GUSTARD X16: High quality DAC with Bluetooth 5.0

Gustard ‘s DAC X16 is a DAC that features a quality design thanks to the use of high-end components. These include two ES9068AS DACs, an XMOS XU216 USB controller, an Accusilicon clock, and an Altera MAX II FPGA.

The X16 DAC is equipped with a particularly comprehensive set of connectors, allowing it to be easily integrated into most audio systems. Inputs include USB-B, coaxial, optical Toslink and I2S via HDMI, as well as Bluetooth 5.0. At the output, the DAC has a balanced XLR output and an unbalanced RCA output.

The X16 DAC is equipped with many high quality components. Among them are the OPA1612 AOP with a low level of distortion and noise in the I/V conversion circuit, Vishay and MELF resistors, TPS7A47 and TPS7A33 linear regulators, as well as a toroidal transformer of our own design.

There are also two Accusilicon AS318-B clock generators, providing an extremely accurate clock signal.

The Altera MAX II CPLD provides ideal clock processing with extremely low jitter, as well as audio equalization and DoP decoding.

Equipped with a Qualcomm CSR8675 chip, the X16 DAC can receive audio streams via Bluetooth. In addition, this chip supports SBC and AAC codecs, but above all aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD and LDAC, which ensures stable transmission and more than convincing playback.

Characteristics of GUSTARD X16:

• Product Type: DAC
• DAC chip: 2x ES9068AS
• Bluetooth chip: CSR8675
• USB chip: XMOS XU216
• Inputs: Bluetooth 5.0/ 1x USB-B/ 1x coaxial SPDIF/ 1x AES/EBU/ 1x I2S via HDMI/ 1x optical Toslink
• Outputs: 1x single-ended RCA/ 1x balanced XLR
• Supported Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD, LDAC
• Supported sample rates: USB: PCM up to 32bit 768kHz, Native DSD up to DSD512, DSD DoP up to DSD256, MQA up to 384kHz/ I2S: PCM up to 32bit 768kHz, Native DSD up to DSD512, DSD DoP up to DSD512, MQA hardware rendering / Coaxial, Optical, AES: PCM up to 24-bit 192 kHz, DSD DoP up to DSD64, MQA hardware rendering / Bluetooth: PCM up to 24-bit 96 kHz (LDAC)
• USB Input Compatibility: Windows 7 SP1 / 8 / 10 32-64bit/ Mac OS/ Linux
• CPLD: Altera MAX II
• Clock: 2x Accusilicon AS318-B
• Linear regulators: 1x TPS7A47/ 1x TPS7A33
• OPA: OPA1612
• Output Levels: Single-ended RCA: 2Vrms @ 0dBFS/ Balanced XLR: 4Vrms @ 0dBFS
• Output Impedance: Single ended RCA: 100 ohms / Balanced XLR: 300 ohms
• Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz ±0.08 dB
• Dynamic range: > 126 dB
• Crosstalk: -130 dB @ 1 kHz
• THD+N: <0.0001% 1 kHz
• IMD: <0.0004% @ -1dBFS
• XLR pinout: American standard: / 1 : ground / 2 : + / 3 : –
• Power: AC100-240V (switchable)
• Consumption: <15W
• Dimensions: 220 x 170 x 50 mm
• Weight: 2.5 kg
• Color: black or silver