INTRODUCING A FULLY DISCRETE FLAGSHIP R-2R DESKTOP DAC - THE GUSTARD R26

Gustard is a company with years of experience in the design of high-end and mid-fi level high-resolution audio equipment. They feature a sizable selection of headphone amplifiers, desktop decoders, etc. Gustard Audio is a Chi-HiFi company that focuses entirely on the digital side of Hi-Fi. Their products are well received by critics, audiophiles and casual listeners around the globe. Headquartered in one of China's leading tech hubs – the city of Shenzhen – Gustard is a company with research and development at its core. Its goal is to provide music fans with high-performance audio products at affordable prices. Gustard introduces their flagship R-2R desktop DAC Gustard R26 which is a streamer and renderer. With its most recent R26, a premium Discrete R-2R Desktop DAC, Gustard has entered the Discrete R-2R market. The R26 has a well-crafted R-2R resistor ladder array and a native 1-Bit DAC architecture that delivers a fantastic performance.

 SUPPORTS UPNP AND ROON INTERFACE WITH ADDED STREAMER AND RENDERER FUNCTIONALITY

Gustard R26 acts as a streamer or renderer. Currently, it supports UPnP and Roon interface. The audiophile community has taken notice of Roon, a music-playing software from Roon Labs that are available via monthly subscription. Given its support for high-resolution audio, gapless playback, and streaming protocols, it is one of the most complete music playback systems currently on the market. Additionally, it provides Tidal & Qobuz integration and assistance with networking audio devices. It is a music player that seeks to give you access to all of your music through an intuitive interface on your Mac, Windows, or mobile device. Media renderer is another Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certification that is part of the home network streaming experience. It can play videos, photos and music that are sent to it from a media controller. Multiple protocols or standards known as UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) make it possible for networked hardware components and software programmes to cooperate and communicate without the need for; end-user configuration. For communication and compatibility between UPnP devices and other hardware, such as USB printers, device drivers are not required. The rest of the components can be added, starting with the audio streamer to create an entire audio system.

 LET THE MUSIC FLOW WITH GUSTARD R26 FUSED WITH DISCRETE R-2R DAC ARCHITECTURE

A high-end desktop DAC with excellent performance, the Gustard R26 is intended to elevate your desktop stack to new heights. A discrete R-2R ladder DAC Gustard R26 claims high-performance thanks to a carefully planned R-2R ladder architecture. It is a native 1-Bit DAC that supports DSD signal decoding in its entirety; without converting it to PCM. Gustard R26 features a precisely crafted R-2R ladder DAC array. The R-2R ladder array converts the digital signal to analogue with precision. It offers a more natural sound where the vocals sound more pleasing, and notes sound; soft and well-defined. Gustard has professionally arranged the Resistors here with precision and precise adjustments. The DAC offers high-resolution performance with a native 1-Bit DAC. Gustard R26 has an R-2R resistor ladder array that covers the digital signal into the analogue with clarity and precision. Due to its R-2R architecture using discrete components of very high quality and perfectly optimised offers exceptional sound performance. R-2R architecture converts digital to an analogue signal by switching resistors' arrays. The Gustard R26 produces the same natural sound with precision resistors to reproduce full-range performance.

 TOUCHING HEAVEN ON FREQUENCY RESPONSE AND DELIVERING SUPER-CLEAN PERFORMANCE WITH ULTRA-LOW-NOISE 10M K2 CLOCK SYNTHESISER AND FEMTO CLOCK

Gustard has equipped the R26 with an ultra-low-noise 10M K2 clock synthesiser resulting in a clean performance and eliminating interference from the input source. With clock synthesization, the input signal clock is replaced with precision Femto clock FS jitter oscillators that eliminate interference from the input source clock. LPF (Low Pass Filter) is a discrete device for D/A conversion. Unlike ICs, discrete circuits offer the opportunity to record every nuance of sound and performance. Gustard's engineers were focused solely on reproducing ultra-clean sound without using any additional colouration. The Gustard R26 underwent numerous prototype tests to achieve this goal, and as a result, the R26 was created, reproducing sound with clarity and accuracy.

