GUSTARD U12 32Bit / 384KHz DSD XMOS USB Digital Audio Interface Black

UPDATED AUGUST 2018: My original 5-star review appears below and is once again applicable. There was a period of a few months there starting when the April 2018 major Windows 10 update was forced onto my PC. Whereas prior versions of Windows 10 recognized the Gustard U12 and/or its supplied driver, following the April 2018 update the Gustard just appeared in Device Manager as a non-functional "XMOS DFU" device with no driver. At the time, there was no "signed" driver for this device to be found. As a result, the Gustard was changed overnight from a wonderful problem-solver to an inert paperweight. HOWEVER, that has now changed. The developer posted an updated and digitally signed driver, v.4.13.0, into their repository. I just discovered this, downloaded and installed it, and Voila! - my Gustard U12 has been restored to full functionality. The new driver is easily located by searching for its full file name (XMOS-Stereo-USB-Audio-Class2-Driver-3033_v4.13.0). ORIGINAL 5-star review: This product was one of a very few available anywhere with just the features I was looking for: USB 2.0 asynchronous input, several digital outputs including SPDIF co-axial and AES/EBU (the optical output is a bonus), and its own internal AC power supply. The latter fearure not only eliminates yet another "wall wart" but to my thinking usually indicates an overall higher set of design standards. (USB-powered is a show-stopper for me based on my experience with several inexpensive plug-to-play DACs.) The well-packaged unit included in the box a mini-CD containing a signed XMOS driver, version 3.20. This installed instantly on my [2016 era] Windows 10 64-bit system and runs with no problems. The sound produced by interposing the Gustard between the PC and my regular DAC is indistinguishable from the sound going directly from PC USB out to DAC. I tried a variety of bit rates using jRiver Media Player (WASAPI mode) and Apple iTunes (shared mode). Perfect control and playback every time. The unit has an automatic standby mode. When I came back to the system after an idle period (with the PC in sleep mode) the unit's bit rate display was blank (off). Waking the PC instantly turned the display (and the unit, presumably) back on. This is expected and desired behavior considering that there is no "convenience" power switch on the back. By the way, the LED display is a very low-key green which should not distract even in a dimly lit room. Build quality appears excellent. It is from a shop in China that appears to take pride in their design and workmanship. For the features and performance the Gustard U12 does seem like a real bargain.

poor product. no support. highly unstable drivers on windows. the device shuts off randomly.

Bought product to to allow higher than 96/24 USB streaming to my ZDAC. I can stream 192/24 to ZDAC from u12 fine via optical but it has trouble with coax. Not ground loop or EMI as I tested it totally isolated with a laptop, u12 and ZDAC to headphones. Tried several cables with 75 ohm characteristic impedance. 192/24 coax loses sync with an echo like juttering clicking sound (lower speeds are fine via coax). Reseller sent me a new one and I sent the old one back. Same issue. I measured coax out with o-scope with 75 ohm resistor and measured 300 mV pp. A CD player I have coax measures 400 mV p-p. SPDIF standard appears to be 500 mV p-p. From what I understand, this product is better suited for folks who want to use I2S. Reseller did send my observations to the factory with my offer of help in case this is a firmware issue (not sure if you ca juice the voltage via firmware). No reply. I'm keeping it as optical spdif works fine, but arguably i understand that coax is a better way to feed DAC.

HANDS DOWN A SCREAMING STEAL FOR THE tiny PRICE. Sounds as good as units costing $3k or more. Extremely well made inside and robust thick case. Uses XMOS drivers, stable on Win 10. Use ASIO when possible. I run my U12 on a Win10 mini PC, using HiFi Bridge and Asio4All freeware to allow Win10 to route all sound through U12 via ASIO @ 192k Of course, this is NOT a "DAC" to covert digital to analog, it is a "Digital Transport" that converts USB to different digital output such as AES or SPDIF - I GREATLY prefer that because you will have to pay at least $3k bare minimum for any sort of decent audiophile DAC component. I have a $25k Theta Casablanca IV processor with Extreme DAC. So why on earth would I want to buy another DAC??? I want 100% a digital stream from my source into my Theta and let it's high end DAC do the magic Unfortunately, good digital transports of quality like the U12 are hard to find and the actual good ones are pricey., $1k and up. Which is why this U12 such an amazing piece of audiophile equipment for streaming music from a PC to a processor. And it is DIRT CHEAP. It would still be a great deal at $1k. The internal power supply is also of high quality so no need to buy an outboard "quality" supply. This has it all.. I am using Tidal and JRiver as my music players on the mini PC. JRiver plays back my 12tb of ripped FLAC files and Tidal gives me access to new music. How good does the U12 sound? With clean FLAC rips it sounds on par with my $15k Faroudja CD transport. Quite impressive. Use a good quality power cable and good power conditioner- of course anyone who is into audio has one right? :D

This is a really nice device for converting USB into S/PDIF or AES. It works perfectly with the latest Android OS. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy to stream internet music to my hifi. The Gustard does the conversion seamlessly. I had some questions about the unit before I bought it, so I contacted the manufacturer in China and they replied very nicely that it does in fact work with the latest version of Android. So, I bought it and yes, no plugin or app required. It just plain works and works very well. No noise at all from it. I'm glad they used a linear power supply, since they are usually lower noise than a SMPS. I'm not even close to pushing the limits on this device yet, but so far it's really awesome.

I have an emotiva XDA-1, kind of a "prosumer" dac... Balanced etc, sounds good but the weak point is it's usb port. Doesn't accept high resolution signal, I think 48.1kHz is it's upper limit and it doesn't sound nearly as good as it's coaxial input. It's a world of difference actually. I went for this as it was cheaper than most of the other quality offerings and it will output via AES/EBU. I took a flyer both the Gustard and the Emotiva would play nice this way and it does. The sound is a tremendous improvement over usb. Installing drivers was as easy as running the included cd rom. Has worked with every thing I've listened to thus far up to 192kHZ files. The inner geek is tremendously satisfied by the file resolution lcd window.

This little machine is great, and an upgrade for me from my VLINK 24/96.. It is far superior to the Music Fidelity product.. Big thing is though that the power cable that comes with this is terrible, i mean terrible.. Just by upgrading to a stock cable that was a higher gauge improved this dramatically.. But soon I am going to test out the Pangea audio AC-14SE..ill update after that, Im sure it will make an improvement.. Plugging it into a power conditioner, vastly improved its output as well.. Also, using a really high end usb cable helps this product specifically.. Its a great product, with a little tweaking, it can really do well.. EDIT 1: I got the power cable, the one mentioned above.. It double or tripled the performance, no BS.. Epic Power Cable.. Get the power cable.. Also, if you can try using a USB a to USB b adapter without using a cable.. also big leap in performance..

I run this with the Gustard X12 Dac via a Amazon 0.9ft HDMI cable (I2S inputs) and it provides a definite improvement over the straight USB connection (to my ears at least - ymmv). The XMOS interface also allows for more optimized settings in Jplay (e.g. Xstream) that again makes for better sound. Hard to define 'better', but I would say the background is quieter and the bass more pronounced. Again, not a scientific finding but purely my impressions. (My rig consists of Windows Server 2012, Audiophile Optimizer and Paul Pang USB card). Headphones Hifiman He-560, Burson and Gustard amps.