I must admit that while we like high-end electronics and their almost limitless performance, we strongly dislike their sky-high prices. As such, recommending them was always challenging, especially given the current state of world economics and tense politics. We don’t play favorites based on country of origin; Made in China, in the USA, or Europe equals made on planet Earth to me. What always mattered was a phenomenal sound, a strong feature set, and a price that made sense. Let’s be real, I adore my Rockna Reference Signature DAC and I have no intention of changing it anytime soon, but man, such beasts sting the wallet. Hard! I want to recommend gear that delivers fantastic value, not stuff only rock stars can afford, and for this reason, we will always cater to ALL levels of HiFi around here. From entry-level to high-end, we’re here to help you learn a thing or two and make a better purchase decision.
Every Gustard unit released and later reviewed around here got our recommendation, and that’s not because we have something going on with Gustard or their resellers; we have much higher values than that. They genuinely outperformed many higher-priced units, offering a tremendous bang for the buck. If you check any of our A26, R26, X26 III, or X30 reviews around here, then you’ll observe that you’re getting a lot in return with any of these units, not only an impressive feature set, great component selection, and some sought-after measurements, but also a sound that commands respect and admiration.
After spending more than two years with the R26 and trying it in various setups, from head-fi battle stations to full-blown reference systems, I came to a conclusion. I admire its strong identity: it always sounds natural, coherent, tonally rich, and effortlessly musical, no matter the system. It is the kind of DAC that never tries too hard to impress, yet keeps you glued to the music for hours on end: no fireworks, no exaggerated dynamics, just music flowing naturally and smoothly.
Then, out of nowhere, I got a tip that Gustard already works on a much more refined version, and I don’t just mean in terms of size or weight. I knew Gustard would take their R2R brainchild much further, with a redesigned architecture and a more aggressive approach to transient control and detail retrieval. Let’s say that my curiosity levels skyrocketed higher than the tallest mountain peaks, eager to explore every hidden secret and uncharted corner with the R30 on my table.
Fast forward a few weeks, and the R30 landed on my desk. It’s heavier, meaner, and frankly…it’s intimidating. From the first few notes, it became clear this isn’t just an R26 with more bells and whistles…it’s a different beast altogether. The soul of the R26 is still lingering somewhere in there, but it has been dressed in shinier clothes, armed with bigger gloves, it moves around the ring with faster reflexes, and delivers stronger dynamics with every blow. It’s a complete redesign inside and out. The case has grown considerably larger, its weight has increased significantly, and every section has been beefed up, including filtering and regulation stages. The clocking system appears to be of much higher accuracy, and it’s rocking a nicer wired streamer as well. Everything feels fresh and new again, and the R30 undoubtedly deserves a statement review that will dig into everything there is to know about this remarkable unit.
Sporting quad mono R2R ladders and a four-way fully discrete output stage, this is a true balanced DAC from input to output, with minimal compromises along the signal path. The price? At the time of writing, it retails for $3.599 in the USA and €3.599 in Europe. I have a lot to share with you about this monster of a DAC, including two must-read comparisons that await your viewing pleasure, so grab yourself a snack and a drink, and let’s dive into this review!
Design & Build Quality
It’s no secret to anyone that I love when I’m dealing with perfect symmetry in everything I do in life. Even the pictures posted around here and the placement of audio gear on the audio rack have perfect symmetry. I like it when things align perfectly; if not, I will tinker with them until they offer a pleasing visual impact. Over the years, I relentlessly hammered Gustard, first with their mini-CDs, then with their awful-looking pseudo-English website. I never liked their remotes, and that seems to be a recurring problem. While I like their tank-proof cases, well-made metallic footers, and solid CNC-machined cases, I never quite resonated with their misaligned displays and asymmetrical cases. Gustard A26 was the first unit that hit the jackpot for me. It was solid, beautiful, symmetrical, with a centered display; everything was exactly how I envisioned proper HiFi equipment would look. It was beautiful on the inside and out. Luckily, Gustard followed the same winning formula. We have a bigger and heavier case that’s home to a much beefier digital and analog circuitry, but when it comes to aesthetics, it looks more serious and refined at the same time. And yes, it’s the same case we already saw on the X30; the only difference is a slight rounding of the Gustard logo, as opposed to a sharp triangle found on the X30.
We have a barely lit Gustard logo exactly in the middle, a tempered glass front panel with touch controls, and obviously, a massive monochrome display that was blessed with a user-friendly UI. I dig the zig-zag pattern on its sides; I also like the subtle openings that will move hot air outside its case. Please don’t ask me how, but this monstrosity is no longer as hot as the R26 was back in the day. That might be bad news for some (no more frying eggs on its surface), but for the rest of us, this is a good change of pace, as the electronics operate nicer at a cooler temperature and will have a longer lifespan. The metalwork appears flawless, and the case is thicker than what Topping and SMSL have achieved. In this regard, I’m confident it will effectively block all wireless interference.
It is worth noting that all digital inputs on the back have rubber protection doors, a minor detail that could have a significant impact on the user experience. Don’t forget that every exposed connector works as an antenna, so covering them was a genius move that might slightly impact the sound performance in a good way.
Overall, we have a much beefier unit that’s pretty much on par with the footprint of my Rockna Reference Signature and Denafrips Venus 15th. The case isn’t as deep, but the overall shape and size are very similar. Its weight went up to 10 kilos (22 lbs.), which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, since it’s a quad mono design that needs at least twice the number of components (LPF) compared to a dual module design. The manufacturing price thus went up, and so did the asking price.
The only thing I don’t like about the R30 is the same low-quality plastic remote control. I understand the reasoning for bundling it with all of their DACs and all-in-one combos, but a premium product like R30 and X30 should come with an aluminum remote. I would pay extra to have such a remote. It’s nitpicking on my part, but using it mainly in a high-end stereo rig, I do wish it came bundled with a nicer remote.
Controls & Connectivity
The whole unit has a single physical button (On/Off) , taking the shape of the Gustard logo. Once powered, the monochrome OLED screen will light up, and three touch buttons will pop out of nowhere. You can see the volume controls on the right, including a settings icon in between, that will engage the user menu once touched. It can’t get much simpler than this, and the cherry on top is a user-friendly UI.
