAN output weakens to a very low level. When I increase the volume, the sound is indeed 'awful' and I jumped to a conclusion after experiencing it once. The streamer in the R26 actually sounds as good, if not better, as the MXN10 and better than Ifi ZS.  Fortunately, this glitch did not affect the volume level when I evaluate R26 as a DAC. As you know also my unit has another clicking noise glitch.

@lanx0003 I recall your post about clicking. Sounds like your R26 has issues. I think I'd send it back if you can.

It sounds like the Cambridge streamer sounds good.  My son's cxa60 has a built-in dac and it sounds really good.  Better than the dac in a Node. And your Cambridge is a big step up from the cxa60. 

This crazy hobby can be a real money pit. I don't want to spend your money for you, but I don't think you'd be disappointed with the X-30. It's as good as I'll ever need.  I could have sent it back to Aoshida, but I opted to keep it. 

Responding to the original post.  I can weigh in on the 2nd question.  I would go with a separate streamer.  I started with integrated like many others and have moved to separates in all my equipment over time.  Bought a used Innuos Zen Mk3 from a local dealer to stream to my Holo Audio Cyan 2.  It sounds better than using my Blusound Node N130 as a streamer.  I like the BluOs app and operating system but the Sense app and system is even better in my experience.  

@sls883  I planned to send it back because of the clicking noise.  It turns out the volume level was not an issue. It was caused by the DSD toggle on/off and I just need to remember to adjust the volume up to 'fixed / maxed' level.  Before sending it back, I want to fully evaluate it to see if I need a replacement or different kind of DAC.  X30 is definitely under my radar but TBH it is outside my budget limit I am willing to spend at this point without fully exploring all options.