I will check up on this. Thanks for the tip!

Over time I've been fortunate to have had several DACs in my system.

They run the gamut of price and performance often without much relationship between the two.

The X26 Pro entered a couple of months following its introduction and has performed at the top tier level.

When mated to the U18 DDC and run on the I2S connection it knows very few peers.

Throw in higher quality power cords and fuses to cross the finish line ahead of the pack.

Enjoying this piece immensely on a daily basis and look forward to any excuse I can find for a listening session.

As I understand it, the U18 accepts input from USB. It then galvanically isolates and reclocks the signal converting output to AES or I2S. The I2S signal is native to the DAC chip in the X26 ProDAC so no preprocessing takes place which might affect the signal. I2S also carries the clock signal from the U18 so your external clock would attach to the U18 and the X26 Pro clock would go unused. The I2S cable is a bog standard HDMI but I've enjoyed improvements with an affordable Supra 8K cable.

Disregarding all of the above, the U18 creates a significant uplift in sound quality and purity for relatively manageable expense.

Hope that might be helpful for you.

Hah - snap, Nick!

It’s hard to believe that what I’m now hearing can be improved upon in any significant way. But when I embarked on this digital journey awhile back (starting with a Chromecast Audio, a scrap of toslink, and a $100 DAC), I thought the same thing. Hearing is believing, as they say.

Ordered my X26 on EBay on May 23rd. It’s just landed in Paris and is due to be delivered to me on Tuesday. Am more than a bit excited…..

It arrived early at lunchtime………wow!

It is undoubtedly a good dac and hard to beat at its price point.

I thought I'd provide an update on the X26 Pro DAC since it's the R26 that's getting all the love at the moment.

The Gustard range appears to have three flagships, each representing the best of its included technology:

- X26 Pro (ESS dual ES9038Pro delta-sigma)
- R26 (Resistor-to-Resistor ladder)
- A26 (AKM dual AK4499EX delta-sigma)

Reading other reviews suggests there is a spectrum of performance between dynamic/detailed to smooth/warm of X26 Pro - A26 - R26.

Having now lived with my X26 Pro for a good long time, and heard how it responds so well to grounding/cabling/supports/clocking, I want to make the following observations.  When Gustard first released the X26 Pro, it was clear that this was an implementation of the ESS chipset that does things differently.  Whether it's down to the inbuit K-2 clock/synthesiser, the custom digital filters that bypass the built-in ESS ones, the separate digital/analogue dual power supplies, or the properly designed high output analogue pre-stage that can drive a power amp directly, it's likely to be a combination of them all.

As with many other DACs, the X26 Pro has perfectly serviceable USB and AES inputs, as well as a very well implemented bluetooth input, for stand-alone use.  However, where its performance really reaches another level is by (a) using a high quality external clock and (b) feeding it via the I2S input.  In this mode, it really shows what the ESS chipset can achieve: incredibly well resolved detail far back into the soundstage, with very wide separation left to right.  Low level ambience, reverb, and live/studio noise all making the performance 'real'.  Fantastic note decay giving the feeling of being in the performance venue.  The shimmer of cymbals in hi-resolutions has to be heard to be believed, giving the best differentiation between standard 16/44 Red Book (CD) resolutions and up to 24/192 streams.  Finally, the bass.  Just - wow.  Incredibly impactful and monstrously deep, it does pulsating bass rhythms (Nelly Furtado - Cold Hard Truth) or incredible wall-shaking infra-bass (Yello - Takla Makan) equally well. But the most important attribute for a DAC is liquid, flowing midrange such as in female vocals. I am a female vocal lover and I wouldn't touch a DAC that cannot do expressive vocals well.  This one does it in spades, the combination of the Gustard and my beryllium midrange drivers keeps me in heaven, again and again.

Good supports (I have several levels of isolation and good weights on top) and good grounding (a QA Premium box is connected to the disused S/PDIF input) help to extract the final nth of sound quality, together with good cables (Tubulus I2S for input, LMR-400 for clock).

Regarding the custom filters, it's clear to me that 'Vivid' is rather akin to the vivid mode used on TVs in stores to make the picture pop out at you.  When you start watching seriously, you will soon revert that setting to something that represents the gamut of colours in a more lifelike manner.  It's the same for me with audio, 'Vivid' was designed to impress immediately, whereas the 'Gentle' mode is actually Minimum Phase, a filter mode I used for many years on my Ayre SACD player which supresses unnatural pre-ringing when converting D to A.  It better represents the natural timbre of instruments and large soundstages more naturally to my ears.

The best thing about Gustard's design is that it gives the lie to the common misconception that the ESS Sabre chipset is harsh or bright.  It's all down to the implementation and Gustard got this spot on.  I don't hear any harshness or brightness in my system unless it's in the recording (sadly, some recordings have this and it cannot be adjusted out in any system).

It's all down to preference at the end of the day.  I have never subscribed to the idea of achieving a 'vinyl' or 'valve' or 'warm' sound for my system.  I want it to be accurate to the recording and I back that up by going to live concerts including unamplified instruments, so I know what they sound like.  If my system can approach that sound, I'm happy.  If you also want to achieve that balance in a superb digital solution that doesn't cost 5 figure money, consider the X26 Pro.  It's an awesome piece of kit.