Taking a look at its back, you’ll be surprised by how many digital inputs are being offered. Before powering on the unit, please make sure that both switches are showing the correct AC voltage (115V or 230V), as these two are connected directly to the linear transformers found inside its case. Checking out the digital inputs, R30 has them all, including two I2S inputs and an RJ45 (Ethernet) input that will unlock the internal Roon bridge, in case you already have a Roon Server installed. The Ethernet input also supports additional protocols such as Apple’s AirPlay, UPnP/DLNA, HQPlayer NAA, and…drum roll…Spotify Connect (yuck! the vomit-inducing MP3s). You can spot a 10 MHz clock input, but don’t forget that R30 already uses one of the best OCXO clocks available on sub $10K DACs, and I wouldn’t bother using an external one.
The usual RCA and XLR outputs are present, configurable as fixed or variable, depending on the settings, meaning you can use it as a DAC or as a DAC and passive preamp if you wish. There’s one thing which stands out when checking its specs, and that’s the output impedance of both the RCA and XLR outputs, sitting at just 100 Ohms. A lower impedance like that ensures a better handshake with integrated and power amplifiers of all sorts, and even if we don’t have a dedicated line-amplifier circuit (active preamp), it should work decently when paired with power amplifiers.
Menu Settings
As previously mentioned, the R30 isn’t loaded with bloatware or hidden menus. It’s incredibly simple and straightforward. Its UI is accessible via the remote control or by touching the settings icon. Once engaged, you’ll have the following options:
- PCM Filter – You can choose between three digital filters. It’s important to mention that Gustard’s engineers developed these, and yes, they do make a small difference. You can choose between Minimum Slow, Super Slow, and Linear Sharp. The Super Slow filter sounds the most natural and organic to my ears; it’s the one that removed all of the digital glare, gently rounding the top octave for a smooth and relaxed sound. Minimum Slow brings additional energy in the upper treble while also maintaining a longer decay of the notes. Linear Sharp is the one that sounds a bit closer to regular delta-sigma converters, sounding faster, a bit tighter, and punching harder in the bass as well. This filter marginally improves the contour of the notes, sounding ever so slightly clearer than the rest.
- DSD Direct – Two options are provided: Enable or Disable. With this option enabled, the R30 will natively decode single-bit DSD recordings up to DSD1024 with a single caveat. It can do this only via the I2S input. With this option disabled, the R30 will playback DSD content over PCM (DoP). I recommend enabling this option for a shorter signal path and improved sound clarity with DSD content.
- NOS Mode – It’s either enabled or disabled. NOS (non-oversampling) mode will offer a smoother sound, bonding the notes more naturally, and once disabled (Oversampling enabled), it will behave more like a regular oversampling DAC.
- REF Clock – Two positions are provided: Internal (Default) or External 10 MHz. You can select the internal clocking system (which is already a very impressive and highly accurate one) or you can go with an external 10 MHz clock generator, which you need to buy separately.
- IIS Mode – Four modes are provided. Considering that the I2S (IIS) input wasn’t standardized yet, these modes will ensure a wider compatibility with your streamers and digital transports. By default (Mode 1), R30 uses the standard I2S pin configuration used by PS Audio, Rockna, and many others.
- Phase – Two positions are provided: Non-Inverted (default) or Inverted. Self-explanatory, leave it at Non-Inverted.
- Trigger Channel – This option lets you choose the trigger channel that will automatically power the unit. Any digital input can be selected, including the LAN input.
- Trigger Volume – This option lets you choose the volume at which the unit will power on when triggered. If you’re using it directly with power amplifiers (which is not an ideal thing to do), then I recommend using the -40 dB volume setting.
- Display – It’s either Auto or Auto-Off. Since we are dealing with an OLED panel that could potentially burn in after a year or two, I would use it in Auto mode, which will turn off the screen automatically after a few seconds.
Under R30’s Hood
Although R30 has a few similarities with R26, except for the dual power supply section, which was marginally improved, everything else was built from the ground up in quite an overkill way. An audio engineer once told me that overkill doesn’t exist in high-end audio. If you don’t care only about the measurements, then you’ll use higher-quality components, and if you don’t care about the musical involvement, then you’ll use lower-grade components. However, as you already know, an audio analyzer can’t analyze the music as the human brain will do. Square and Sine waves in a controlled environment are one thing, but complex music renditions are something else entirely.
As you already guessed, we aren’t dealing with a chip-based oversampling DAC with delta-sigma modulators with off-the-shelf DAC chips. We are dealing with a veritable R-2R ladder DAC that uses hundreds of resistors that form resistor networks (or ladders, as others call them) that will decode zeroes and ones into analog signals. The R26 used stereo R2R ladders (two modules), while the R30 uses quad mono (four modules) R2R ladders for a fully balanced signal from input to output. If you follow the signal path, then you can see four independent paths that don’t interfere that much, except at the input stage. These are their brand-new 27-bit R2R modules that deliver a higher dynamic range and a lower distortion compared to their previous design. From a dynamic range of 115 dB on R26, we now have a much higher 123dB DR, and since the harmonic distortion was halved versus its predecessor, we can already expect a clearer sound and a blacker background. Gustard calls it “Discrete” because you won’t find a single integrated chip, SoC, or op-amp in the signal path. Everything was custom-designed from scratch using only discrete components (resistors, diodes, inductors, coils, etc.). The R2R modules are encapsulated; you can see thick metal plates on top of the ladders that have double duties: shielding them against wireless interference while lowering their working temperature (working as passive heatsinks).
The digital filter appears to be encapsulated as well, a feature that Gustard has never employed before, not even on their flagship X30 delta-sigma DAC. The impressive clocking system of the X30 found its way into the R30, it’s the bombastic grey thingy located on the logic board. This is an SC-cut oven-controlled crystal oscillator that can usually be found in much costlier D/A converters. Its timing, however, is controlled by a brand new, custom-made GCLK-02 synthesizer that I have never seen before on their previous units. Gustard mentions a 1Hz level precision for ultra-high-precision clock signal processing capabilities, but of course, nobody can measure that. Remember the NOS/OS mode, DSD direct mode, and the custom digital filters I mentioned a while ago? All of that was possible thanks to an FPGA programmable logic chip that’s infused with Gustard’s own code.
