Costa has released a new decoder, which has been hot on the market recently and is positioned at the flagship level. The model is DAC-R26. The price is 8999 yuan. I feel that in recent years, domestic brand decoders, priced at 10,000 yuan, are not as popular as before. Gossetta is relatively a rising star and has developed well in recent years. The
DAC-R26 decoder is a bit of a milestone. It is Gosled's first R2R architecture decoder, and it is also the first product with Gosled's new appearance language. Looking at the entire market, it is no surprise that the DAC-R26 is still the most versatile R2R decoder currently available.
In the early years, there were only a handful of domestic brands making R2R decoders. Recently, I searched online and found that there are many more domestic brands making R2R decoders than before. However, looking at the entire decoding market, R2R is still relatively rare. After all, the delta sigma architecture decoder is relatively low-cost, and the solutions and applications are highly mature.
R2R is a relatively primitive architecture. In recent years, the R2R architecture has returned to the attention of audiophiles and has once again received widespread attention because of its remarkable sound characteristics. In addition to the pleasing sound, its dense and neat arrangement of resistors is also very suitable for the tastes of obsessive-compulsive disorder audiophiles, and it has a charm that is pleasing to the eye.
This thing is a bit like the revival of vinyl . The original and straightforward structure obtains a simple and innocent sound, the simulated taste, the density and energy of the sound are indeed remarkable. With the advancement of the times, the accuracy of components has improved, and more sophisticated processing techniques have led to improvements in sound quality. The technical barriers to integration with modern equipment and adaptability of music files have been broken through, and ancient technology has been modernized and revived, which is really fun. After the breakthrough of
technology. The salient features have not changed, but the cost is still high. The R2R architecture cannot escape high-precision resistor matching. Matching this matter always means that it consumes a lot of time and material costs. Therefore, no matter how cheap the R2R architecture decoder is, it will not be too cheap.
DAC-R26 will not comment on its new appearance. It is true that the texture on the side is conducive to heat dissipation. With the improvement of the shell technology and the realization of the design, the cost will indeed be much higher than before.
DAC-R26 is also the most versatile R2R decoder I have ever seen. It has volume control and can also be understood as a decoding preamplifier. You can see on the butt that the interfaces are very complete, including conventional RCA, XLR output, RCA coaxial, AES, In addition to USB, optical digital input, there are also network LAN input and HDMI IIS digital input, which can be connected to the clock. Bluetooth 5.0 supports LDAC high-definition protocol reception. There is also a TypeC port for subsequent firmware upgrades, which can continuously improve functions and Bug fixes. In terms of configuration,
, in addition to the fully discrete R2R architecture, is also a fully discrete Class A circuit that can be fine-tuned step by step, supporting native 1Bit DSD hardware direct interpretation. The official label currently supports DSD512, and the theoretical maximum support is DSD1024. It is estimated that this can be achieved through subsequent firmware upgrades. . Press and hold the button in the middle of the turntable on the front panel to enter the settings menu. In addition to the DSD direct interpretation option, there is also a PCM filter mode, fast, mid, and slow options. You can also turn on PCM NOS (the volume control of the decoder at this time Invalid, be careful when connecting speakers without volume control). Attenuation is an attenuation function. If you understand it simply, the output sound pressure will be much smaller. Visual inspection is used to facilitate matching of various back-end devices. As well as internal and external clock source selection, phase options, and screen brightness adjustment functions. The volume adjustment dial of
DAC-R26 is very smooth. It is really good for adjusting the volume. However, the problem is that when adjusting the settings, if the PCM NOS option is accidentally slipped, the sound will explode. It is better to be cautious here. It is also recommended. Gossage increases knob damping.
DAC-R26 has a built-in femtosecond clock, and there is a controller called K2 inside. It can be simply understood that the audio source clock is skipped in this way, and K2 is responsible for unified coordination, thus reducing the dependence on the audio source output quality. Of course, this is used when the sound source does not have special clock optimization. If the sound source itself uses an advanced clock, it can also be set to use an external clock.There are two toroidal transformers inside the
machine, which supply power to digital circuits and analog circuits respectively. Then, multiple sets of linear regulated power supplies are used. Each part is powered independently, so it is still very willing to pile up materials. The integration of
network bridge is the highlight feature of DAC-R26. There are several points to be clear about.
- At the hardware level, DAC-R26 uses a network cable to connect and does not support wireless connections. This is estimated to be based on considerations of transmission quality and avoiding wireless interference to ensure sound quality.
- DAC-R26 does not have APP related to network playback and control.
- DAC-R26 is connected to NAS and connected to a minimserver, and supports control-side apps such as BubbleUPNP for playback, but the current user experience is not good enough. After communicating with the manufacturer, they said they would release new firmware soon and looked forward to a better user experience soon.
- clearly supports ROON, AirPlay, and UPNP playback. I don't use ROON and haven't tested it. AirPlay is completely ok, UPNP involves a lot of software, and common software such as QQ Music, Kugou are completely ok.
- Because it supports firmware upgrades, I think Gossip will unlock all these postures in the future.
I am a stubborn person, so I don’t use ROON. Airplay, UPNP, and Bluetooth are the three types of wireless playback. I always feel that they are not handsome enough. I just think that the network bridge must play the music library in my nas to be authentic. Although it can be achieved through the music software in nas, combined with the mobile phone and UPNP, how can the music software in nas be called HiFI?
