I don’t think either will be night and day, you’re already streaming to the Rendu, the server isn’t really about quality, as much as convenience, you might get something from it.
Optically isolating from the network was a small win for me, but YMMV.
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I just bought Gustard A26. Does anyone have any suggestions for an amp to combine with the A26. Currently I am deciding between Gsx-Mini ($1600), v281 ($1100), Audio-gd Master 9 ($1000), A90d ($400), Kinki THR-1 ($600), bryston bha-1 ($600), Singxer SA-1 (jumpermod, $400). Thank you very much 
That’s a very very good price for a BHA-1 and a terrible price for GSX mini
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I second that, the Bryston is a lot of amp if you can get it for $600. Would be very hard to beat.
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I think so too. i am leaning towards v281/bha-1 and AGD M9. v281 and m9 worth the price difference? Kinki THR-1 is also a very interesting amp
I’m not too critical about p/p. I just want to find the amp that best suits the a26 in the lower price range of 1000$-1100$. Which amp do you think is the best?
How did you pick the Gustard? What are your sound preferences? Music genres? Headphones of choice?
i choose A26 because it is perfect for my music, pop/rock/edm/epic mainly, sometimes chinese music (mostly vocals and instrumentals). I like the detailed, clear sound, strong and deep bass, spacious soundstage…I’ve listened to a lot of Arya/Clear/HD800s/He1000v2/Utopia/Empyrean/He1000 Stealth Magnet headphones and I think I like Utopia and He1000v2/Stealth Magnet best. Utopia for engaging sound, He1000v2/stealth magnet for wide soundstage, very detailed, deep bass, clear vocals
And what amp did you use with it to make the decision to buy it? Or what system did you have before this purchase with all the headphones you mentioned? Why not use whatever amp was used at that time?
I just want to experience something new. I have been using Burson Soloist 3xp with Schiit Gunir and Audiogd R1 for 2 years
If you pass on the BHA-1 at that price, send me the lead on it. Lol (please be silver)
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Silver color, it’s in China, but bought in 2014 and has 2 letters falling off. I decided to buy another for $750 bought on 2019 and modified the fuse and wire inside to make it pure silver
Was talking to someone about iesl and they said it woke up woke up at way higher power levels (70-100W). Any decent integrated that aren’t massive that would be worth a try sub like 5k? Tempted to stag an AX-5 (if I see a twenty) but its large enough it would need to go into the floor stack. TBH just want to snag it for a bit to play with and then sell on so idealy not something hard to sell would be nice.
Luxman Hegel and Esoteric come to mind
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Maybe a used Krell.
It is a great amp but probably not as easy to flip as you think. It has lost a lot of popularity and it might be hard to hook up any headphones to it. It’s a fully balanced differential design and you shouldn’t put any traditional speaker taps to it
Oh, very interesting. So a speaker tap to HP adaptor like I use on aic won’t work?
I’m sure there is a specific combo for it but the engineer told me not to use a speaker box or speaker taps
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Pass tend to be easier to resell and this one fits both the power and price criteria. The not massive, can’t say.
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Hi all,
Looking for some source upgrade advice:
Currently Gustard A26 > Violetric V550 Pro > 1266 TC/TH900/Empyrean
Thinking of changing the DAC to a Schiit Yggy + LIM or OG and changing the amp to the Holo Bliss or maybe a tube amp?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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