Besides the quad mono digital to analog conversion technique, the analog output stage is as important as the D to A conversion! Many DAC builders overlook this part, but Gustard always paid more attention to the LPF stage. If it looks like several op-amps were thrown in there at random, then expect a flat and dull sound, but if you see an amplifier-like output stage, then expect a (much) stronger sound that can finally unlock your imagination. Once again, Gustard didn’t spare a dime and opted for a multitude of discrete components. To be frank, the analog output stage and relay-based volume control occupy half of its PCB space. Let that sink in for a while.
Gustard once again implemented a relay-based volume control, which will maintain a perfect channel balance at every volume position. It’s important to mention that at maximum volume (FIXED displayed on its display), the volume control is bypassed internally.
In the usual fashion, we have two 50W linear transformers, one for the digital section and one for the analog section, which Gustard engineers have been using for a while now. The transformers are quite heavy, and you can feel the unit pulling you down on the left side when holding it. What’s unusual for a unit of this price is having massive voltage regulators bolted to aluminum heatsinks. This ensured a lower working temperature compared to the R26 and possibly a longer life span.
Last but not least, it seems that Gustard developed a new Network Bridge System built on CelWare 3.x playback system that incorporated a deeply optimized Linux kernel for I/O operations. In layman’s terms, we have a more advanced HiFi streamer on board. Once you connect an Ethernet cable to it, tap R30.local in your PC/MAC’s browser, and you’ll be able to control all of its streaming options; you can even upgrade its firmware from there. At the moment, this web-based interface doesn’t look as polished as I would like. It works as intended, but a few minor language barriers hold it back from looking perfect. I do expect a much more polished interface in the near future. In case you’re curious, the R30 is currently running the V1.0 build 129.
All in all, I must say that R30 looks exceptional on the inside. I can’t fault anything in there; the most sensitive/crucial analog and digital circuits were encapsulated in thick metal boxes, and not a single op-amp or integrated circuit could be spotted. Instead, you’ll find plenty of discrete components working as mini amplifiers, buffering the analog signal to the industry standard 2.5V via RCA and 5.1V via XLR outputs. This is an impressively crafted unit, featuring some of the best components I’ve come across lately. There’s no rush in its design; rather, it presents a well-thought-out internal layout with great care taken in its power supply implementation, regulation, and filtering.
Test Equipment
Before you ask, Gustard R30 was used in a reference stereo rig most of the time working as a streaming DAC, but I also used it in a well-thought-out headphone system with a bunch of dynamic and planar headphones.
- In my office, it powered the majestic Cayin Soul 170HA (€8,000) and Burson Soloist Voyager MAX (€4,800) headphone amplifiers, driving the T+A Solitaire P ($6,900), the HiFiMan Susvara Unveiled ($8,000), or the Sennheiser HD800S ($2,000) to strengthen my initial impressions.
- In the living room, the Gustard R30 was used via Ethernet most of the time, working as a Roon endpoint and DAC, I also tried it via I2S, getting the I2S bitstream from a Rockna Wavedream NET Roon Server ($11,000), followed by a Chord Electronics Ultima PRE 2 ($19,500), Ultima 3 monoblock amplifiers ($34,000). Raidho TD 2.2 ($ 46,500) were my loudspeakers of choice, playing tunes for a week before I dropped my final evaluation. All cabling used was of Crystal Cable Monet breed (power, interconnect, Ethernet, and speaker cables). A KECES IQRP-3600 balanced power conditioner also powered everything.
Everything should be as clear as the blue sky, so what are we waiting for? Let’s hit some eardrums!
A Friendly Advice
Before going ALL-IN in the most overkill way, I need to tell you a secret. Writing such articles, conducting dedicated photo shoots, and then crafting an equally impressive video review shot with Prime lenses in the highest resolution, with color correction, and incorporating tons of B-roll footage all by myself drains a lot of my energy. On average, I need five to six full days of work to write, film, and edit a single article and video, excluding the time spent on prior listening tests. All of this content goes out for FREE. You won’t find our PayPal address around here, a buy me a coffee link, or a Patreon account, and I will continue in the same fashion as much as I can. The only thing I ask in return is a little bit of respect for the knowledge I’m leaving behind, and, of course, if that’s not too much to ask, subscribing to our YouTube channel, which will motivate me to do the things I enjoy most in life. It will cost you a fraction of a second, but the result will motivate me more than you can possibly imagine. With that out of the way, let’s cheer up a little and check our test subject.
Sound Performance
I. Preliminary Sound Impressions
It’s raining new DACs at SoundNews HQ, and you can expect lots of them dropping in the following months. Some are cooler than the others, some offer strong features but forgettable sound profiles, and only a few will forever remain in my memory, trying to impress with sweet sonics rather than with colorful displays. More than two years ago, Gustard’s R26 glued me to my sofa so hard that I was unable to listen to anything else for more than a month. It instantly became my no.1 DAC below $3500 and I’m still recommending it today, especially if you long for a vintage sound that’s dynamic, alive, and impactful. Even if the streaming part was in its infancy, the sound it produced was mature and quite impressive, to say the least. I still see a lot of value in the R26, especially when used via the I2s connection wired to a half-decent HiFi streamer.
Above all else, the R26 made me appreciate music like no other DAC did before it. For unknown reasons to me, it awoke so many things down the memory line. I remembered my grandfather showing off his drumming kit, waking up his neighbors every weekend; he LOVED that part! I remembered browsing vinyl records with my father, then saving all of my pocket change for cassette records. My life was much simpler back then. The joy of listening to music was rejuvenated once again, thanks to the R26. Looking back at the pictures I shot during the R26 review made me realize how far I had pushed myself with this hobby. Not a single component remained in my chain…except for the R26.
Before getting the R26, I didn’t have much respect for R2R ladder DACs, for a couple of reasons. I never found them highly resolving, snappy, hard-slamming, or fast-sounding – all of these skills were usually attributed to world-class chip-based delta-sigma converters. But everything changed with the R26, and while it wasn’t a costly unit, it trounced every Musician, Denafrips, and Audio-GD unit I’ve heard up to that point. There was more of everything! Micro details were no longer playing a hide-and-seek game with me, dynamics were running wild in its veins, the pace, rhythm, and timing weren’t botched anymore, and the bass slam? It was legendary!
