Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer Review

[martin900]

Absolutely, however I couldn't mange to make it work just yet. Maybe the A6 has some kind of built in firewall for this, too.
Or the A6 uses other ports that I know of (138/139/445).

 

[Salt]

You could use a port scanner like ...

 

[Ranton]

Unlikely, Samba ports are standard. As I mentioned, your ISP might be blocking 445 and 139...if that's the case, there's not much you can do about it. See here for some further info: https://superuser.com/questions/311658/make-a-network-drive-available-over-the-internet

 

[martin900]

I think the A6 or the ISP are blocking 445. I ran Advanced Port Scanner to my WAN IP and got FTP 21 TCP and 139 TCP only.

 

[Salt]

IP Scanner against WAN ID gives what the router/firewall determines.

 

[yllanos]

Please show me a different streamer with the featureset of the A6 that has no screen and doesn't cost more than 25-30% of the A6, will trade it on a dime. There are none, and no - not bluesound or an RPi tinkerboard. I know it's a niche thing so probably no one makes them like this, especially considering it's also a preamp so you can't see the volume without the screen.
I have brightness of both turned down to 0% already.

Anyone succeded in making the SMB on the A6 available from outside network? What port does it use, 445 right?
I've already forwarded 139 and 445 for the A6's IP address.

Get a WiiM Pro Plus. Then invest the rest on a Synology NAS, then access files there. You will also solve the files accessing for your friend.

No, it's not that. the A6 is in the living room and people complain about the screen going on and off when I'm upstairs sorting out my music library and using the Eversolo app on an Android emulator on the PC to check if the album covers and metadata is correct.
The screen is set to 'off' but yet it goes on.

Then cover the screen with tape or something.

 

[ahofer]

Get a WiiM Pro Plus. Then invest the rest on a Synology NAS, then access files there. You will also solve the files accessing for your friend.

That or go the Raspberry Pi route. But the WiiM has more streaming functionality - it has Chromecast.

 

[Salt]

Get a WiiM Pro Plus. Then invest the rest on a Synology NAS, then access files there. You will also solve the files accessing for your friend.

Access to NAS will be the same as to DMP.

Nevertheless, I highly appreciate the storage of the DMP as backup, though all ripps are storaged on the NAS and backupped to USB-drive.
Redundance can not be overestimated

 

[martin900]

I don't want a NAS...have 3 back up drives, 2 at home and one at the workplace that get back-upped monthly. They are also all Bitlocker encrypted so another bit of fiddlydiddly to get it working, same goes for a Pi tinkerboard, which I had for years.
So still as I said, the A6 has no alternative for the features it has, WiiM doesn't have storage, no XLR outputs either. It's like asking for a car and people telling you to buy a motorcycle really.

 

[JRicoC]

I don't want a NAS...have 3 back up drives, 2 at home and one at the workplace that get back-upped monthly. They are also all Bitlocker encrypted so another bit of fiddlydiddly to get it working, same goes for a Pi tinkerboard, which I had for years.
So still as I said, the A6 has no alternative for the features it has, WiiM doesn't have storage, no XLR outputs either. It's like asking for a car and people telling you to buy a motorcycle really.

For such a specific need, why not just open the unit and find out if you can disconnect the led and/or touchscreen. I would be surprised if both did not use standard connectors. The touchscreen may have separate connectors for power and USB, but they are probably not soldered.

Bottom line is that much of the excitement/appeal of the A6 is that there are almost no suitable alternatives in the market ...

 

[Purité Audio]

It is a really comprehensive bit of kit but it is impossible to please everyone/account for every user case.
Undoubtedly there will be the next big thing along in a few months.
Keith

 

[SD2KING]

We have some who tend to jump on new members who haven't had the chance to process all this 'new' information.

You've not been pushing some 'my ears are golden' line of thought, but have simply been trying to join the conversation.

If anyone was offended, that is their problem, not yours.

