Joined in 2023 
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In the core processor of USB audio (we use XU216), there is an area responsible for volume. We can call it "hardware volume". If what I’m searching for can’t be found on Qobuz, then I will be continuing my search on Tidal and after that on Spotify. When it comes to high-resolution MQA content, for now there are three services that will be offering such content: Tidal, Nugs.net and Xiami Music in China. Once you have a subscription to any of these, you’ll have access to a wide variety of MQA files that are released on a weekly basis. These files can go up to 24-bit and 96 kHz in resolution with the last bits of information stored in a lossy format.
The small screen is difficult to see from normal listening position but adequate for simple set-up. Headphone Amps: Benchmark HPA4, SparkoS Labs Aries, Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10, SMSL SP400, Burson Soloist 3X, xDuoo XA-10
Altera MAX II CPLD
BT Power: SELECTED or ALWAYS. Self-explanatory, leave it at Selected if you are not using the BT input that often. 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. Sending music from a smartphone via streaming services as Qobuz and Tidal worked as a charm and LDAC codec sounded almost indistinguishable to its wired connection. Bottom line is that X16 performed very good in here, exactly as good as their top of the line X26 PRO.
You have the option of making it smoother, more liquid and warmer sounding, by going with Gentle filter, 47kHz on DSD and NOS mode engaged, or you can go for the most transparent and detailed sound by going with Vivid, 70K and NOS disabled, it is really up to you to decide which sound suits you better. Here’s the deal: if everything you wish for are high levels of transparency and detail retrieval, then there’s no need to invest in four digits converters, as X18 got that fully covered. X16 was already impressive in here, always trying to put as much information as possible on the table, but X18 took that concept one step further, reaching a similar performance with pricier (Topping D90SE, Gustard X26 PRO) and much pricier converters (Matrix Audio Element X). Even without the U18 in place, X18 was able to push forward the tiniest nuances, unearthing absurd amounts of details from my music. Oh my, this is where it gets interesting. I don’t think I have experienced such an overkill oversampling DAC so far. First of all, the entirety of its digital and analog sections was built in a dual mono configuration.While I was taking the time to explore oversampling via Roon, I thought it might be instructive to take a listen to some MQA titles with the X16, which is made easy by Roon’s built-in access to Tidal. After switching everything in the Euphony System to the Gustard’s USB protocol, I proceeded to sample from a number of MQA offerings. The available selection of MQA titles has recently exploded on Tidal – there’s a boatload of both mainstream and obscure albums across many musical genres. I mostly chose albums I’m very familiar with in either strictly CD-quality versions or higher-resolution PCM versions. I won’t go into detail here, but right out of the gate, 1) I wasn’t completely blown away by any MQA titles I listened to, and 2) I sensed that something in the overall sound quality wasn’t quite right – I can’t put my finger on it, but it didn’t sound completely natural to me. This is going to require much more exploration in the very near future, but suffice it to say, for now, I’m still on the fence regarding MQA. It seems that as DAC only unit X26 PRO won several rounds, Element X won a few less, but most of them felt like a draw. As an outro for this comparison, I just found an upgrade path for Gustard A22 owners, for Topping D90 MQA, Aune S8, Soncoz SGD1, for all Matrix owners (except for Element X that is more or less the same), for Benchmark DAC3, Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ and SMSL M400 owners. X26 PRO performed like a true high-end DAC, brawling with the best there is, with a mid-fi price tag attached to it. Their frequency response feels pretty much the same, with the exception that big guy has more contrast and saturation, there is more bass, more midrange, more treble and a lot more naturalness can be felt while listening to it. X26 is a dynamics beast, always pressing the gas pedal. X16 is a shier sounding unit, you hear the same frequency response, the same footprint, but with a very different attitude.
At this size, weight and capacitance, it was clear that at least several days of burn-in are needed before I can take it seriously for a long listening session. While I was writing and filming my Musician Andromeda review, the X26 PRO was connected to a balanced headphone amplifier, so that its entire circuit would be used. One week passed, I calmed my spirits and I sat down for a long listening session. Certainly, the new chips from ESS do their job perfectly. At the same time, Gustard managed to present them properly prepared and at a really nice price for this level. It is difficult to name competitors in this price today. For example, the latest SMSL or Topping DACs don’t offer anything like X16: either a little cheaper and much worse, or much more expensive and almost the same in the best case. However, Gustard managed to find a middle ground and their own sound emphasis, and we really like it.
Bluetooth 5.0 DAC: GUSTARD DAC-X16 is equipped with Bluetooth chip CSR8675, supports Bluetooth 5.0, supports LDAC, AAC, SBC, APTX multiple audio formats. The X16 is remarkably well constructed, and is a really robust piece of audio kit that offers an astonishingly good level of connectivity at its modest price point. I imagine we could try a lot of OP amps but it would take a lot of time to compare ...I juggled with some OP amps including 1622 + 1692 and I got the 1656 + 1612 combo in the end, being satisfied with the result I stopped) DSD Filter: 4 positions. You are going to select the roll-off of the DSD content, 47K position sound more natural to me.
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