This is a review and detailed measurements of the Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer and balanced DAC. It was sent to me by the company. I don't have the price but see it on sale for US $850.
The DMP-A6 design is absolutely gorgeous. A large, high contrast LCD allows it to show realistic visualizations like the above VU meter. Navigation is easy to use with extensive configuration options. The OS seems to be Android but custom audio pipeline is provided to provide bit-exact playback.
Support for usual streaming services is provided (pulll method) in addition to support for Roon (pull method).
There is an internal SSD which can be up to 2 Terabytes, allowing large music libraries to be stored locally.
Volume control is very responsive and displays a large circle in the middle while changing volume. I wish that could be configured to stay on screen as otherwise it is hard to see the current volume control (and in visualizations like above it is not displayed at all).
Back panel shows more differentiation:
Note inclusion of HDMI output including support for proper clocking. Company's expertise in video products comes to play here. I do wish that was for input though as opposed to output.
Note also that you get Coax and Toslink output in addition to input.
There is no IR remote but an app is available. I personally like to see an IR remote as it is faster to use than pulling up an app.
Eversolo DMP-A6 Measurements
Output goes up to 6+ volts so I dialed that down to 4 volts for the measurements (-2 dB). Let's start with our dashboard using USB-C input and XLR out:
While not state of the art as DACs go, it still provides audible transparency and lands in our excellent category:
Switching to RCA costs a bit:
Using streaming with XLR does not:
Dynamic range lands in the same department:
Jitter is perfect with USB and almost so when streaming (a couple of ticks around our 12 kHz tone):
Linearity is as it should be:
I wish noise performance was a bit better but distortion is excellent:
You can see the same in multitone:
Filter attenuation is not as good as I like to see:
Here is our frequency response:
Wideband THD+N is not very good because of the filter issue:
We can see the reason in wideband FFT of a 10 kHz tone:
We see textbook spikes as noted. Fortunately they are way in ultrasonic range so not an audible worry. Actual distortion (which is also ultrasonic) is good bit lower at -105 dB.
Conclusions
The DMP-A6 takes a small step down in performance relative to state of the art but then gives you a ton of functionality from streaming to gorgeous display. Performance is still provably transparent so I am not worries (would be nice to have a streamer with no compromise though). Build quality seems excellent and would be fitting in products costing thousands of dollars.
The value proposition is great if the price is as indicated. I do wish for a standard IR remote for when I don't need its fancy features.
I am happy to add the Eversolo DMP-A6 to my recommended list.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The DMP-A6 design is absolutely gorgeous. A large, high contrast LCD allows it to show realistic visualizations like the above VU meter. Navigation is easy to use with extensive configuration options. The OS seems to be Android but custom audio pipeline is provided to provide bit-exact playback.
Support for usual streaming services is provided (pulll method) in addition to support for Roon (pull method).
There is an internal SSD which can be up to 2 Terabytes, allowing large music libraries to be stored locally.
Volume control is very responsive and displays a large circle in the middle while changing volume. I wish that could be configured to stay on screen as otherwise it is hard to see the current volume control (and in visualizations like above it is not displayed at all).
Back panel shows more differentiation:
Note inclusion of HDMI output including support for proper clocking. Company's expertise in video products comes to play here. I do wish that was for input though as opposed to output.
Note also that you get Coax and Toslink output in addition to input.
There is no IR remote but an app is available. I personally like to see an IR remote as it is faster to use than pulling up an app.
Eversolo DMP-A6 Measurements
Output goes up to 6+ volts so I dialed that down to 4 volts for the measurements (-2 dB). Let's start with our dashboard using USB-C input and XLR out:
While not state of the art as DACs go, it still provides audible transparency and lands in our excellent category:
Switching to RCA costs a bit:
Using streaming with XLR does not:
Dynamic range lands in the same department:
Jitter is perfect with USB and almost so when streaming (a couple of ticks around our 12 kHz tone):
Linearity is as it should be:
I wish noise performance was a bit better but distortion is excellent:
You can see the same in multitone:
Filter attenuation is not as good as I like to see:
Here is our frequency response:
Wideband THD+N is not very good because of the filter issue:
We can see the reason in wideband FFT of a 10 kHz tone:
We see textbook spikes as noted. Fortunately they are way in ultrasonic range so not an audible worry. Actual distortion (which is also ultrasonic) is good bit lower at -105 dB.
Conclusions
The DMP-A6 takes a small step down in performance relative to state of the art but then gives you a ton of functionality from streaming to gorgeous display. Performance is still provably transparent so I am not worries (would be nice to have a streamer with no compromise though). Build quality seems excellent and would be fitting in products costing thousands of dollars.
The value proposition is great if the price is as indicated. I do wish for a standard IR remote for when I don't need its fancy features.
I am happy to add the Eversolo DMP-A6 to my recommended list.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
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