This "jumping" on new members is every now and then quite offensive.. Some of us in here really need to tone it down a bit and be more welcoming and accommodating. Just my two cents, from the perspective as a new member.

 

[bargainguy]

As another newbie, I'm OK with the level of redirect toward the notion that this is not a subjective review site. Plenty of those around for that type of discussion.

If I claim to hear a difference in anything, it's only relevant in the setting of level-matched blind testing. Outside of that, my impressions are meaningless to this forum.

 

[Salt]

Please back to topic.
There are different threads about objective and subjective acoustical perception in this forum.

 

[Rillosi]

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.
View attachment 281719
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:
View attachment 281720
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:

View attachment 281721

While not state of the art as DACs go, it still provides audible transparency and lands in our excellent category:
View attachment 281722
View attachment 281723

Switching to RCA costs a bit:
View attachment 281724

Using streaming with XLR does not:
View attachment 281725

Dynamic range lands in the same department:
View attachment 281726

Jitter is perfect with USB and almost so when streaming (a couple of ticks around our 12 kHz tone):
View attachment 281727

Linearity is as it should be:
View attachment 281728

I wish noise performance was a bit better but distortion is excellent:
View attachment 281730

You can see the same in multitone:
View attachment 281731

Filter attenuation is not as good as I like to see:

View attachment 281732

Here is our frequency response:
View attachment 281733

Wideband THD+N is not very good because of the filter issue:
View attachment 281734

We can see the reason in wideband FFT of a 10 kHz tone:
View attachment 281735

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/

Thank you, Amir, for your great job and suggestions (it is excellent your YouTube video called "Speed Reading DAC Audio Measurements"). At the end of the day, I decided to buy the Eversolo Z8-DAC and the Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer. So, I could have the best of the two worlds for a fraction of the so-called ultra-high-end audiophile setups. Considering that I am A-B comparing these two with my Auralic VEGA G2.1 (streamer-dac) through XLR connection, I am grateful and surprised. I posted the same message also on the Eversolo Z-8 DAC thread because I hope this would be helpful for someone that never read the other thread.

 

[madrac]

Having an issue of side-loading APKs (which I've done previously). Today, I was going to load another but can not connect typing http:\\xxx.xxx.x.xxx:188888 (xxx IP of my A6) into my browser. When I type, it just gives me search results about router / admin stuff.

I've tried without success:

• Shutdown/unplug/restart A6
• Cleaned browser cache and restart browser, both Firefox and Edge
• Checked ethernet cables (all hardwired)
• Tried using Safari/iphone
• Disconnected hardwired ethernet on A6 and set up WiFi

Definitely weird because I can stream music, copy music files from my PC to the A6 SSD (A6 SSD is mapped as a network drive), etc. I can also access my Anthem AVM70 via it's WebUI without issue.

Any ideas on what to try next?

 

[Salt]

tried https ?

 

[Ranton]

Having an issue of side-loading APKs (which I've done previously). Today, I was going to load another but can not connect typing http:\\xxx.xxx.x.xxx:188888 (xxx IP of my A6) into my browser. When I type, it just gives me search results about router / admin stuff.

I've tried without success:

• Shutdown/unplug/restart A6
• Cleaned browser cache and restart browser, both Firefox and Edge
• Checked ethernet cables (all hardwired)
• Tried using Safari/iphone
• Disconnected hardwired ethernet on A6 and set up WiFi

Definitely weird because I can stream music, copy music files from my PC to the A6 SSD (A6 SSD is mapped as a network drive), etc. I can also access my Anthem AVM70 via it's WebUI without issue.

Any ideas on what to try next?

188888 is not a valid port number (they only run up to 65535). Try port 18888--works on my unit.

 

[madrac]

tried https ?

yes. no dice. if I try w/o the 188888 (so just the IP address), get a problem loading page message

 

[madrac]

188888 is not a valid port number (they only run up to 65535). Try port 18888--works on my unit.

That was it! I don't know why 5 8's worked the last time (that's what I had saved in my notes - unless it was a typo)