Next the original R26.

Then a render of the top-loading CD26 transport.

Small alphanumerics on a display that seems tall enough to render information at easily twice this size for easier legibility from afar.

The below photo of the R26II innards shows the same thrice-segregated chassis in which the densely populated vertical streamer board separates the central clocking and capacitance area from the output stage and ladder arrays. The latter now feature the same top shields as the R30 whilst the low-jitter crystal oscillator and K2 clock synthesizer gained their own cowl. The twin power toroids with 15V/1.67A secondaries remain and rather than a comprehensive redesign, this image suggests evolutionary refinements with a refreshed outer style that has done away with the scroll wheel in favour of an OLED touch screen as though the 26 range was coming into the 30's fold.

Bluetooth 6.0 released in September 2024. This 2026 DAC still uses 5.1.

With Gustard offering an external 10MHz masterclock, it's no surprise that both R26II and CD26 sport matching inputs to be slaved hence sync'd to a shared oscillator. Likewise for their bigger N18 Pro network switch. All three of them can connect to the C18 clock. So can the U26 bridge. That's four candidates so quite the digital infrastructure to keep our audiophile addiction in good nick. What does Gustard the name signify? It looks/sounds similar to Goutard, a French name related to goûter for tasting. If that's the intended meaning, tasting seems very apt for audio. Gustard's website is no help on the matter. I put in word with Chengshi to provide us with basic company background, hopefully even photos of the facility.

For the R26II's I²S, the internal "true hardware-based 1-bit DSD converter supports up to DSD2'048 or 90.3168MHz so 32 x the resolution of standard SACD/DSD64 whose switch array completely bypasses the internal R2R ladders for PCM. The GCLK.02 clock module employs advanced phase-lock-loop tech for accuracy within 1Hz. The FPGA runs self-developed logic functions to control clock management via 2nd-PLL digital shaping, DoP demodulation and PCM/DSD de-pop switching. The class A low-pass filter is fully discrete and precisely tuned for differential current, compensation capacitance and bias. The network bridge developed with CelWare runs a deeply customized Linux kernel tuned for audio i/o priority for vanishingly low latency and jitter elimination. The user can disable unused network protocols, background services and 'quiet mode' minimizes the CPU load to focus all a system's computing resources on bit-perfect playback. I²S offers four selectable pin-out configurations. Bluetooth 5.1 is by Qualcomm QCC5125, USB via XMOS XU216¹." Basic specs are less than 20W of power consumption, dimensions of 33x26x6.5cm WxDxH, weight is 7.3kg. Dynamic range rates better than 117dB, S/NR better than 122dB, crosstalk below 134dB, THD+N below 0.003%, IMD around 0.008%. Max output voltage is 2.5/5Vrms on RCA/XLR, output impedance 100Ω either way. For an encore, Chengshi had this: "The price remains the same as the R26." Not more of the same but more for it.
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¹ The more current XMOS XU316 introduced in 2022.