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GUSTARD

GUSTARD - R26

R-2R DAC & Network Audio Streamer/Renderer
Sale price₹ 149,999 Regular priceMRP: ₹ 164,999
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Color: Silver
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DELIVERY
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7 Day Replacement Guarantee

In case you receive the GUSTARD - R26 with a manufacturing defect, please raise a return request within 7 days of delivery.

However, if you receive an incorrect / damaged / different product or one with missing accessories, please raise a return request within 24 hours of delivery. In case you receive a product with a missing, incorrect, or faulty accessory, you will be given a replacement accessory instead of the entire product.

Please make sure that the product is in the original packaging with all the accessories it came with. We'll also need an unboxing video and images of the parcel to investigate about the discrepancy. You may be asked to share images of the product and the packaging received for us to determine the damage or defect prior to approving the return request. The free replacement will be shipped only once the original order is returned.

A replacement will be issued only if:

- It is found to be defective
- It is determined that the product was not damaged while in your possession
- The product is not different from what was shipped to you
- The product is returned in original condition (with brand’s/manufacturer's box, MRP tag intact, user manual, warranty card and all the accessories therein)

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Warranty & Services

Don't sweat it, this GUSTARD - R26 comes with a 2 Year warranty from GUSTARD that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about GUSTARD's warranty in India.

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Chi-Fi
Excellence

2 Years of
Warranty

Ideal for Audiophiles

These DAC & Amps are designed for discerning music lovers. If audio quality is important to you, a set of DAC & Amps like these would be ideal.


You can expect these DAC & Amps to present you with a refined listening experience. The audio quality exhibited by these DAC & Amps is a beautiful mix of musicality, technical brilliance and high precision.


These DAC & Amps deliver a spacious & open soundstage that makes you feel you are sitting at a live concert. Experience the magic and delve into pure sonic tranquility!

Ideal for
Indoor Use

Bluetooth with
LDAC, aptX LL, aptX HD

Discrete R-2R
DAC Chip

Metal
Build

Pair with Laptop via USB

A majority of people use a laptop as the primary source device to listen to music or watch movies. Since the laptop is an essential part of the audio chain there are headphones and devices designed to work a laptop or computer system flawlessly. With the availability of USB connectivity, it becomes easier to pair various devices like an Amp, DAC or even headphones without worrying about drivers or any additional piece of software.

Connect With USB
Optical, Coaxial, AES & IIS HDMI

Volume Controls

If your DAC & Amps include volume controls or volume rockers, you can easily change the volume with a button press or volume knob turn.


DAC & Amps that have volume controls make its operation incredibly simple; turn up the volume on your smartphone or your source devices and then change the volume on DAC & Amps to the desired level.


This design feature allows you to have complete control over the desired volume according to your listening preferences.

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.

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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.

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Headphone-Zone-Gustard-R26

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.

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Headphone-Zone-Gustard-R26

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.

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Headphone-Zone-Gustard-R26

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.
R26

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Headphone-Zone-Gustard-R26

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.

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Headphone-Zone-Gustard-R26

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.

Headphone-Zone-Gustard-R26
2 Year Warranty

Don't sweat it, this GUSTARD - R26 comes with a 2 Year warranty from GUSTARD that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about GUSTARD's warranty in India.

Affordable Excellence in Audio: The Shenzhen Revelation

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 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.

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GOLD AWARD

SoundNews
Aug, 2022

SoundNews

"The best looking Gustard unit to date, it has the perfect size, weight and style, Noise and distortion free unit, it’s dead-silent unit it any situation, A wide selection of digital inputs, including a 10Mhz clock input and an Ethernet port."

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Customer Reviews

Based on 6 reviews
83%
(5)
17%
(1)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
A
Amit Kudchadkar (Mumbai)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
Gustard R26, an amazing dac...

One of the best R2R dacs in the market right now, punches way above its price range, a very holographic and detailed sound, great bass impact, a very easy, enjoyable treble, no harshness and great soundstage.

User picture

Hey Amit, thank you so much for the awesome review!

M
Murali Jothi (Chennai)
Excellent R2R DAC

Superb DAC at this price point with good sound stage and instruments isolation.It’s an all rounder R2R DAC which can beat even pricey DACs with its built in streaming capability

Hey Murali, thanks a lot for your amazing review!

Reviewer avatar
Prateek Saini (New Delhi)
DDC is mandatory

The R26 on its own is decent but nothing amazing. As compared to Burson Composer or even a Topping D30 Pro. It does the job well. And an issue is soft sibilance. Especially with dynamic driver headphones. For an R2R DAC, it does not roll off high treble at all. Its ultra revealing. You don’t feel you are lacking anything with this DAC but at the same time its not wowing you. Especially when the Burson DAC has such a crispness to it and no soft sibilance.