Over the years, Gustard delivered all sorts of converters, using different chips, different technologies, slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the DAC scene, especially at affordable prices. After testing their X30 a couple of months ago and naming it the quintessential delta-sigma DAC and the nicest chip-based DAC I experienced thus far, naturally, my expectations flew off to the stratosphere when I heard rumors about Gustard already fine-tuning their soon-to-be-released flagship R30 R2R DAC.
After seeing its internals, the quad mono design, the overkill analog LPF stage, the (much) higher processing power, the new digital boards stacked on one another and the redesigned clocking system, I realized that except for the flow and organic tonality that might be pretty similar on both R26 and R30, there’s nothing else in common and let’s talk about that.
I currently have a much more resolving system than what was used before in the R26 review. This is one of my life’s goals – to hear EVERYTHING my favorite records have to offer. Naturally, spotting the differences would be much easier this time around. I have had the R30 for about a week now, and I have let it play day and night for four days straight before conducting any critical evaluations. Comprehensive comparisons will follow shortly with a couple of R2R DACs. I will say, however, that R30, together with the Denafrips Venus 15th, has the most impressive stereo separation, resolution, and dynamics. The aces are already in R30 sleeves, as it’s more affordable, it features a preamp stage, and a useful wired streamer.
II. From Resolution to Revelation
The biggest shock I had was when one of my close friends came over for a listen. I hit play, and we follow with a few gin & tonics to improve our mood and (un)focusing skills. I raise my hand to check my watch, and it is 2 AM in the middle of the night. We couldn’t believe it! A few hours passed by like they were minutes. We couldn’t stop at just a few tracks; we added more and then a lot more. It wasn’t like this when I heard the newest delta-sigma releases this year. Not even close. Sure, all of the TOTL delta-sigma DACs will be clearer and more detailed, but there wasn’t an emotional attachment to such converters—pure, unaltered, unfiltered human emotion.
My friend went home, but I moved it to my office, I put on the Susvara Unveiled, and I let it play until I saw the rising sun. My Feliks Envy is now undergoing a few (over-the-top) upgrades, and more about that in a month, and that’s why I powered on the Cayin Soul 170HA and started listening to some of my favorite tunes. Before the R30, the R26 was doing all of the heavy lifting in my office. You already know my impressions of it, and yes, it still rocks my world every time I hit the play button.
But the R30 is doing it differently. First and foremost, the blackness in between the notes is now blacker than ever. The silence between passages on Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (Remastered 1997) by Lola Bobescu (available on Qobuz and Tidal) is now so much dimmer; it’s as if the music is not even playing for a second or two. The dynamic range seems much higher, and the sound pressure level between a low-intensity note and a higher-intensity one feels much more physical. It’s literally getting “explosive” sounding on a few occasions. R26 was already doing that impressively well with a bass-canon attitude on electronic music, but R30 does it fiercer! There’s more keg powder to the music, and that will move you literally and figuratively.
Of all the changes I’m experiencing with the R30, the inner resolution has seen the most significant improvement. But it’s not the overly analytical resolution that’s sharp and overly contoured. Nope. It’s a different kind of resolution. It’s the kind that aligns with the sounds you hear in real life. Nothing taken to the extreme, nothing draws your full attention, yet everything is obvious. It’s the moment when extreme sharpness is swapped with sheer realism, a piano note should carry some weight with every stroke, there should be a reverb and some echo, as the notes physically hit the piano body (the instrument), releasing a pleasant reverb with every note. This reverb is sometimes muted or obliterated, especially on lower-grade chip-based converters, but here, it’s rendered as if Vivaldi was resurrected to play one more time in front of me. Listening to music becomes something else…it’s more of a dirty pleasure with the R30, it’s more like a fanatical religion, when you think ONLY about what’s next, how the next track will sound with it.
With the R30, there will be moments when you’ll realize that THIS is how a trumpet should sound, now this is a female voice that puts goose bumps on your arms, and yes, even with headphones on my head at 4 AM in the morning, I was still looking over my shoulder, as if somebody had entered my office.
The added resolution and inner detail texture never for a second made me feel that I had more rattle up top, sharper edges, or stronger, unnatural leading edges. It put more sounds all around me, without making me feel uncomfortable about it. As if shooting with a full-frame sensor versus a cropped one. The resolution doesn’t change; it’s still a 60-megapixel shot on both cameras, but there’s more inner detail on the full-frame sensor, and that’s what I’m getting with the R30 in a direct comparison with the R26.
III. Dynamics Junkie Approved!
Some people believe that dynamics and resolution go hand in hand. However, that’s not always the case. The sheer dynamic range primarily indicates the resolving capabilities of a DAC or amplifier, but that’s rarely the case when discussing dynamics. After trying so many DACs in the comfort of my home, I realized that only that ones that had beefy analog stages, that looked more like dual mono amplifiers than digital to analog converters, those were the units that pushed much higher energy levels, especially in the lowest octaves – the most challenging region to render and control, without becoming flabby, boomy or worse – thin sounding.
Unfortunately, not so many DAC manufacturers are putting a significant emphasis on the output (LPF) stage. Some think two or four op-amps are perfectly fine for a 4V signal. But they never realize that music isn’t a sine or square wave; music is unpredictable. We have dynamic spikes that multiply the analog signal by thousands of times! A no-compromise output stage is therefore needed to unlock the craziest dynamic swings. When you do it from scratch with the help of discrete components, you’re stepping into uncharted territory, because that’s no longer the digital domain you learned about; that’s the analog domain. Rockna Electronics started its life a long time ago by building state-of-the-art power amplifiers. I think they’ve built only three pairs of Heart monoblocks…Okay, but what does this story have in common with their world-renowned R2R DACs? It’s simple! If they never crafted state-of-the-art power amplifiers, then they would never craft world-class R2R DACs, because the output stage functions as an amplifier for the extremely weak voltage output coming from the R2R ladder. Gustard put their engineering skills to good use and crafted quite an overkill LPF stage; it’s the beefiest one I saw on DACs up to ~$6000. Even the Denafrips Venus 15th is not as impressive in here, nor is the LAiV Harmony DAC, both of which I still love and cherish with every cell of my body. The R30 pounds harder with every beat, and it’s the one that got closer to my reference unit than any other DAC I’ve heard before. It’s still not Rockna material, but a mini Rockna? Well, yeah, that’s a short description.
