Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer Review

[amirm]

Amir, speaking of HDMI, this makes me wonder if Zidoo used an HDMI PHY and then only implemented the audio or would they have used a CPLD or something like that for the HDMI Audio output? Either way, I would assume HDCP is still required to send certain audio signals? I've not seen a product with HDMI Audio only output before so I'm curious what/how they do it?

Audio in HDMI is slaved to video (transmitted in the "blanking period" of video signal) so they must use a standard HDMI transmitter to do this. Likely the video signal is just black but it must be there.

 

[amirm]

I didn't know DSD was part of the HDMI standard for A/V transmission ??

They added long time ago as part of one of the early revisions of HDMI.

 

[multisport4me]

Audio in HDMI is slaved to video (transmitted in the "blanking period" of video signal) so they must use a standard HDMI transmitter to do this. Likely the video signal is just black but it must be there.

Makes sense. So I have to believe the DMP-A6 will in fact pass a PCM or DSD64 signal received by Roon via USB at the very least. I guess I'll find out when I receive mine. Their user manual is pretty rough so trial and error will have to suffice.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Looks like a nice unit, for those who don't already have a nice DAC. Just a couple of minor observations, from my experience:

1. I've used many touchscreens, from 4" - 7", and never really found them to be as nice to use as a remote control with real buttons, and a real volume control knob (which I assume this has). They tend to get grubby really quickly, and need weekly cleaning. They also need to be tilted back a bit to be more useful / visible. From the video someone posted upthread, this one appears to be highly reflective, not an attribute.

2. Novelty VU meters are cool for about a week or two. I've had several in place, from piCorePlayer to custom designs, then the novelty wears off, and I return to the superb, unobtrusive spectrum / VU display on the RME ADI-2. I'd much rather use a 7" separate display on my DAC, tilted back slightly, for album art and metadata.

Carry on.

 

[bill poster]

Apple and oranges comparison. The Lumin U1/U2 mini is a digital transport as it doesn't have a DAC. The Lumin U1/U2 mini performance and sound would depend purely on the DAC you pair with it. Of course, this is assuming the digital outs in the U1/U2 mini are fully transparent so your SINAD ceiling will go as high as the DAC's SINAD performance. A more fair U1/U2 mini contender would be the new Matrix Audio element S Streamer which is also a digital transport like the U1/U2 mini.

Yes it's just that twp reviewers are using it as a transport and making the comparison.. Steve Huff and 13th Note

 

[Burki]

They added long time ago as part of one of the early revisions of HDMI.

Since HDMI 1.2 it's possible to transfer DSD through HDMI and nearly all multiplayers (DVD-A, SACD, BR,...) using it...

 

[Burki]

Makes sense. So I have to believe the DMP-A6 will in fact pass a PCM or DSD64 signal received by Roon via USB at the very least. I guess I'll find out when I receive mine. Their user manual is pretty rough so trial and error will have to suffice.

Again, I'm interested in your test results, but I fear, that DSD64 will not work with this streamer on Roon.
Taking a look into the Roon forum about the zitoo player, then all the users say, that only the internally player in using local or DLNA sources is able to play DSD64 in multichannel, but not the Roon implementation.

 

[MarnixM]

more recently the Mercury V2 (best of the 3).

Hoi HighVolt, ordered one, very curious about the differences with my present Volumio Primo (1st generation).

 

[muslhead]

Looks like a nice unit, for those who don't already have a nice DAC. Just a couple of minor observations, from my experience:

1. I've used many touchscreens, from 4" - 7", and never really found them to be as nice to use as a remote control with real buttons, and a real volume control knob (which I assume this has). They tend to get grubby really quickly, and need weekly cleaning. They also need to be tilted back a bit to be more useful / visible. From the video someone posted upthread, this one appears to be highly reflective, not an attribute.

2. Novelty VU meters are cool for about a week or two. I've had several in place, from piCorePlayer to custom designs, then the novelty wears off, and I return to the superb, unobtrusive spectrum / VU display on the RME ADI-2. I'd much rather use a 7" separate display on my DAC, tilted back slightly, for album art and metadata.

Carry on.

This is exactly my experience with the Zidoo neo s.
As mentioned in other threads, the neo vu meters are not always available, depending upon your source (meaning, they were not available for me in roon but when instead using the default android interface)

 

[mirror88]

This is exactly my experience with the Zidoo neo s.
As mentioned in other threads, the neo vu meters are not always available, depending upon your source (meaning, they were not available for me in roon but when instead using the default android interface)

The implementation of DMP is completely different from NEO, and the VU meters is suitable for any source and format. Even third-party music apps.

 

[mirror88]

Makes sense. So I have to believe the DMP-A6 will in fact pass a PCM or DSD64 signal received by Roon via USB at the very least. I guess I'll find out when I receive mine. Their user manual is pretty rough so trial and error will have to suffice.

Support multi-channel PCM(up to 192Khz) or DSD64 stereo Native output via HDMI received by Roon, and DSD64 multi-channel Native output via HDMI received by local player.

