[NexusOne]

The same thing I recognized with the Smsl SH-9. Very weak for its specs.

 

[ezduzit2500]

…where has all the power gone?…
Seriously, after the exuberant announcement of the H26‘s tremendous output power I was expecting to run my headphones only in 1 - 10 volume range…but with my HE6SEv2 I am 'already' at 75 in high-gain – balanced…yes, I have set -6dB pre-amp gain on OS level to have EQ headroom, but in return the DAC is outputting 5V fixed.
Seems like you need to have much higher input voltage to get the advertised figures out of the H26 (probably indicated by the max. 12V input voltage supported on XLR). For comparison the HE6SEv2 on the Questyle Fifteen is only before 12 o‘knob with high bias.

This is also my (very slight) "issue" with the H20 - ie: that it's max HP and preamp output volume seems to be less than it's advertised specs - as it's gain structure isn't very well executed, with not much volume difference between LO, MID, and HI gain settings. Though my DAC outputs slightly over ~5V (5.2V to be exact) - my H20 still has lower max overall gain than my Schiit Magnius, since I seemingly have to turn the volume dial to max for proper volume out of it's preamp outs - while it's HP power is good at mid gain but with a high volume setting (using Arya Stealth).
I wonder if this just may be the difference in how R2R volume control operation differs from regular potentiometers which get progressively louder logarithmically as the pot is turned - or is just that it's max loudness performance is sacrificed a bit in lieu of better noise specs, lower heat, and increased reliability - already knowing how everything in a HP amp (or most other cost-conscious audio gears) is inherently a compromise of design benefits? Any ideas, anyone???

 

[godmax]

some more impressions of the H26 after some days of use:

• low/high gain volume difference is not overly high (I just keep in 'high' position for all headphones)
• has more than enough to drive the HE6SEv2 or DCA E3 with headroom left
• drives dynamic driver headphones (voltage) aswell as planar (current) very nice
• very wide sounding (I had the Aune S17 Pro briefly, that was densers sounding but very closed in as a side-effect)
• two sets of XLR + one RCA input is very convient
• swapable opamp only affect pre-amp output, so no need to replace them, if you only use the headphone out
• nice clicky linear R2R volume control
• gets warm after some hours, but not really hot

Overall I like the H26 still very much (soon my P26 with Sparkos SS2590 is hopefully back in the Gustard stack )

 

[Petalpusher06]

some more impressions of the H26 after some days of use:

• low/high gain volume difference is not overly high (I just keep in 'high' position for all headphones)
• has more than enough to drive the HE6SEv2 or DCA E3 with headroom left
• drives dynamic driver headphones (voltage) aswell as planar (current) very nice
• very wide sounding (I had the Aune S17 Pro briefly, that was densers sounding but very closed in as a side-effect)
• two sets of XLR + one RCA input is very convient
• swapable opamp only affect pre-amp output, so no need to replace them, if you only use the headphone out
• nice clicky linear R2R volume control
• gets warm after some hours, but not really hot

Overall I like the H26 still very much (soon my P26 with Sparkos SS2590 is hopefully back in the Gustard stack )

May i ask how is it to swap source inputs, assuming it is on the knob. I tend to dislike that but depends how it's done. Do you get any indication on the display?

Did you detect any frequency response shift on the 4.4mm compared to your other headamp (higher output impedance)?

I would really like someone to measure it but apparently nobody is in hurry...

 

[muths66]

May i ask how is it to swap source inputs, assuming it is on the knob. I tend to dislike that but depends how it's done. Do you get any indication on the display?

Did you detect any frequency response shift on the 4.4mm compared to your other headamp (higher output impedance)?

I would really like someone to measure it but apparently nobody is in hurry...

The input option you have press the volume knob.press hold on knob for gain and some other options.

 

[muths66]

some more impressions of the H26 after some days of use:

• low/high gain volume difference is not overly high (I just keep in 'high' position for all headphones)
• has more than enough to drive the HE6SEv2 or DCA E3 with headroom left
• drives dynamic driver headphones (voltage) aswell as planar (current) very nice
• very wide sounding (I had the Aune S17 Pro briefly, that was densers sounding but very closed in as a side-effect)
• two sets of XLR + one RCA input is very convient
• swapable opamp only affect pre-amp output, so no need to replace them, if you only use the headphone out
• nice clicky linear R2R volume control
• gets warm after some hours, but not really hot

Overall I like the H26 still very much (soon my P26 with Sparkos SS2590 is hopefully back in the Gustard stack )

Gustard said the opamp have connection with headphone output too.

 

[godmax]

Gustard said the opamp have connection with headphone output too.

hmm, if that were the case, the H26 wouldn't be a fully discrete headphone amp because the opamps would be in the signal path as part of the amplification.
I wouldn't always trust their answers as they also answer random technical garbage through their support at times

 

[muths66]

I also thought of buying ss2590 is so expensive and now wondering need a not. Lol

 

[muths66]

hmm, if that were the case, the H26 wouldn't be a fully discrete headphone amp because the opamps would be in the signal path as part of the amplification.
I wouldn't always trust their answers as they also answer random technical garbage through their support at times

Nvm nothing

 

[oldson]

hmm, if that were the case, the H26 wouldn't be a fully discrete headphone amp because the opamps would be in the signal path as part of the amplification.
I wouldn't always trust their answers as they also answer random technical garbage through their support at times

unless they are "discreet opamps!"