However when you plug in the Gustard U18 DDC, not just the R26 but also the Burson DAC are massively upgraded. Instead of buying a new DAC, I would strongly suggest look into a DDC. I am getting lot more definition of notes. It feels I am going down to the surface of the instruments. Bass definition and oomph has come on leaps and bounds. This DDC (I don’t know if other DDCs will have same effect) just seems to enhance the music and sounds. I can literally feel it has super charged the audio signal and everything is bolder & more vivid, and the point where you would hear distortion is pushed higher in the volume range.

Honestly it was difficult to appreciate the R26 on its own, but after U18, its best qualities are very apparent. The sound stage is wide but more importantly, it is arranged in a detailed and precise manner. Sounds which earlier appeared to come from a general area, or even one channel, seem like they are emanating from precise points within each channel. The soundscape is very sprawling and nothing is bleeding onto another. This is apparent in all tracks but on tracks which are well recorded, this is absolutely wonderful. Also a fun headphone like Stellia gives a good resolution with this, but a proper audiophile headphone like Audio Technica R70X is where all these above qualities of R26 are easily apparent. (Re R70X, I would say not only is it miles better than HD650, it deserves to be where HD800S is).

The R26 now has a crispy timbre to it, which is close to Burson’s timbre. The kind of timbre that usually comes from Planar Magnetics & Beryllium drivers, which Dynamic drivers like HD800S or even R70X, cannot produce.
Whereas earlier there was soft sibilance which sounds fuzzy, now there is a slight brightness. Of course a planar will sound even more incredible & crispy on it. I cannot wait to pair this DDC enhanced DAC with the Susvara.

Regarding the Burson’s upgrade because of U18 - the bass is phenomenally taut, which it struggled with earlier. (So much so it made me doubt the Susvara’s bass performance). The clarity & definition are also enhanced in the same manner for the Burson DAC too. Crispness is off the charts. There is zero sibilance. The soundstage is still blurred as compared to R26.

All my headphones & speakers are genuinely upgraded with the Gustard U18 DDC.

I would not say I agree with the theory behind why DDCs improve sound - timing information & jitter reduction etc. (I am playing 256kbps AAC at 44.1 khz Apple Music on Windows PC) I just feel that the DDC is boosting the signal and giving you a level of clarity which you don’t expect to hear. Simply increasing the volume of a DAC or Amp, sans DDC DOES NOT give this feeling of enhanced clarity and definition. Doing so increases volume but also noise & distortion. Which is not apparent on its own originally, but as compared to DDC, it certainly is!

The 1 thing in audio that wowed me the most and had the biggest impact on me is Hifiman Susvara (सुस्वरा). Gustard U18 is definitely the second best.

I still strongly feel, its the job of the DAC which the DDC is doing. Companies want to make multiple products so they can charge high for each one, rather than an all in DAC(source). But there has got to be some DACs which already have this mechanism built in and don’t need DDC. Maybe the Chord or Holo Audio DACs. But for most others, this is absolutely brilliant.

User picture
S
Santosh Kumar (Delhi)
Gustard R26

On initial listen the DAC appeared to be very dynamic and transparent. The is my first R2R DAC and the sound quality appears to be much different and more analog type compared to my earlier DACs. Will get final impressions after using 100 to 150 hours. But on initial listen appears to be a very good DAC
Thanks to Headphone Zone for a quick and efficient delivery.

Hey Santosh, thank you so much for the amazing feedback! It means a lot to us. We are so happy to hear that you are loving our products and services.

A
Aditya Bharadwaj (Bengaluru)
Design and Comfort:
Great
Poor
Sound Quality:
Awesome
Awful
Value for Money:
Bang On!
Not at all
Great tone and immense detail

Elevates listening experience, excellent detail with good source material. Movie experience is fabulous too.

Coming from a Denafrips Ares 2, I feel this was a worthy buy. The Gustard R26 is very musical, has refined treble and loads of detail that Ares 2 does not have, but the Ares 2 has lifelike tone and timbre.

Of course, the Gustard R26 may very well develop a lifelike tone and timbre after a couple of hundred hours of “burn-in” but I may not be able to post a review then as there is limited time to post reviews here. :|

PS: Gustard Support team have sent me a new firmware which supposedly supports Spotify connect, haven’t tested yet. On the existing firmware dates 15th Nov 2022, Airplay and DLNA playback working very well.

Hey Aditya, thank you so much for the awesome review!

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