Before acquiring the R26, I was skipping electronic music on R2R DACs altogether, and I’ve written about this numerous times. Denafrips Ares (first gen.), Venus (first gen), Musician Pegasus, and Draco weren’t made for modern, adrenaline-pumping tunes, and I didn’t appreciate them for that. A flagship DAC should be capable of handling every musical genre, not just a few of them. Luckily, the R26 wasn’t like that, and it seems that the R30 is even stronger with every kick it delivers. Dynamics are easily the second most impressive thing you’ll experience with the R30 versus a ton of other DACs, not only the R2R breed. Powerful, visceral, physical, hard slamming, all of these words perfectly describe its mean attitude, once dopamine-pumping music starts playing. And it’s taking a 180° turn, transforming into a warm, purring kitten on slow-paced music, getting smooth, gentle, and so satisfying. Do not worry, if you don’t listen to electronica or rock, as it’s never getting aggressive, you will, however, feel its fighting stance once a big drum appears out of nowhere, even a simple cello will sound as if the cords are somewhat thicker. The player has more blood in his veins, playing with more passion than before. The added dynamics benefit every musical genre.
IV. Soundstage & Imaging
From stereo modules on R26, we got quad mono modules on the R30. The analog output stage has grown in size considerably; not a single op-amp can be spotted there, and even the DC power filtering has undergone substantial upgrades compared to its predecessor.
When you combine a lower noise floor, a lower distortion, a higher dynamic range, faster transients, and a bolder tonality, low-intensity notes no longer linger in the shadows, but appear out of thin air in various places in the listening room; and undeniably, the soundstage will grow exponentially in all directions. R26 was already placing the notes in individual bubbles of air, but it seems that R30 places additional void spaces between each note, further decompressing the sound, as if putting slightly bigger woofers on my speakers.
This effect will surprise you so much more after adding a chip-based DAC in a direct comparison with the R30. In the best-case scenario, the chip-based delta-sigma DAC will stretch the sound on the Y axis (the width) and maybe a bit of its height (X axis). At the same time, an R2R ladder DAC will expand on all axes (including depth – the Z axis), revealing additional layers of music between your listening spot and the speaker’s position. The R30 doesn’t make you look to your left and right as most delta-sigma DACs might do; it lets you see the music in a 3D field, as if there’s even some music coming from the outer borders of your listening room. It sounds wild, I know, I have questioned these words many times by now, but I am 100% sure that when it comes to depth, 3D effects, and stereo separation, nothing does it better than a proper R2R ladder DAC, followed by 1-bit FPGA DACs that will ever so slightly minimize the 3D effects. When discussing stereo separation, it’s almost pointless pitting the R30 against chip-based converters; it will always return victorious, and the only one that stands a chance is the X30, its older brother from a different mother (an ESS-Sabre-based converter). It’s the only delta-sigma DAC I know of that could be compared with several R2R creations and be on the same page, sounding holographic and spacious most of the time.
And there’s another unique trait of the R30, the way it keeps sustaining and then decaying the notes. If you think about it, the decay is the way the sound paints the space where the recording was made. Close your eyes and you can feel a smaller or a bigger room. It lets you “see” your music; you will clearly imagine the piano placement, where the bassist is located, and where the soloist and backing vocals are. If somebody walks around during the recording process, then there’s a person walking around your listening spot. It works almost like echolocation, which dolphins and whales use to “see” the depths and dangers ahead. It’s a similar effect, with the exception that the sound itself paints this picture with the power of your imagination.
“Sorrow” (Live from the Luck and Strange Concerts) by David Gilmour starts playing (available on Qobuz and Tidal), and the opening act feels too real. His guitar weeping felt almost like a child begging for help, then the slight chatter from the auditorium wakes you up and reminds you that you’re still listening to music. The sound gets vast, and the openness is overwhelming. Not a single note touches another; everything dances in unison, completely relaxing your brain, and you finally grasp the meaning of holography. Nope, this isn’t a binaural recording, even if it might feel like that with a pair of open-back headphones. A world-class DAC has the capacity to untangle the music in mysterious ways, and the R30 is part of this select group.
V. Gustard R30 in a Stereo Rig
Gustard once again informs us that we’re dealing with a passive analog preamp stage. By passive, they mean a relay-based volume control that will keep the channel balance intact at any volume level, be it the lowest or the highest, without amplifying the voltage output. The maximum voltage would be 2.5V via RCA and 5.1V via XLR. An active preamp stage, however, can boost the voltages much higher, up to 20V in some cases, which works so much better with low-powered SET amplifiers. Low-powered tube amplifiers like to receive a higher voltage than usual, and that’s where active preamplifiers will save your day.
After maxing out the volume with a “FIXED” message displayed on its screen, the volume control is bypassed, offering the cleanest signal from your precious DAC. If you use integrated or headphone amplifiers, then max out the volume and after the word FIXED is displayed on its screen, never touch it again!
But what about the folks who are headbanging with power amplifiers? You have two options, my friends: go with a dedicated preamplifier and power amplifier combo, or, for a short while, you can control the volume with the R30, but be careful not to use it at maximum volume. You don’t want to fry your speakers.
I won’t beat around the bush. R30 won’t replace a dedicated active preamplifier; it’s as simple as that! But it will replace a passive preamplifier – just in case you’re rocking active monitors in a near-field setup. For fun, I removed the Chord Electronics Ultima PRE2 and let the R30 work as a Roon Endpoint, DAC, and Preamp, precisely as I did with their X30 back in the day. The final verdict? The sound wasn’t bad per se, the resolution and transparency were still there, attracting lots of attention, but the control of drivers wasn’t as tight, nor was the sound as fast or punchy, like the PRE2 did it so gracefully. The sound lost some grip, the transient response felt significantly affected, and the naturalness I experienced a few minutes ago didn’t completely vanish, unlike the X30, which did before. However, the timing was no longer as precise, sounding out of place with modern tracks and slightly lagging behind my electronica collection. And sure enough, dynamics were no longer kicking me in the nuts, getting a muddier, unfocused sound in return. Putting the Ultima 2 PRE back where it belongs and things go back to normal, so much so that for the rest of my evaluation, the R30 worked as a Streaming DAC only, never as a preamp.