 PACKED WITH CPLD, NATIVE 1-BIT DAC, AND XMOS CHIP DELIVERING HIGH-RESOLUTION BLUETOOTH STREAMING

The Gustard R26 is a native 1-Bit DAC that supports high-resolution DSD512 natively through the USB input and native DSD1024 via the IIS input. IIS (Inter-IC Sound, pronounced "eye-squared-ess") is an electrical serial bus interface standard; used for connecting digital audio devices. PCM audio data is transmitted using IIS between integrated circuits in an electronic device. The Gustard R26 embedded with XMOS XU216 supports PCM768 (Pulse Code Modulation) and DSD512 (Direct Stream Digital). Without DSD to PCM conversion, a standalone 1-Bit DAC decodes the DSD stream. Gustard R26 features Wireless Bluetooth connectivity for Hi-Res audio signal input. It provides stable, lag-free Bluetooth V5.0 connectivity with high-resolution LDAC, aptX HD, aptX LL, AAC, and SBC wireless transmission codec support with a sampling rate up to 24bit/96kHz. The CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) enables signal routing, clock management, 2nd order PLL, DOP (DSD over PCM) decoding, and Depop for PCM and DSD decoding. Depop, sometimes known as "pop-and-click protection/suppression", usually quantified by pop performance, is a circuit used to take out unwanted pops or click noises. The engineers at Gustard incorporated Depop for PCM in the circuitry, which is a great feature to have, especially if the input or output connection has to be switched during operation or in high-gain circuits, where simply turning the power ON or OFF will cause interference. Note: The IIS over HDMI is different from the usual HDMI; Please do not connect to the usual HDMI as this is not an HDMI connection.

 ISOLATED DIGITAL AND ANALOG POWER SUPPLY WITH TWO TOROIDAL TRANSFORMERS REDUCING MAGNETIC FLUX LEAKAGE

R26 gets two independent toroidal transformers for the power supply on the device. The analogue and digital circuits get their separate power supply resulting in cleaner performance. The Gustard R26 is equipped with; two audio-dedicated toroidal transformers for audio applications isolating the digital and analogue power supply. Also, independent regulators with various stages of bypass capacitors can avoid all interference. The Gustard R26 was specifically designed; with two audio-dedicated toroidal transformers usually found in power supply systems. This type of transformer is highly efficient and quiet while generating minimal heat. The primary and secondary windings around the core are separated by insulation material. This design minimises magnetic flux leakage. Toroidal transformers provide significant benefits over the traditional square and rectangular-shaped transformers.

 EQUIPPED WITH A REMOTE CONTROL FOR EASY OPERABILITY AND THOUGHTFUL INPUT OUTPUTS FOR EASY CONNECTIVITY

The Gustard R26 features USB, Optical, Coaxial, Bluetooth, and AES, an Ethernet port for updating the firmware, IIS HDMI inputs, and clock inputs. AES is generally used to transmit PCM and Dolby Digital 5.1 but is unrelated to any sampling rate or audio standard. Gustard R26 has RCA (Single-ended) and XLR (Balanced) capability for outputs. Support LVDS level differential IIS reception (HDMI interface); it can accept the lowest jitter digital audio! Gustard R26 supports up to 7 input modes, compatible with most audio sources! The Gustard R26 also comes with a fully functional remote for easy operability. The Gustard R26 has a sandblasted aluminium alloy case which makes it sturdy.

 Affordable Excellence in Audio: The Shenzhen Revelation

eadquartered in one of China's leading tech hubs – the city of Shenzhen – GUSTARD is a company with research and development at its core. Its goal is to provide music fans with high-performance audio products at affordable prices. GUSTARD is one of those names that has had a strong pull in the audiophile world and are known for their desktop audio solutions, with a particular focus on headphones. Their line-up of products primarily includes headphone amplifiers, DACs, clocks, and recently integrated streaming devices.Gustard is one of the most secretive and mysterious audio equipment manufacturers out there. But GUSTARD sure knows what they are doing when it comes to digital audio. They are known for utilising high-quality components like toroidal transformers, embedding dual DAC chips in a dual-mono configuration and equipping a fully discrete class-A output stage in their gear.

 Digital Input Channels

 Analog Output Performance

 Other Specifications