The two main assets of the SU-10 are its gold feet accents and the high-resolution full-color display at the front of the unit. Those who find the plain UI of the A26 will enjoy the vibrant colors of the screen used by SMSL. Performance Providing a tonal balance that is not that peaky in the treble region, I like to think that the A26 is a suitable instrument for giving insight into dynamic songs. The electric guitar riff I listened to was infused with a finesse that characterizes each nuance without feeling hurried and uneasy.

This will be a short chapter as it’s a very simple one. If you want to squeeze maximum performance out of it, then you will need to use its internal streamer via Ethernet. I used it via Roon, as I didn’t need to install additional third-party apps, I didn’t need to configure anything in particular and this is what I used the most while writing this article. It works with UPnP protocols, with HQ Player NAA and I’m told that additional protocols will be added in the future. What was quite amazing is that several amplifiers that aren’t known to be impressive when it comes to bass delivery and speed, X26 PRO awoke them from their deep sleep, giving a huge helping hand and the same can be said about mellow sounding headphones and loudspeakers. The best of Gustard with its overkill capacitance would infuse more positive vibes, more uplifting beats, that would cure even slow and boring setups. If you really need more slam, more body and a faster pace…I think I found a cure for the boringness of your setup. The A26, and the R26 for that matter, are Gustard’s most ambitious showpiece yet and the progression of their designs shows. Simple yet worthy of a few snaps, the front of the unit is sleek and the characteristic accents on either side only deepen the firm lure.DSD Filter – Two options are provided. You can choose between a Narrow Bandwidth for a smoother top-end or a Wide Bandwidth for extended treble delivery. I haven’t tried any other DACs utilizing the AK4191 and AK4499EX tandem nor have I come across the concept itself being used widely. So, the advantage of going to such lengths seems a bit trivial for me at the moment but I understand that the A26 doesn’t deserve anything less. All things considered, starting with its build quality, impressive feature set, component selection and most importantly, sound quality, this is one of the most impressive DACs that I’ve heard at my place. Top 10? Make it in the top 5 best units I tried and that should tell you how I honestly feel about it. Gustard went overkill everywhere inside, including its capacitance is much higher than needed. I mean even several amplifiers are not using such a big capacitance for power filtering and storing. I’m spotting only Nichicon KG capacitors, those are currently the best Nichicon is making, also called as Gold Tone for their excellent performance characteristics.

More on the grills adorning the sides, the silver color option does help it pop more. And, the almost closed-off internals of the A26 breathes through the slim slits carefully hidden on its upper portion. While R26 is still a true bargain and I won’t part ways with it anytime soon, A26 is the true value king, the giant killer that will be remembered for a very long time. I can complain only about its case design, which looks bland and uninspiring, but everything else feels and performs at a very high level. X26 PRO just scored a Gold Award and it is fully deserved. Congratulations to the team!Just like what I said in the beginning, choosing between this and the R26 can be a daunting assignment if you have no clear preference for DAC architecture. I wasn’t able to compare the two directly in this review but it is clear that this version is capable of going head-to-head with some higher-priced gear. Gustard A26 Technical Specifications It worked very well when I used it as a DAC + Pre in my setup, Reference 3 sounded as I know them to be, their transparent and speedy presentation remained intact. X26 PRO added some class-A warmth, a heavier and more impactful bass at the cost of being less grippy sounding to the Element X. When X26 PRO worked as a DAC only, leaving the preamp duties to a Benchmark HPA4, the sound became even more focused, more controlled and tighter in a way. The difference was quite minor and I feel that in a less revealing setup, you’ll be guessing if you need a dedicated preamp or not. sed -i 's/passthrough false/passthrough true/g' /lib/systemd/system/ifi-streamer-tidal-connect.service