GUSTARD DAC X26 III

*********** AVAILABLE FOR DEMO ********* The Gustard X26III is a balanced DAC and streamer that uses two top-of-the-line ES9039SPRO DAC chips, delivering accurate conversion of PCM signals up to 32-bit/768kHz and DSD formats up to DSD512, ensuring that the music signal remains faithful to the original audio source. It also has a multitude of connections enabling the connection of your various digital sources. Built on the CelWare 3.x software platform, the X26III supports Room Bridge, AirPlay, HQPlayer NAA, UPnP, mConnect, Bubble UPnP, Spotify and QQMusic protocols, ensuring broad compatibility with popular streaming and playback solutions. GUSTARD DAC X26 III in brief * Dual ESS ES9039SPRO flagship digital/analog conversion circuits. Has support for PCM 32bit 768kHz and DSD512.. Also has a NOS mode for those who want to use it. * Gustard's own FPGA * Runs CelWare 3.x - The OS uses a Linux kernel optimized for audio processing and is compatible with Room Bridge, Airplay, HQPlayer NAA, UpnP, mC Mconnect, Bubble UpnP, Spotify and QQMusic protocols. Can be easily activated or deactivated via browser. * USB XMOS XU216 interface, which supports up to PCM 768kHz and DSD512. * Independent Power Supply architecture (one for the analog part and one for the digital part). * IIS HDMI Input. * Analog LPF discrete class-A circuit solution. * GCLK internal clock * Dual analog outputs - SE and XLR * Remote control with full functionality. The package includes: * 1x Gustard DAC X26 III * 1x USB cable * 1x remote control * 1x power cable "Sometimes a unit lands on my test bench and begins to showcase its music-making capabilities, features, and impressive engineering qualities and the affordable price is a bonus that makes it seem like my keyboard is writing words by itself. The Gustard team has trained another natural-born DAC killer amidst their ranks, a true headbanger and dopamine infuser that’s stoic and proud of its heritage. As a whole, the X26 III has little to no compromises and that’s the raw, unspoiled truth. Pit it against units costing 3 or even 5 times its price and we’ll be talking about nuances, tiny things that were better on one or another unit. Sure, it’s still not X30-beating material, but it wasn’t supposed to dethrone its bigger brother, only its older one, which it did gracefully. And yes, the X26 III isn’t only a marginal facelift that makes it symmetrical looking, exuding a higher refinement versus the raw-er looking X26 PRO, but a re-imagination of the X26 line, by gently altering its tonality, simplifying the signal path, improving the most crucial components (DAC chips & clocking system), while further expanding its feature set by adding a wired streamer that supports a ton of protocols and its Roon enabled too. X26 III isn’t reinventing the wheel, it’s still the same good old X26 PRO having much-needed improvements across the boards, without asking for an astronomical price. Last week, we gave our first Highly Impressive award to the Ø Audio FRIGG 02 loudspeakers and while I won’t give these awards so lightly in the future, the Gustard X26 III deserves all of the praise, getting our second Highly Impressive award. This is how a great-sounding product should be improved and I hope its close competitors are taking notes." SoundNews.Net (Dec 2024)