Been while since I posted because Ive been too busy enjoying listening.....I sent my Gustard X20 to Ric at EVS audio last December for his 1.5 upgrade...while this is a somewhat expensive mod.....considering the price of the Gustard was $800.00 seemed like the necessary final step in pushing the Gustard to the best level within reason. Here's a link to rics mods if your not familiar with them:
http://tweakaudio.com/EVS-2/Gustard_X20_Mods.htmlI also purchased fidelizer pro and an uptone regen as part of the final journey into digital goodness. Playing flac files upsampled to DSD 128 through a Hal MS-3 server via USB. Rics mods on the Gustard provide a significant improvement. Most noticeably, quiet, background, quiet quiet quiet...music comes out a blackness that is very natural...also front to back soundstage has greatly improved, bass frequencies from my VR-4 Gen 3 hovlands has never been better....much more detail than before. Vocals are articulated so much better....breath through microphones, sounds like the musicians are in front of you. The upgrade really helps the upper VR-4 modules shine as they are capable. Ric claims the newer Gustard with the new chip is really a treasure....
Anyone who is considering a Gustard DAC will not be dissapointed IMO. My hats of to Ric and his mods.....the detail I'm hearing is just great!
- Martin
