I don't think we can make generalizations based on a bad unit. There are too many rave reviews on the product. Is it perfect? No, it's a $1500 dac. But, many reviewers believe it competes with more expensive dacs.
System matching also plays a role.
Gustard R26 - different sound signatures in different units
The Gustard R26 was recommended to me this year by reputation through a guy who hadn't heard it but knew people he trusted who recommended it.
Now I've listened to a few R26's now with mixed results. It's been a journey and I made some dumb mistakes by not paying close enough attention.
The first R26, new from Amazon, sounded dull and uninteresting, not extended on top. I was driving it through USB. I exchanged that R26 for another one, which sounded similar, but then I discovered driving it from the U18 DDC through coax (I have a very good coax digital cable) and the sound signature was totally different.. lively and extended on top.
Then I found a used R26 on EBay for much less than I had paid for the new one from Amazon, so I returned the one to Amazon and purchased the one from EBay. It sounded brighter than the one I had returned, but at first I didn't mind. Maybe was more detailed. Strangely, the display had a micro font compared to the first two I had.
For a time I didn't do any serious listening. I was more involved in my piano playing and composing hobby. I eventually went back to the R26 I got from EBay and realized it was much too bright. I wondered if it had old firmware, given the micro font on the display. I tried upgrading the firmware, but there was no change in the display or sound.
I ordered another R26 from Amazon. This one sounds completely different than the one I got from EBay. It has about 120 hours on it so far. The problem is that it has shrill/unpleasant sibilance. I'm not saying it's particularly bright. The R26 from Ebay is brighter yet doesn't sound shrill. So the this new R26 probably still has some burn-in time needed, but the shrillness hasn't diminished at all over the first 100 hours. Maybe it's even worse.
Anyone have a similar experience with any of these?
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@sls883 Yes I've tried all menu settings on all units. The basic sound signatures didn't change. The one I got from Ebay had a very tiny font on the display and it put all options on one page. The other ones had a larger font and put the options spread among two pages -- you scroll down to the second page. I tried updating the firmware on the one with the tiny font but there was no change. I noticed that the new price on an R26 has dropped a lot from about $1650 to $1450 in the time I've been exploring it. Not sure if this indicates a drop in review quality or excitement in general about the unit. |
Mine has the tiny font. I updated the firmware and I thought it would enlarge the font, but it didn't. I suspect the price drops are a result of competition and the fact that their development costs are covered. And like you said, it's no longer a new exciting product. Maybe they've made product changes over time. I don't know. I suppose anything is possible. Gustard will reply to emails if you send them one. It would be interesting to get their opinion on what might be happening. |
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