If you already have a dedicated preamplifier or you’re using integrated amplifiers, then cheer up, as R30 behaves like a grown-up DAC in every way. The most important aspects were the soundstage and stereo separation, which were improved in all respects compared to its predecessor; even the LAiV Harmony DAC wasn’t stretching the soundscape as wide as the R30 did in this case. The only DAC that could portray a similar scale was the Denafrips Venus 15th, which always sounds bigger than life, but more about that in a dedicated chapter. The R30 is already challenging pricier R2R converters, and I can’t wait to pit it against some of the R2R champions of the past.
VI. Wired Streamer Performance
A couple of years ago, I used a Gold Note DS-10 Plus streaming DAC with an active preamp stage; it was a marvelous unit made in Italy. They have a successor already, with an EVO suffix, and I’m sure it sounds even nicer. But what does the DS-10 Plus have to do with today’s review? Well, it taught me an important lesson. You could use its HiFi streamer via WiFi or wired via Ethernet. I was stubborn, and I didn’t bother trying it via Ethernet; it played via WiFi for more than a year. Then, a buddy of mine came along and insisted on trying out the Ethernet connection that, according to his words, would sound clearer and even faster than WiFi. Said and done! A minute later, my jaw was on the floor. Nope, the sound wasn’t “much” better, but clearly, the timing had slightly improved, the contour of the notes was by a hair clearer, and I could hear additional textures that weren’t there via WiFi. It didn’t make sense to me, but as we live our lives, we learn new things, sometimes each and every day. Although some of you dislike the fact that R30 doesn’t offer WiFi connectivity, I’m one of those folks who are glad to have only wired Ethernet connectivity.
Unlocking the wired streamer is as easy as opening a bottle of aged whisky. Plug an Ethernet cable, touch the “Settings” button a couple of times until “Streamer” is displayed on its screen. Go to your PC/MAC (that’s connected to the same network as the R30) and type R30.local in your browser, and just like that, a simplified interface lets you enable or disable its renderers such as Apple’s AirPlay, Roon Bridge, UPnP/DLNA, HQPlayer NAA, or Spotify Connect. I will never use Spotify, because it’s a lossy-only platform (yes, MP3s!), I tried it via AirPlay for a short while and then, for 99% of my evaluation, I used it as a Roon endpoint together with my Rockna Wavedream NET Roon Server. AirPlay works as expected, and you can use any streaming platform available on the iOS store, including Apple Music. Tap the AirPlay icon, select R30 from the list, and all content will be sent to the R30. It’s a very convenient way to listen to music, the most convenient way, if I may say so, as your mobile phone becomes the remote control. The only problem with AirPlay? It’s not entirely lossless; it’s more like how MQA packages their data, so please don’t expect the best sound via AirPlay, even though it sounds great this way.
Once you move to Roon, UPnP/DLNA, or NAA, things will sound better, and you won’t need minutes to hear the difference; a few seconds would be enough. My Rockna Wavedream NET can also work as a Roon Endpoint, in that case, sending the signal via I2S connection to the R30, and sure, it was a marvelous combo. Perhaps what will surprise a lot of you is that the internal Roon Endpoint of the R30 wasn’t lagging so hard behind the Wavedream NET, and in this regard, it reminded me a lot about the sound of the EverSolo DMP-A8 and DMP-A10. Considering how clear and tight it already sounds via Roon acting as a bridge, honestly, I see no reason to invest in a separate Roon bridge such as EverSolo’s DMP-A8 or DMP-A10, given that you already have a Roon Server installed somewhere in the house. You’ve read that right! It behaves and sounds like a dedicated Roon bridge, and this was never a gimmick or an overlooked feature.
Instead of Spotify Connect, I would LOVE seeing Tidal Connect or better – Qobuz Connect, this way you won’t need to buy an expensive Roon Server, you’ll need to have only an active subscription to any of these streaming services. This is a missed opportunity from Gustard…but I have my hopes high that Gustard might implement both of these in a future firmware upgrade. Odin, I hope you heard my prayers!
VII. Frequency Response
A lot of you think that it is pointless to discuss the frequency response because all DACs measure identically. And this is true! They indeed measure identically, a $100 DAC and a $100.000 DAC will both have a straight line from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. They might be just a slight deviation going past 20 kHz, depending on the digital filter, but they will measure more or less the same.
However, I assure you that they won’t sound the same, and even the frequency response will feel like you’re comparing apples with oranges. As every component in your chain has a “voicing” and influences the sound in a way, the DAC makes a bigger difference, since it stays at the inception of the analog signal. Botch it at the very beginning, and no amplifier or pair of speakers can reveal their true beauty. With that out of the way, let’s shortly discuss what I subjectively heard on the R30 in terms of frequency response. Instead of starting with the lowest octaves, I will start describing its upper frequency region, as this is where I believe the R30 stands taller compared to its predecessor. The R26 could sometimes roll off a portion of the upper treble, smoothing out the rough edges and delivering a relaxed sound in return. In a direct comparison with the R30, R26 was removing some of the leading edge of the notes; the contours weren’t as defined, they appeared somewhat fuzzy, and not as clear as some of you might like. This is where the R30 comes in and solves the most significant issue I found with the R26. With the R30 doing the heavy lifting, the whole treble region feels a breath of fresh air. There’s more nuance, there’s more bite, especially in the upper registers, and finally, the treble roll off is a long-forgotten dream. Perhaps what’s a little unusual is that while I can hear additional information and everything is clearly improved, it still relaxes my brain and doesn’t attract a lot of attention. It’s exactly what I hear on my own DAC, and that makes me all warm inside.
The life-like midrange purity of the R26 didn’t stray, and I must say that it was only fine-tuned this time around. The vocals were closer to me on the R30, and the backing vocals were pushed much deeper into the mix, further decompressing the sound, while additional layers were added in between. Naturally, there’s more information; the vocal cord vibrations are somewhat longer (when needed), and from a natural and organic perspective, R30 becomes spooky real. The vocals aren’t forward per se, but placed precisely where the mastering engineer intended them to be. Sometimes you hear them closer to your listening spot, almost shushing into your ears, and other times you hear them far away, almost like a distant echo.
And the bass? One word: Legendary! Quantity-wise, it didn’t change at all, but quality-wise, you’re stepping into high-end territory. Everything from the speed, attack, sustain, and decay, there’s nothing I can complain about. On the contrary! This is one of the best bass renditions you’ll hear on any DAC, regardless of whether it’s a single-bit, oversampling with delta-sigma modulators, or R2R. It’s powerful, it’s juicy, it hits hard when needed, and it’s so clear with beautiful long decays that you might hear additional murmurs and intricacies in the lowest octaves that weren’t there on your current DAC.