Finally, I finally succeeded in realizing full HiFi control and playback of DAC-R26 with the nas music library. But what’s a little funny is that the method is to make a Daphile system, and the USB output is for the DAC-R26. Yes, that is, the bridge function of DAC-R26 is not used. It can be regarded as providing a method or solution for DAC-R26 users who are in a similar situation to me.
(I later learned that you can use BubbleUpnp.)
The Daphile system completely recognizes DAC-R26.
In terms of sound, since the DAC-R26 has a volume control function, I always like to feel the sound bottom of a piece of equipment in the most direct way. Of course, the analog output is directly given to the adam Artist5 active speaker. I'm almost done playing with this speaker, I love testing equipment with it so much. Adam has a professional background and Artist5 is positioned for home use. The sound of this box has a neutral balance and high degree of reproduction, but it does not have the stiff and dry sound of most monitor speakers. It is very demanding on front-end quality and is also extremely sensitive to front-end tones.
I have to say that these primitive sound technologies, similar to the decoding of vinyl, amplifier , and R2R architecture, have something in common. The dense and solid sound texture and energy of
vinyl, and the gaseous, moist, and physical feel of the tube amp. These relatively obvious sound characteristics are indeed not easy to find in the new generation of technological products.
And this large number of resistors, the time-consuming and laborious R2R architecture decoding, does have relatively unique sound characteristics.
DAC-R26, the R2R decoder, has two clear characteristics in terms of sound.
The first one is Gosled’s long-term understanding of sound, because I have played several Gosled decoders, all-in-ones, and headphone amplifier products, and I am familiar with their sound positioning. Gosled is not complicated, although It often displays high-standard parameters to users, but its tuning concept is indeed unified and inherited. To my ears, Gossip insists on neutral and balanced sound, and insists on providing high quality and good analysis. The sound quality of this DAC-R26 is also the same. There is no sound coloring , or a distinctive tuning style to speak of. The preference for timbre is completely left to the back-end amplifier, headphones, and speakers. , accessories and other equipment. Therefore, when I use Gossect products, I have heard warm and sweet sounds, and I have also heard sounds that are relatively restored by monitoring. It is indeed more convenient for users to adjust the sound taste from the back end.
Secondly, I clearly heard the sound characteristics of the R2R architecture.I have heard many R2R decoders from various brands. Although each has its own timbre characteristics, it is not difficult to hear the difference between R2R architecture and Delta Sigma architecture. This difference is very similar to CD and vinyl, tube and transistor . sound difference. It’s quite easy to understand if we compare vinyl and vacuum tubes. The richness, denseness, and solidity of the sound of the R2R architecture are between those of CD players and vinyl. The moistness, gaseous feeling, and three-dimensional feeling are almost between those of transistors and electron tubes. The reason why people are easily attracted to the sound of vinyl, tube, and R2R architecture decoding is actually just this kind of different listening experience.
R2R has a relatively deep decoding memory. There are 4 famous brands of machines, Total dac, Holo Audio, Rockna, and YGG. Each has its own unique sound and is priced at a high price. The sound of DAC-R26 immediately reminded me of YGG, an older product. At that time, I felt that among these R2Rs, YGG had the most neutral sound.
asked me what the R2R sound of DAC-R26 is, and I can only say that I didn’t hear any sound. DAC-R26 has clear and pure R2R sound characteristics, a certain smoothness, a sense of gas, and a good three-dimensional sense. Richness, density, solidity. Plus very good sound resolution. There is no sweet, delicate, gorgeous and individual tone in it. It seemed that all I heard was the sound of densely packed high-precision resistors, which was very neutral, straightforward, and poetic.
DAC-R26 listens to human voices. The sound and image position is moderate, the mouth shape is clear, the three-dimensional effect is strong, and the voice is mellow and rich. Express the singer's original timbre without any additional modifications.
DAC-R26 has a very stable chassis when listening to large-scale repertoire. At first listen, pieces of instrumental music are intertwined. If you listen closely, you will find the clarity of each part. There is a sense of layer between parts, and the layers before and after are relatively clear. , this kind of performance of the robustness and density of a large-scale repertoire suddenly reminded me that it is more appropriate to use the metaphor of skin. If the stone machine performs this kind of repertoire, the feeling is snow-white skin, soft and moderately elastic, then DAC-R26 The decoded sound of R2R is like wheat-colored skin, which is firmer and more elastic.
DAC-R26 is so neutral in nature that it’s so simple that while listening to it, I think, this is the original sound of those rows of resistors. Because it is neutral and uncolored, and its resolution is really good, I think the DAC-R26 is suitable for all kinds of tracks. The premise is that you are not a fan of individual sounds. The listening method of DAC-R26 is very suitable for occasional serious listening and occasional background music playback. You will not feel tired after listening for a long time.
said that the R2R needs to be burned in for hundreds or even thousands of hours before it reaches the state. I can't do this for the time being. I don't know if the DAC-R26 is in the same situation. What I can feel for the time being is that it just starts up. There is indeed a difference between the sound of and after a period of time. The sound is slightly blurry when it is first turned on. It is true that the thermal resolution will be much better after heating.
Fans who simply want to experience the sound quality of R2R can try the DAC-R26. The price of 8999 is to buy a high-cost R2R architecture flagship decoder. I think the quality of the sound quality is quite good.
Finally, the remote control of DAC-R26 is also quite easy to use~
