Aaron Friedman
100+ Head-Fier
Well, I received the AUNE S17 Pro and the Gustard H26 Headphone Amps. I also received the Gustard A26 DAC.
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Gustard H26 Fully Balanced Class A Headphone Amp
- Thread starter leylandi
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that is going to be very interested A/B comparison. everyone in the world is looking forward to see the review!!! thank you Aaron
Aaron Friedman
100+ Head-Fier
Sorry that I was not clear. The Gustard H26 Headphone Amp Was Dead on Arrival DOA! So unfortunately, Until I get a replacement, I will not be able to do the review between the 2 headphone amps. I am waiting for a response from Shenzen Audio. I emailed them about the situation.
What I can say is that Gustard A26 did not sound very crispy until I reversed the polarity. Then it sounded great. I am not sure why in my set up it needed to be done. The Aune SP17 Pro sounds good. I can tell you that I had different Coax cables and XLR interconnects. Man they really made a difference too.
Did you select correct input of your source and just in case did you double check your input is correct I sometimes got confuse xlr 1 and xlr2 coz they are so close together for the left and right.
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Aaron Friedman
100+ Head-Fier
Yes, I did it 10 times. The 2 middle ones are XLR1 and the 2 on the sides are XLR2. I tried both. Of Course, I changed the input from the front too. It turns on but non of the Headphone jacks makes a sound. I tried all 3 with both XLR inputs. It is almost like the power supply for the headphone Amp was not connected.
That too bad. Hope you get replacement soon.
Your voltage is correct?
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Zhangshan
Member of the Trade: GUSTARD, Audalytic
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hi
1. Is the 110V/220V switch on the rear of the H26 fuselage in the correct position?
2. Is the third item in the operation menu: AMP POWER set to ON?
Aaron Friedman
100+ Head-Fier
Yes, it is pushed up so you do not see 115v right? You see the 220.
Aaron Friedman
100+ Head-Fier
Hi, Yes, the Amp Power is on. The Voltage are pushed up so you see the 220 number right?
Zhangshan
Member of the Trade: GUSTARD, Audalytic
- Joined
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Please set it to the correct value according to your country's mains voltage.
The number displayed on the switch is the current setting.
The number displayed on the switch is the current setting.
Aaron Friedman
100+ Head-Fier
Thank you so much. Google and AI told me just the opposite. I thought it was right because the DAC was working. Sorry for the trouble. I looked all over in the manual and it does not show a picture that I could find. Again, my apologies to everyone.Please set it to the correct value according to your country's mains voltage.
The number displayed on the switch is the current setting.
I did have a suspicion but I was afraid to try since they give you warnings.
Aaron Friedman
100+ Head-Fier
Below are pictures of the Gustard H26 and Aune S17 Pro Headphone Amps. They are both hooked up to my Gustard A26 DAC. I have been listening to both.
It is really important to note that when using USB connections with most DACs including the Gustard A26, the sound quality to my ears is substandard at best. I had to use the Denafrips Iris DDC between the computer and the Gustard DAC. The USB cables I use are the AudioQuest Carbon. I find that the Denafrips is a MUST HAVE for most DACs. It does a great Job to clean, tighten and creates a black background coming out of a noisy computer USB. Once you use it you realize how bad the sound coming out of the USB really is. Another Item that works to a lesser extend is the IFI GALVANIC 3.0. I found it does work. However, it is crazy expensive for what it is and the Denafrips that does much more is by far the better value.
I also have AC filtering, upgraded Coax and XLR cables
Preliminarily, I can see that both Headphone Amps are great. The Gustard is the more IEM friendly in that in the Low Gain setting you have a much more gradual volume control. I find that with the Aune I have to sometimes reduce my DAC output by at least 4DB. This is not the end of the world and both do work with IEMs and sound great.
The other Preliminary take away is that they sound nothing alike. At this point I have not tried them with enough headphones but I can see where with some headphones one will be better than the other. With My IEM the Gustard is clearly more laid back and less aggressive. That is neither good nor bad. It simply depends on mood and what you will be pairing them with. I am waiting for my Dan Clark Headpones to arrive from Headphones.com so I can get a prospective from a Planar. It seems to me that Headphones.com is using Pony express these days to ship Headphones.
So, stay tuned for more........
It is really important to note that when using USB connections with most DACs including the Gustard A26, the sound quality to my ears is substandard at best. I had to use the Denafrips Iris DDC between the computer and the Gustard DAC. The USB cables I use are the AudioQuest Carbon. I find that the Denafrips is a MUST HAVE for most DACs. It does a great Job to clean, tighten and creates a black background coming out of a noisy computer USB. Once you use it you realize how bad the sound coming out of the USB really is. Another Item that works to a lesser extend is the IFI GALVANIC 3.0. I found it does work. However, it is crazy expensive for what it is and the Denafrips that does much more is by far the better value.
I also have AC filtering, upgraded Coax and XLR cables
Preliminarily, I can see that both Headphone Amps are great. The Gustard is the more IEM friendly in that in the Low Gain setting you have a much more gradual volume control. I find that with the Aune I have to sometimes reduce my DAC output by at least 4DB. This is not the end of the world and both do work with IEMs and sound great.
The other Preliminary take away is that they sound nothing alike. At this point I have not tried them with enough headphones but I can see where with some headphones one will be better than the other. With My IEM the Gustard is clearly more laid back and less aggressive. That is neither good nor bad. It simply depends on mood and what you will be pairing them with. I am waiting for my Dan Clark Headpones to arrive from Headphones.com so I can get a prospective from a Planar. It seems to me that Headphones.com is using Pony express these days to ship Headphones.
So, stay tuned for more........
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This amp looks like something I'll have to consider for review this year.
FYI, this is a detailed post about what Class A actually means.
FYI, this is a detailed post about what Class A actually means.
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