VIII. Comparisons
Gustard R30 ($3.599) VS Gustard R26 ($1.649) VS Denafrips Venus 15th ($3.999)
Most of you are dying to know how the R26 fares versus their newest and greatest R2R DAC, but the bloodiest battle will rage against the Denafrips Venus 15Th that I reviewed a couple of months ago. Both are considered to be upper-class DACs with little to no compromises, and that’s where I’m going to focus most of my attention.
I won’t touch base on their looks and build quality; I will only say that the R26 is the only one that doesn’t have a symmetrical front panel (slight OCD kicking in), and it’s also the smallest and the lightest unit in this comparison. The R30 and Venus have a similar width and height; Venus is only a bit deeper and heavier, since bigger transformers are powering its digital and analog circuits, and we also have a thicker aluminum case. Both the Venus and R30 look sophisticated and exquisite; the Venus draws the least attention and gets the highest WAF, since it doesn’t have a display, and the miniLEDs are barely visible in a dimmed room. While the R30 is more futuristic-looking, it gets a monochrome OLED screen and touch buttons for a cleaner front panel with just tempered glass on top.
One crucial aspect that Gustard addressed with the R30 versus its predecessor is the heat dissipation. R26 is hotter after a few hours of music playback. The V regs and the discrete components are generating lots of heat that has nowhere to go but up. On the R30, every voltage regulator (V reg for short) is placed on a heat sink, and there’s lots of empty space all around. The R30 gets warm even if we have way more discrete components that generate extra heat. While the R30 isn’t exactly cool, it’s by ~8 degrees Celsius cooler, and as such, it won’t be a potential hazard if you leave it playing overnight. As an added bonus, the internal components aren’t cooking anymore, so expect a longer service life compared to its predecessor. The only aspect that still bothers the hell out of me is the plasticky remote control. I would rather not have it on the R30 and X30; it doesn’t do justice to the high-quality craftsmanship of the main units, nor to the brand. Gustard, if you’re reading this, consider developing an aluminum remote control and offering it separately for those who need it. Topping already does it; SMSL does it. You need to build one too.
Feature-wise, the R30 takes the lead as you can find every possible digital input and analog output, including a microSD card slot and an Ethernet port that unlocks so many possibilities. If you would like to stream music, it’s easier than ever. It’s Roon-enabled, it can do AirPlay, UPnP, and NAA. It would have been cooler to have a Chromecast built-in, Tidal Connect, and Qobuz Connect options for a future-fi unit, but hopefully, they’ll learn from their past mistakes. R26 is quite similar, and it’s also Roon enabled, but it doesn’t offer as many renderers as the R30 does, nor does it have a simple web interface to control all of that. Both Gustards offer a relay-based volume control (passive preamplifier), which the Venus does not.
Sound-wise, after conducting double blind tests for over two days now, I have drawn my conclusions. Two friends part of the SoundNews team came over for a listen, and we all agreed on a couple of things., Let’s discuss them one by one. The Venus is a fabulous-sounding unit, and it belongs on a table with some of the best converters out there. The scale is huge; the dynamics are going wild, and its resolving abilities could outperform even lots of flagship chip-based solutions. After conducting A/B comparisons with the R30, we’ve observed that the Venus tends to overly excite the mid-bass region, a characteristic I previously mentioned in my Venus 15th review. The mid-bass region can become boomy at times; you get a lot of bass quantity at the cost of a slight smearing of the bass region. The R30 offers a clearer bottom end while maintaining a truer-to-life bass rendition. The boominess effects are gone on the R30, while showing an extra layer of information, sounding ever so slightly clearer and purer in a way.
The R26 has an identical tonality to the R30, except that the resolution takes a more substantial hit, sounding less precise and less detailed than the rest. In crowded passages, R26 maintained a great posture, still decompressing the music for a relaxed listen, but the other two did that better, showing additional nuance at every step.
The midrange region was another revelation. As I mentioned in my Venus 15th review, it mostly impresses with a mid-bass hump and precise upper treble delivery, but it’s not a sweet or seductive-sounding unit when it comes to midrange rendition. Both R26 and R30 showed a bit more emotion with every guitar weep, piano stroke, even male and female voices had more emotion attached to them. There’s more life in there, more bloom and sweetness, including stronger textures on both Gustards. The exception is that the R30 had a much blacker background, and everything sounded spookier, as if listening to live music as opposed to a recording. The Venus 15th has some of that too, a lot of it if you compare it with a regular delta-sigma DAC, but it’s not seducing, overly sweet, and incredibly organic-sounding. It’s more serious and technical in this regard.
The whole treble region was also an eye-opening experience. Right from the get-go, we realized that the R26 is losing lots of ground in here. It’s undeniably the least impressive unit, rolling off some of the information above 16 kHz. It does it gently and naturally, it doesn’t bother you at all, but it’s sweet lie at the end of the day, removing some information from the top octaves. The R30 has more inner detail, more texture, and it’s not rolling the upper treble. There’s a lot of micro-detail information on the R30, but it renders the texture similarly to the R26, without adding any sharpness or listening fatigue.
At first, the Venus appeared to be clearer-sounding, mainly because the contour of the notes was sharper. But after a couple of tracks, we realized that it isn’t perfectly time-aligned as the R30 was. It wasn’t as ultra-fast, and while focusing on double drums and cymbals, it was slightly mushier-sounding, like there was some sort of post-ringing on every cymbal hit. It was a bit more artificial-sounding, especially with less-than-perfect recordings. Mind you, if I had never tried the R30, I would never call the Venus mushy or artificial. However, in a direct comparison, there’s something unusual going on with the treble region that makes it less pleasing in long listening sessions.
When discussing dynamics, it was a tie between the two. The Venus infused more mid-bass energy, becoming boomy on several occasions, while R30 was more about delivering a strong sub-bass definition and punch. Both units were bringing forth a lot of energy; they both had lots of physicality and grunt. The sound was becoming overly dense, and it’s something that only happens with world-class converters. The only difference is that the R30 sounded a bit closer to my reference converter, providing a clearer bottom end without sacrificing the cleanness of the bass. The R26 is still visceral, powerful, and hard-hitting, but it can’t offer similar levels of bass energy or physicality like the other two, sounding less tight and refined.