 

[moonbst1]

some more impressions of the H26 after some days of use:

• low/high gain volume difference is not overly high (I just keep in 'high' position for all headphones)
• has more than enough to drive the HE6SEv2 or DCA E3 with headroom left
• drives dynamic driver headphones (voltage) aswell as planar (current) very nice
• very wide sounding (I had the Aune S17 Pro briefly, that was densers sounding but very closed in as a side-effect)
• two sets of XLR + one RCA input is very convient
• swapable opamp only affect pre-amp output, so no need to replace them, if you only use the headphone out
• nice clicky linear R2R volume control
• gets warm after some hours, but not really hot

Overall I like the H26 still very much (soon my P26 with Sparkos SS2590 is hopefully back in the Gustard stack )

Recently returned the Aune S17 Pro due to an overheating issue. Each S17 product seems to have different heat behavior, some user's unit seem to be fine, some users are experiencing mild heat issue, some users have serious OVERHEAT issue. Mine only worked in 100MA mode for 15 minutes before reaching out 69C overheating.

Now, I am searching for an alternative headphone amp to replace the S17. because I want to avoid the randomness of picking new products.
Is H26 sound better than S17?

 

[godmax]

Recently returned the Aune S17 Pro due to an overheating issue. Each S17 product seems to have different heat behavior, some user's unit seem to be fine, some users are experiencing mild heat issue, some users have serious OVERHEAT issue. Mine only worked in 100MA mode for 15 minutes before reaching out 69C overheating.

Now, I am searching for an alternative headphone amp to replace the S17. because I want to avoid the randomness of picking new products.
Is H26 sound better than S17?

I also returned the S17 Pro due to overheating very fast (and sometimes my unit didn't even switch back to 50ma mode and just froze). So I decided to go with the Gustard H26 since they usually have a good hardware design in their products. And I also own the Gustard X26pro and P26.
The H26 has very basic feature set, but it works right out-of-the-box without any hiccups or overheating issues.
Soundwise the H26 is a little less dense sounding to me, but with larger perceived sound stage. So this might not be a question of “sounding better“ rather than a matter of preference.
From my experience so far I can recommend the Gustard H26.

 

[Shane D]

some more impressions of the H26 after some days of use:

• low/high gain volume difference is not overly high (I just keep in 'high' position for all headphones)
• has more than enough to drive the HE6SEv2 or DCA E3 with headroom left
• drives dynamic driver headphones (voltage) aswell as planar (current) very nice
• very wide sounding (I had the Aune S17 Pro briefly, that was densers sounding but very closed in as a side-effect)
• two sets of XLR + one RCA input is very convient
• swapable opamp only affect pre-amp output, so no need to replace them, if you only use the headphone out
• nice clicky linear R2R volume control
• gets warm after some hours, but not really hot

Overall I like the H26 still very much (soon my P26 with Sparkos SS2590 is hopefully back in the Gustard stack )

Could you do a quick comparo against the S17 Pro?

And that is a Very nice setup!

 

[GiFi]

I also returned the S17 Pro due to overheating very fast (and sometimes my unit didn't even switch back to 50ma mode and just froze). So I decided to go with the Gustard H26 since they usually have a good hardware design in their products. And I also own the Gustard X26pro and P26.
The H26 has very basic feature set, but it works right out-of-the-box without any hiccups or overheating issues.
Soundwise the H26 is a little less dense sounding to me, but with larger perceived sound stage. So this might not be a question of “sounding better“ rather than a matter of preference.
From my experience so far I can recommend the Gustard H26.

And between H26 stock and P26+ ss2590?
Wich is the best?
What are the differences?
I'm asking because I was thinking of switching to H26?
I also wanted to know if the H26 has autosensing.
Can it be turned on by remote control?
I apologize for the many questions.

 

[godmax]

And between H26 stock and P26+ ss2590?
Wich is the best?
What are the differences?
I'm asking because I was thinking of switching to H26?

I have not used the H26 as a pre-amp for other amplifiers yet, so I cannot judge if there are differences between both in that function.
My goal was to have the Sparkos SS2590 in the chain and the swapable op-amps in the H26 do not affect the headphone output,
so I utilitize the P26 do this (I really like my Sparkos Gemini that also has the SS2590 in its output stage).

My setup of madness currently consists of: X26Pro [DAC] → P26 with Sparkos SS2590 [PRE] → H26 [AMP] or Cayin HA-3A [AMP]

I also wanted to know if the H26 has autosensing.

no autosensing, you have to select input with remote or on the unit itself

Can it be turned on by remote control?

the H26 remains in standby/power-off when mains power is supplied, but can be turned on into operation with the remote, yes