[Taz777]

Another question about the A18: is the mains power voltage selector switch on the back clearly marked for 110V / 220V? I've only seen the low-res photos on the Schenzhen site and and cannot make out any markings. On the Schenzhen Audio site it states:

AC Power supply: AC 115V/230V 50/ 60Hz

We have 240V mains electricity here in the UK. I'm hoping it'll fine!

 

[Dannemand]

Another question about the A18: is the mains power voltage selector switch on the back clearly marked for 110V / 220V? I've only seen the low-res photos on the Schenzhen site and and cannot make out any markings. On the Schenzhen Audio site it states:

AC Power supply: AC 115V/230V 50/ 60Hz

We have 240V mains electricity here in the UK. I'm hoping it'll fine!

The switch on mine is clearly marked 110V/220V. I am in US so it's always been at 110. I just switched it to take the attached picture. Whether that works for GB 240V I couldn't say, but I would be surprised if not.

 

[Taz777]

Thanks @Dannemand. That looks like what I was expecting. Europe has 'harmonised' on mains voltage at a nominal 230V AC. The UK still outputs 240V 50Hz AC, but all electrical equipment since a couple of decades ago has to work with a nominal 230V +/- 10%. In many places in continental Europe the mains voltage is still 220V AC. Hardly any country here has changed their actual output voltage. The EU just made companies that make electrical equipment comply with 230V +/- 10% operating voltage range.

 

[Dannemand]

Thanks @Dannemand. That looks like what I was expecting. Europe has 'harmonised' on mains voltage at a nominal 230V AC. The UK still outputs 240V 50Hz AC, but all electrical equipment since a couple of decades ago has to work with a nominal 230V +/- 10%. In many places in continental Europe the mains voltage is still 220V AC. Hardly any country here has changed their actual output voltage. The EU just made companies that make electrical equipment comply with 230V +/- 10% operating voltage range.

Thank you for that history lesson! I now remember reading that before, it just had become foggy. I am originally from Denmark, and we'd always bring stuff back and forth to UK without giving it much thought (other than the massive UK plug adapters).

It's odd that Gustard would design this new piece of gear at 220V instead of 230V. I guess either way it's still within the 10%, although less tolerance in case of fluctuations.

You could always write and ask them (gustard@163.com). Or post an inquiry on their website (gustard.cn, select English in top-right corner). At least get an official written answer.

 

[Taz777]

After all, it does appear that Shenzhen Audio are not shipping the A18 yet. Over the weekend I was told that a delivery estimate is 5-10 days - with hindsight, I guess that meant the in-transit time once it is shipped. This morning I checked on Messenger and it may ship after the Chinese New Year. Apparently the dates for CNY are 11-20 February. So it may ship some time after that. A bit disappointed, to be honest, as I've already paid.

 

[crabdog]

After all, it does appear that Shenzhen Audio are not shipping the A18 yet. Over the weekend I was told that a delivery estimate is 5-10 days - with hindsight, I guess that meant the in-transit time once it is shipped. This morning I checked on Messenger and it may ship after the Chinese New Year. Apparently the dates for CNY are 11-20 February. So it may ship some time after that. A bit disappointed, to be honest, as I've already paid.

It's worth the wait! I love the sound my A18 puts out. It's even impressive when I'm streaming music from my phone over BT.

 

[Taz777]

@crabdog - Thanks for the encouragement! Yes, I can wait.

It's not a critical upgrade for me at the moment. I've also got my eye on another headphone amp on an auction site that accepts balanced XLR inputs which I will be able to use with the A18. Currently, my desktop system is speakers only.

It will be interesting to see how the A18 stacks up against my non-MQA D90. I think it will be very similar in sound.

 

[Terriero]

@crabdog - Thanks for the encouragement! Yes, I can wait.

It's not a critical upgrade for me at the moment. I've also got my eye on another headphone amp on an auction site that accepts balanced XLR inputs which I will be able to use with the A18. Currently, my desktop system is speakers only.

It will be interesting to see how the A18 stacks up against my non-MQA D90. I think it will be very similar in sound.

I'm interested in your comparisons (A18 vs D90)

Edit: Yesterday, when I was about to sleep I remembered this post and I thought that I was wrong about (I had the doubt that A18 is an AMP or a DAC, I suppose to be a DAC but this is the "Headphone AMP full size" subforum). But now, I realize that is a DAC and you are going to make a comparison against your D90. Ok. I don't know if the A18 will be a good pair for a Flux lab AMP (FA 10 or 12 or the upcoming Volot).

 

[Taz777]

I'm interested in your comparisons (A18 vs D90)

Edit: Yesterday, when I was about to sleep I remembered this post and I thought that I was wrong about (I had the doubt that A18 is an AMP or a DAC, I suppose to be a DAC but this is the "Headphone AMP full size" subforum). But now, I realize that is a DAC and you are going to make a comparison against your D90. Ok. I don't know if the A18 will be a good pair for a Flux lab AMP (FA 10 or 12 or the upcoming Volot).

Yes, I think this thread should have been in the Source Components section.

 

[Dannemand]

Yes, I think this thread should have been in the Source Components section.

Your can report the thread and ask mods to move it. Of course normally that would be done by the OP who started it.

@Facta

 

[Taz777]

I'm a little bit excited today. A parcel from DHL is being delivered today...

 

[Taz777]

Okay. I am officially blown away by the A18!. My trusty little Topping D50 (non-MQA) DAC has been retired from my desktop system. I'm quite sad to see it go, to be honest, as it served me really well for two years. The A18 is several times the size of the D50 (although my D50 had an LPS).

My first sigh of relief was that it just about fits under an iMac screen, with about 1cm to spare.

With reference to the picture, does that look about right for playing an MQA song?

My audio chain in the digital domain is iMac --> TIDAL app (with passthrough enabled for full decoding in the A18) --> Gustard A18. Is it just supposed to show 'MQA.' or 'MQA' for MQA songs with either 44.1kHz or 48kHz? If so, then I'm happy!

I had in the back of my mind that it would show the unfolded sample rate.

As for the sound quality, it is quite some step up from the Topping D50, but no real surprises there. I'm awaiting another Arcam rHead headphone amplifier to be delivered so that I can compare properly against the Topping D90 (non-MQA, but with AK4499 chip). The D90 is in my dedicated headphones system with an rHead amp, so I'll be able to compare with the same components in terms of headphone amp and headphones (Beyer T1.2). Both rHeads will be connected via balanced XLR to get as close to a comparable system as possible.

 

[Taz777]

Scratch that. I think those were some of the recent poor quality MQA dumps in TIDAL. Played another song and can see 192kHz now:

 

[Dannemand]

Scratch that. I think those were some of the recent poor quality MQA dumps in TIDAL. Played another song and can see 192kHz now:

Exactly. Those Warner MQA tracks have nothing to unfold.

Try some of the files and Tidal albums I mention in the ASR post linked below.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...nced-mqa-dac-review.17419/page-72#post-658640

And congrats. Glad to hear you are enjoying it. I'll be very interested to hear your comparison to D90.

 

[Taz777]

Thanks @Dannemand, your great advice on here helped sway my mind to pull the trigger. The sound improvement over the Topping D50 is more than I had envisaged. Had a quick play with the filters and they actually change the sound.