I would say that the only region where Venus scored a definitive win was the soundstage and stereo separation. I’m not sure if that has something to do with its overkill power supply implementation, but it just paints a slightly larger canvas compared to the R30 and a significantly larger one compared to the R26. The depth of the sound needs to be experienced to be believed. The sounds are always coming from behind the TV, and everything else plays on different heights. It performs some impressive tricks when it comes to holography, sounding as 3D as possible. The R30 isn’t lagging much behind, but perhaps due to a purer mid-bass rendition, there’s less mid-bass energy wandering around the room, and maybe that makes me think there’s a bit less music in every corner of my room. Nevertheless, it still does a marvelous job, widening or shrinking the scale of the music depending on the content. R26 is still grand, and it still plays with my imagination, but the slight smearing of the notes makes focusing on the background music more troublesome. There’s a feeling that there’s a fingerprint on the lenses of my camera that needs to be removed. I can’t put my finger on it, but the stereo imaging isn’t as precise or as obvious. You need to set your mind to good use, ideally with your eyes closed, to picture the sounds floating mid-air. Something that you no longer need to do on the R30 or the Venus.
Except for having a similar flow and naturalness with its smaller brother, the R30 outperformed the R26 in every metric possible, and that’s something everybody expected. Substantial improvements were made all across the board, and outplaying the OG R2R DAC wasn’t a challenge. However, playing at a similar level with the Denafrips Venus 15th in a few areas and outperforming it in key areas was something that not even I expected to get.
My Conclusions
Before wrapping up my story, I want to remind you that this website is self-sustained. Everything you see on my audio rack was bought with my hard-earned money. This wasn’t a sponsored review; we don’t have such things. These were my honest and unbiased impressions compared to some of the best DACs we have around our headquarters, and I hope you’ll appreciate that. I love to write long stories, and hopefully I didn’t bore you with a 16-page DAC review. This is who I am, and this is what I do.
I have complained many times about Gustard as a brand. I was the one who banned mini-CDs bundled with every Gustard DAC. I won, and all of their drivers can now be found online…if you are brave enough to browse through their website. I’m still fighting against one of the ugliest HiFi websites I’ve come across. Seriously, now, their website is a disgrace. It’s a poorly translated page at best, and it can be your worst nightmare, especially if you expect to find meaningful information or proper first-party support. That’s why I recommend buying their gear from authorized dealers. The plasticky remote control for a $3.599 product is a big no-no; you can spot it starting with their X16 at $499, up to today’s unit. This needs to change, and I’m willing to wait.
Except for these two drawbacks, which have nothing to do with the R30’s performance, and the fact that Tidal Connect and Qobuz Tidal are not yet included on the spec sheet, I cannot fault anything else about the R30. It held its own versus a pricier converter, and it was a substantial improvement over its predecessor.
Its resolving abilities are already on the same level as statement chip-based delta-sigma designs. The transients are going wild; the force is always strong in this one. Its tonality is on par with my own DAC. I’m counting the days when such units drop on my table, as it sounds like pouring Trappist ale down my throat, offering a fresh sound and a denser, fuller-bodied presentation compared to their past endeavors. It always delivered a powerful kick into my chest, and a spread-out soundstage with headphones and speakers alike.
Disregarding all of that mumbling, R30 is up there with some of the nicest units I extensively tested at my place, and that’s why it fully deserves our Highly Impressive award! Please note that there’s always a certain degree of subjectivity in HiFi reviews, including this one (even though I’m trying to remain neutral and close to the reader), so please don’t take my words for granted. If an opportunity arises, please give it a shot. You won’t regret it.
The Gustard R30, graciously provided by Apos Audio, is now available on their web store for $3,599, which includes shipping to your front door, an extra year of warranty, and proper support if things are going sideways. If you take the plunge and have some burning questions, feel free to drop me a line in the comments section below. That’s all for now, Sandu’s signing off!
PROS:
- Oozes coolness and style, together with X30, these are undeniably the best-looking Gustard DACs to date
- Its symmetrical display and touch controls made it future-fi in my book
- Flawless looking on the inside and out, just look at that PCB layout
- The component selection is a chef’s kiss: oversized OCXO, quad-mono design, discrete components all around, overkill output stage, custom digital filters, it has everything!
- Dead silent in both a stereo and a head-fi battle station
- Lacks any distortion or noise, even when used directly with power amplifiers
- A Genre Master unit in the true meaning of the word
- Sounds real as opposed to natural and organic
- Highly resolving at all times, without becoming clinical or dry.
- Highly dynamic and enjoyable sounding
- Punchy and tightly controlled in every situation
- Note separation is as good as it can get, with outstanding spatiality
- Covers the frequency response in full, balancing it out in a natural fashion
- Rocks the widest selection of digital inputs and analog outputs
- While it’s still expensive, you get a lot in return
- The R2R DAC to beat in the years to come
CONS:
- Plasticky remote control
- A Google-translated page is not a proper web page
- You won’t find a user manual in the package
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT:
- Digital Transport / Roon Server: Rockna Wavedream NET 4 Tb
- Network Switch: Ansuz PowerSwitch D3
- DACs: Gustard R30, R26, Denafrips Venus 15th, Rockna Wavedream Reference Signature
- Headphone Amplifiers: Cayin Soul 170HA, Feliks Envy Performance Edition, Burson Soloist Voyager MAX & a few more
- Preamplifier: Chord Electronics Ultima PRE2
- Power Amplifiers: Chord Electronics Ultima 3 (X2)
- Full-sized headphones: HiFiMan Susvara Unveiled, Susvara OG, T+A Solitaire P, Sennheiser HD800S, and many others
- Loudspeakers: Raidho TD 2.2
- Interconnects: Crystal Cable Monet XLR (X2)
- Speaker cables: Crystal Cable Monet 2.5m
- Power Cables: Crystal Cable Monet (X4), Roboli Stars Power (X2)
- Ethernet Cable: Crystal Cable Monet (X2)
- HDMI Cable: AudioQuest Dragon
- Balanced Isolation Power Conditioner: KECES IQRP-3600
- Audio Racks: Woodyard Suspended Triple & Baby Modular
