Gustard A26 DAC

The Gustard A26 is a flagship-grade streaming DAC built around AKM's best silicon — an AK4191 modulator feeding dual AK4499EX converters, one per channel — with a built-in network renderer so you can stream Roon, UPnP, and more over LAN without a separate transport. It's a lot of measured performance and a lot of functionality for the money.

Type and Technology

Dual AK4499EX DAC chips in a fully balanced configuration with the AK4191 handling delta-sigma modulation, an XMOS XU216 USB interface, and Gustard's in-house K2 ultra-low-noise clock synthesizer with femtosecond crystal oscillators. A 10MHz external clock input is on board for those running a master clock. Decoding reaches PCM 32-bit/768kHz and native DSD512 over USB, IIS, and LAN, with full MQA rendering.

Sound Character

The AK4499EX platform is known for a slightly warmer, more organic presentation than equivalent ESS designs while giving up nothing in resolution — dynamic range exceeds 127dB and SNR exceeds 126dB. Dual toroidal transformers feed independent analog and digital power supplies, keeping the noise floor vanishingly low.

Build and Finish

A full-size CNC-machined chassis in black or silver with a clean front-panel display. Outputs are fixed-volume RCA (2.5Vrms) and XLR (5.0Vrms) — the A26 is a pure source component designed to feed a preamp or headphone amplifier such as Gustard's matching H26.

Best For

Listeners building a separates stack who want flagship AKM conversion plus built-in streaming in one box — especially anyone pairing it with a dedicated headphone amp or preamp.

What's in the Box

• Gustard A26 DAC/streamer
• Power cable
• USB cable
• Remote control
• Manual

Specifications