Gustard X16 Dac Cum Pre-Amp
Together with being one of the best DACs in this price range , The Gustard X16 has an excellent volume control which is better that most integrated amplifiers and would better than most analog preamps as well under 75000 rs .This allows it to be used as a preamplifier with 3 digital inputs.
Here is a review from a highly respected source
https://www.psaudio.com/copper/article/gustards-x16-digital-to-analog-converter-my-new-standard-for-moderately-priced-dacs/
Another Review and Actual Tests by Audio Science Review (UNBIASED AND UNPAID):
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/gustard-x16-balanced-mqa-dac-review.17419/
We recommend following the above forum where all reviews are impartial UNPAID and most importantly done by users who are highly knowledgeable in digital audio.
Some YouTube reviews are here
Comparison reviews
Why we recommend the Gustard over the competition ?
The Gustard has a better and more robust power supply than its competitors like SMSL and Topping, it is also one of the handful of companies that has figured out how to resolve the ESS hump correctly. The implementation of the ESS chip the design, the IP and output stage and the engineering focus is far greater than its competition , even its weight is close to double its competitors for comparative models owing to is PSU and cabinet build.
Instead of writing paragraphs of confusing material which we are sure you can find loads of on the internet let us make this simple and highlight the features only in a clear point format
Functions and features:
- The Gustard X16 Use two ESS company ES9068AS digital to analog conversion chips which can directly recognize and render the MQA digital stream after the first level is expanded and reduce the external control signal interference when the DAC is working, so as to achieve the ideal playback.
- The Gustard has an excellent volume control which is better that most integrated amplifiers and would better most analog preamps as well under 75000 rs .This allows it to be used as a preamplifier with 3 digital inputs
- USB uses XMOS’s xCORE-200 series 16 core XU216 processor, supports native DSD and 32 bit PCM.
- Uses 2 American ACCUSILICON femtosecond crystal oscillators as the global master clock.
- The digital processing system uses Intel’s ALTERA’s large high speed CPLD logic array chip to construct digital integrated circuits with logic functions by itself, with clock management, 2nd PLL digital shaping, Dop demodulation, PCM/DSD depop Switch and other exclusive technologies. Lay a solid foundation for excellent sound quality.
- Multiple Interfaces: The fully balanced decoder GUSTARD DAC-X16 supports USB/I2S/COAX/OPT/BT/AES input, and has two output modes: RCA single-ended output and balanced XLR input. It is a true fully balanced decoder.
- Highly recognizable white light OLED display,simple user interface, full-function remote control.
- High-quality Toroidal transformer, multiple sets of linear voltage regulators, and TI high-current ultra- low noise LDO chips used in key parts.
- 0PA1612A high-performance operational amplifier composes analog circuit.
- VISHAY MELF high-precision low-temperature drift resistance is used in the key part of the analog circuit part.
- High-quality toroidal transformer, multiple sets of linear voltage regulators, and TI high-current ultra- low noise LDO chips used in key parts
GUSTARD DAC X16
Balanced DAC 2x ES9068AS Accusilicon XMOS MQA Bluetooth 5.0 32bit 768kHz DSD512
Gustard’s DAC X16 is a DAC that benefits from a quality design thanks to the use of high-end components. These include two ES9068AS DACs, an XMOS XU216 USB controller, Accusilicon clocks and an Altera MAX II CPLD.
Complete connection system
The DAC X16 is equipped with a particularly complete set of connectors, which means that it can be easily integrated into most audio systems. Inputs include USB-B, Coaxial, Toslink Optical and I2S via HDMI, as well as Bluetooth 5.0. On the output side, the DAC offers a balanced XLR output and an unbalanced RCA output.
MQA decoding
The DAC X16 is capable of decoding MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) files via its Coaxial, AES, Optical and I2S inputs. MQA allows sound reproduction quality to be as close as possible to the original recording.
Dual ES9068AS DAC
Embedded on a pair of new-generation ESS Sabre ES9068AS chips, the DAC X16 provides a very rich and precise reproduction, with a THD+N of -120dB and a dynamic range of 128dBA. These chips also allow hardware decoding of AQA files and support high-resolution files up to 32bit 768kHz PCM and DSD512.
Altera MAX II CPLD
An Altera MAX II CPLD provides perfect clock signal handling for extremely low jitter, while offering audio signal correction and enabling DoP decoding.
High quality design
The DAC X16 is equipped with many high-quality components. These include low-distortion and low-noise OPA1612 AOPs on the I/V conversion circuit, Vishay and MELF resistors, TPS7A47 and TPS7A33 linear regulators and a custom-designed toroidal transformer.
Two Accusilicon AS318-B clocks are also present to provide an extremely accurate clock signal.
Bluetooth 5.0
Equipped with a Qualcomm CSR8675 chip, the DAC X16 can receive audio streams via Bluetooth. In addition, this chip supports the SBC and AAC codecs, but above all aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD and LDAC for a stable transmission and a more than convincing reproduction.
XMOS XU216
The USB-B input is associated with a high-performance XMOS XU216 chip. It supports PCM files up to 32bit 768kHz, DSD files up to DSD512 and 384kHz MQA files.
HDMI I2S-H Pinout
Product Specifications
C0AX: PCM 16-24bit/44.1-192kHz; DSD DOP64
AES: PCM 16-24bit/44.1-192kHz; DSD DOP64
OPT: PCM 16-24bit/44.1-192kHz; DSD DOP64
USB: PCM 16-32bit/44.1-768kHz; DSD DOP64-DOP256;
NATIVE DSD: DSD64-DSD512
IIS: PCM 16-32bit/44.1-768kHz; DSD DOP64-DOP256;
NATIVE DSD: DSD64-DSD512
BT Bluetooth 5.0: PCM LDAC,AAC, SBC,APTX,APTX LL,APTX HD and other high frequency encoding,
LDAC can achieve 24B/96K high code transmission
* USB input supported operating system: WIN7 SP1/WIN8/WIN10 32-64bit; macOS; Linux
Analog output performance:
Amplitude frequency response: 20-20kHz/+-0.08dB
DNR: >126dB
Crosstalk: -130dB@1kHz
THD+N: <0.00010% 1kHz
IMD: <0.0004%@-1dBFs
RCA Output level: 2Vrms VOLUME 00dB)
Output impedance 100 ohms
XLR Output level: 4Vrms(VOLUME 00dB)
Output impedance 300 ohms
Other Specifications
AC Power supply: AC /230V 50/ 60Hz
Power consumption:<15W
Full Function remote control
Dimensions:220mm*50mm**170mm
Weight: 2. 5Kg
