For the European user at least, the situation with audio devices from China is chaotic and rather difficult to fully grasp. Apart from some mainstream companies, already established in the European and other markets, having adopted the standard business model through a distributor and/or dealer network in which we are accustomed to, there is a whole world of manufacturers with a huge variety of devices, a world that is easy to miss at your own risk.
Let's start with some geography here: Shenzen is not a manufacturer, but a city in China, which is considered as one of their top business centers, with one of the main entrepreneurship pillars to be the high-tech electronics industry. Shenzen Geshide Electronics, on the other hand, is a manufacturer, engaged in a variety of market segments. One of their brand names is Gustard, specialized in audio devices, which, though not particularly known in Europe, seems to offer a quite long and interesting list of products. In it, no less than seven D/A converters are included, one of which also features a headphone amplifier. There are, also, three analog-input headphone amplifiers, a digital interface, and two clock units.

The DAC-X16 is one of their most recent products, a device with attentive design, features tailored to the requirements of the contemporary audiophile, and with a fairly reasonable price ($499,99 in China-based e-shops and around €400, - in e-shops in Europe, amounts to which you should add any relevant tax and shipping costs, depending on your residency).
That said, it was only natural to be optimistic and excited when Gustard's d/a converter arrived for this review. We had the opportunity to use the DAC-X16 for quite a long time and our impressions can be found on the following pages…

Dimitris Stamatakos

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Original Publilcation: 2021/07/28	Last Follow Up: 2021/07/28

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