So, did you ever run LAN RJ45 into the R26? Or just USB and now IIS. My LAN input from the cheap TPLink router with a $10 Cat6 cable sounds much better than the USB from my laptop with $150 cable. I will probably go ahead and get a Gustard U18 or Singxer SU2 since they will also benefit all of...

I have been looking to order the parts for the fiber media conversion mod. Is there a list of recommended parts from Amazon or BestBuy in the USA? I am also going to order the $90 Ali external clock and $4 cable. Even though I also just ordered a Holo Cyan which doesn't have a LAN input.

Ok. I run LAN from laptop to router and LAN from router to R26. This sounds better than just using a Supra Excalibur from the laptop to the R26

What was the connection before? LAN?

The R26 sounds best with PCM705-768 (and LAN) anyway and sounds broken in comparison with DSD.

There have been a few revisions for the Cyan 2 which seemed to indicated in the past that there were different build options. I think I am reading that the current versions are including PCM and DSD as standard?

All SDM native chip DACs such as AKM like the Gustard A26 and ESS DACs sound better with outboard conversion of PCM files to DSD. The PCM native R2R Gustard R26 on the other hand is way better with PCM705-768 and sounds broken in comparison when playing DSD.

Is running the Cyan with DAC correction highly demanding of processing power? I had tried the DAC correction pipeline with my Gustard A26 but it was very demanding of CPU, GPU, and using 96% of the 16GB RAM in my new gaming laptop that I bought just for this. With the cooling fan blaring. Even...

Holo Cyan https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hqplayer-impressions-and-settings-rolling-thread.968141/page-96#post-18154041

This youtuber thinks an external clock makes a huge difference with the R26 and found one for $100. I didn't try it yet.

I was encouraged by other expert users to try bit settings closer to the actual measured signal to noise capabilities of the Gustard R26. People were telling me that the operating theory of HQ Player, and measurements of the R26, predicted optimal settings as low as 16 bit. I find with listening...

My playback chain is laptop harddrive 44, 48, and 192 WAV files> i7 13th, nVidia 4060, 16GB DDR5 B(ut laptop cooling is obviously inferior to a liquid cooled tower)> HQ Player upsampled to 32/ 768 or DSD256> LAN RJ45 CAT6 (or USB via Supra Excalibur)> TP Link router> LAN CAT6 into the Gustards...

My playback chain is laptop harddrive 44, 48, and 192 WAV files> i7 13th, nVidia 4060, 16GB DDR5 B(ut laptop cooling is obviously inferior to a liquid cooled tower)> HQ Player upsampled to 32/ 768 or DSD256> LAN RJ45 CAT6 (or USB via Supra Excalibur)> TP Link router> LAN CAT6 into the Gustards...

All of my other DACs will be for sale. I can't believe I hear people talking about the R26 as being "polite" "soft" or "comfortable R2R" sounding. That thing slams with HQ Player upsampling PCM WAV files to 32/ 768. It is overall much better than my A26 can do on the best DSD direct settings...

I made various power consumption measurements right at the plug of my laptop with a KillAWatt meter. My laptop just coasting along with a browser open is cruising at 17 Watts, 1% CPU, 37% RAM. Briefly spiking to 37W when launching a new tab. HQ Player streaming Qobuz via HQP Client to DSD256/...