 

[muslhead]

The implementation of DMP is completely different from NEO, and the VU meters is suitable for any source and format. Even third-party music apps.

That is great to know if what you say is true. It is not what i heard on the zidoo boards and why i was disappointed when i heard it. That was one downside I viewed for the NEO

 

[paulri]

Tough crowd. Especially for a free review.

There seems to be a plethora of sites and youtube channels that do audio streamer reviews. This site measures audio performance empirically with a well-qualified engineer with a certified (and expensive) Audio Precision analyzer. To my knowledge, Amir does this as a crusade to impact the industry and encourage them to do a better job of designing their products. The fact that we get to use his analysis to make a more informed decision is gravy....and also FREE!

I'm not sure that Amir has ever evaluated UX designs of any products beyond perhaps a mere mention of how pretty it might look or cumbersome in some cases. He measures stuff - pretty much the exact same stuff -with every review. Don't buy the DMP-A6 if you don't like the specs or think this review was too limited for you to make an informed buying decision. Simple as that. I don't get why, when someone offers up reasons they might buy this thing, some of you feel the need to shout the person down. Nobody in this hobby are qualified to judge others as what they buy, can afford to buy (or not afford) because no matter how many tests results are posted there is still a huge degree of subjectivity in this hobby....from one extreme to another.

BTW - I bought BOTH the Master and standard version of DMP-A6 to compare them myself. I'll keep whichever I like. I hope none of your heads explode over that.

That's the best way to decide between both versions. I also consider to buy Master version as I'm planning to use it with its built-in DAC as well. Only things that could cover it completely seems to be lacking a remote control and then I would appreciate a trigger. Are you going to turning on/off with a power master&slave socket? Looking forward to hear any DMP A6's news.

 

[Burki]

I'll think, that the DMP-A6 has an IR receiver included, but comes without a remote control.
Otherwise all the bluetooth remotes (I've some for the fiio R7 and the Rose RS250, which are both based in android) should work.

 

[0mega0]

On the product page for this it states:

Support USB, Optical, Coaxial, HDMI digital audio Bit-perfect output.

Is this possible with Android OS? I have read that Android resamples from 44.1 kHz to 48 kHz.

 

[da Choge]

Support multi-channel PCM . . .

Has this been verified? Cocktail Audio (from Korea's Novatron) has streamers like this (both with and w/o DACs), but they are loads more expensive. However, their HDMI audio out only supports stereo streams as far as I am aware. Below are pics/thumbnails of their premier model's front & backside. Eversolo's DMP-A6 Streamer's price is a bargain compared to these Cocktails.

 

[mishoristov]

I had my eyes on this as a source to drive Genelecs digitally, but not being able to digitally output the digital inputs (e.g. a TV/Projector's spdif) is a deal breaker. It would have been nice to see measurements on the jitter of the digital outputs. As always thanks to Amir for the time to make the test and write the review!

 

[multisport4me]

That's the best way to decide between both versions. I also consider to buy Master version as I'm planning to use it with its built-in DAC as well. Only things that could cover it completely seems to be lacking a remote control and then I would appreciate a trigger. Are you going to turning on/off with a power master&slave socket? Looking forward to hear any DMP A6's news.

It should have a timer to shut down after a period of time. But if you want it off completely I would imagine you'd have to use a slave/master power setup to turn off power altogether. Personally, I'll just use the timer to shut it down/put it to sleep as I don't trust just shutting off Android by cutting power to it. Perhaps not a concern with Android and I'm just jaded as a long-time Windows user....and Window has never liked power-cutoffs.

 

[multisport4me]

hhmmmm interesting, was thinking of purchasing the eversolo, now i may consider topping streamer...interesting times eh

Very cool. I hope they do. I will be interested in seeing how the UX/UI looks and navigates as well as any mobile app if they have one. I perceive Zidoo/Eversolo to have a lot more experience with UX/UI development but I'm open to being wrong since they too make wonderful DACs.

 

[multisport4me]

Has this been verified? Cocktail Audio (from Korea's Novatron) has streamers like this (both with and w/o DACs), but they are loads more expensive. However, their HDMI audio out only supports stereo streams as far as I am aware. Below are pics/thumbnails of their premier model's front & backside. Eversolo's DMP-A6 Streamer's price is a bargain compared to these Cocktails.

I mean...if its a 2-channel DAC then its likely going to support 2-channel HDMI Audio output. They claim they can pass multichannel PCM but I've confirmed that only 2-channel DSD64 is supported out of the HDMI Audio output. Dolby Atmos cannot be outputted and I'd gather any other bitstreamed audio. It seems like there are expectations this thing can be an AV processor....and its just not. My guess is support for Atmos, DTS, etc. bistreams would require the same licenses and certifications and AVR/AVP manufacturer has to go through.

I'm using a Z8 DAC now (obviously it is 2-channel) so I'm viewing this as a very nice Roon player with a decent DAC and HDMI Audio output. I believe Apple Music will be output as lossless or 24/192 2-channel but no Atmos. Since neither AppleTV nor Mac Mini M1/M2 can do that...this could be a nice to have as well.