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An interesting feature of the device is the ability to reverse phase of the signal. You can enable this in the “phase invert” menu. As a result, any phase is reversed 180 degrees. This function will be useful when listening to phonograms with the phase reversed during recording. Leave this feature disabled of course. To return your product, you should mail your product to: 4F 405, Building F, No.2 Shangxue Science and Technology North, Bantian Street, Longgang Dist, ShenZhen, 518129 Guangdong, China
Neil Landstrumm’s Busy Making Videos has plenty going on in the mix and the X16 copes very well with everything that is thrown at it. However, I just feel that the music isn’t as exciting as it should be – something is missing that gives my other DACs the edge in this regard. Don’t get me wrong, this is not terrible in any way and I could be well happy listening to the Gustard forever, but it’s not got that little bit of sparkle that sets great kit apart from the herd. I got this feeling throughout my time with the Gustard – not missing anything but not really falling in love with it either. I cannot put a finger on anything that bothers me really with this unit, the soul of the music is here, it created emotions that only R2R units could easily unearth from my music, it has the soundstage of serious AKM designs, it has their flow, while retaining the best virtues of ESS-Sabre designs like detail retrieval, transparency, cleanness, speed and thunder like impact. Can I really complaint about anything wrong in this unit? I probably can’t. The module board that can be removed is dedicated for the Heahphone and comes with 2 OP amps 4580. Out of the box, it sounds awesome already !DACs: Gustard X26 PRO, Gustard X16, Matrix Audio Element X, Audiobyte HydraVox + HydraZap, Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10 Gustard went overkill with the I/V conversion stage, as they used eight OPA1612A for the I/V conversion stage, meaning that all 8-channels of this DAC chip are being used. X18 performs an independent I/V conversion for all 8 channels and then connects them in parallel, squeezing the best this silicon is capable of. As for the OPA1612 themselves, those are regarded as warm, smooth and natural sounding, exactly what a super-linear silicon like ES9038 PRO really needs. Gustard squeezed the last drop of performance from that ES9038 PRO, thanks a powerful I/V and LPF stage, on top of that its channels were paralleled for a higher dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio. If we’re talking about micro-details, then the little fellow was up there with the best I’ve tried, seriously outclassing entry to mid-level converters coming from the likes of SMSL, Topping or Soncoz. You can access its user menu by pressing the Menu button on the remote or by a long press to the button on the far right. Once you do that, a user menu like this will appear: Its mid-section felt as clean, defined and detailed, but I wouldn’t call it overly dense or soul-grabbing. Traces of warmth were still present, voices were rendered naturally, string-based instruments had a nice vibration, without going overboard to the warm side. It is neither of those…it’s mostly linear and neutral in this department, approaching my linearity curves and trying to disappear from my acoustic chain as much as possible. If you are hunting for warmth and a lot of smoothness, it will disappoint you a little. You can mitigate that issue with the help of an all-discrete amplifier, be it solid-state or tube-based. On the plus side, X18 sounds smoother and calmer in here, even effortless at times, something that X16 couldn’t do on its own. Add that U18 DDC and lo and behold, a warmer tonality would hop on board and deliver livelier voices. U18 did put more meat on the bone, especially in the midrange department that was more vibrant and alive.
Next, I connected it to my new Mac Mini M1 with latest Big Sur 11.2 and I can't control the volume of the Gustard X16 from the keyboard no matter what I try in the audio setting. I then tried to search for the Gustard X16 dirver for MAC but unfortunately I can't find any. I then connect my X16 to my Macbook Pro (Intel) on High Sierra and same "no volume control" issue again. Does anybody here have the same issue on their Mac Mini M1 or Macbook Pro (Intel version)? Combined with my Hypex NC252MP / David Munyon HD Playlist it is really close to my Gustard X16 and just noticed a lower gain. Anyway : I willl test with my favorite HD Audio Playlist soon. Mid-band is lush and full and is where the Gustard scored really highly. Vocals were easy to decipher and there is a good insight into tone and detail in the performer’s voice. In lots of ways, I could see some describing this as an “audiophile” sounding DAC. If you are looking for an instrument grade DAC, that is as detailed and transparent as the best converters I’ve tried, that is straight as a line in the frequency response, that will not beautify and sugar coat your music in any way, then X16 seems to be an excellent choice. X OPA1656 (They are CMOS op amps but I really love their signature, very natural with a flat response and great soundstage).Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you, may vary. Please allow 3-5 business days for mail-in exchanges to be processed. Hardfloor’s Trancesript has the 303 sounding like a 303 but without quite the bite I’m used to and with the Gustard failing to capture the raspiness of the little silver acid box. It’s there, but it feels a little bit sterile and flat when compared to the other DACs we have to hand. I can still enjoy the music, and were I not such a critical person, or perhaps had I not being spoiled by having such great kit at my disposal, the Gustard would have served my needs very well – and in many ways, I think this is how to look at the X16. It’s a good sounding DAC that produces music without leaving much out, but doesn’t really excite and give that connection to the music you are listening to – perhaps the DACs further up the Gustard chain are able to offer more in this regard. This is a good sounding and well-built DAC that takes up minimal real estate and sounds very good when it’s partnered with the right music. I certainly don’t think it will be all things to all people but for those who like this kind of presentation, it will be a big hit! AT A GLANCE IEMs: FiiO FH9, FH7, FA9, FA7S, FD7, Meze Rai Penta, LittleDot Cu KIS, Kinera Skuld, 7Hz Timeless & others
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