Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer Review

[dgp]

Just timed mine with a stopwatch. 32 seconds. I don't consider 32 seconds to be a big deal.

Thank you very much for your quick response!

 

[dgp]

Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer Review

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...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Keith

Thank you, Keith, for sharing the link. Before submitting my question(s) I carefully perused a number of the most prominent reports concerning the DMP-A6, including this one. I was just a bit surprised to see that the DMP-A6 and the CXN100 look so differently under the cover in terms of the apparent "sophistication" of the electric circuit.

 

[Purité Audio]

Measurements are everything,

Cambridge Audio CXA81 Review (Sample 2)

This is a follow up to my first test of the Cambridge Audio CXA81. Results there showed fair bit of noise which was uncharacteristic of other products I have tested from the company. There were a lot of speculation as to the source of the problem but no data to back any. Fortunately company...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Keith

 

[dgp]

Just timed mine with a stopwatch. 32 seconds. I don't consider 32 seconds to be a big deal.

As a follow-up to my thank-you reply. Once again, your answer was concise and precise. But what puzzles me is that a device like DMP-A6 has in 2024 a startup time from the standby mode (slightly) more than half a minute (or even 45 seconds, as is the case with my current media server/streamer Cocktail Audio N25). As the example of the Cambridge Audio CXN100 shows, it need not be so, i.e., the issue of sluggishness on the wake-up seems to be solvable without much additional cost. What is the bottleneck part that hinders a quick wake-up for some media servers/streamers, including the DMP-A6, compared to, say, laptops?

 

[Womaz]

Just timed mine with a stopwatch. 32 seconds. I don't consider 32 seconds to be a big deal.

Identical for me 32 seconds .....

 

[Burki]

As a follow-up to my thank-you reply. Once again, your answer was concise and precise. But what puzzles me is that a device like DMP-A6 has in 2024 a startup time from the standby mode (slightly) more than half a minute (or even 45 seconds, as is the case with my current media server/streamer Cocktail Audio N25). As the example of the Cambridge Audio CXN100 shows, it need not be so, i.e., the issue of sluggishness on the wake-up seems to be solvable without much additional cost. What is the bottleneck part that hinders a quick wake-up for some media servers/streamers, including the DMP-A6, compared to, say, laptops?

The DMP-A6 doesn't has a real deep standby modus and that's the real (design) problem.
You can't wakeup it through the network and also no trigger input is available.
I'm starting it with a remote power supply and also here (with a 8TB SSD included) it needs the 32 sec.
Other devices with a deep standby mode (for example my Rose Audio RS250) needs only under 10 sec to become ready for playing and is also in deep standby visible as Roon endpoint and so Roon can it wake-up.

 

[dgp]

The DMP-A6 doesn't has a real deep standby modus and that's the real (design) problem.
You can't wakeup it through the network and also no trigger input is available.
I'm starting it with a remote power supply and also here (with a 8TB SSD included) it needs the 32 sec.
Other devices with a deep standby mode (for example my Rose Audio RS250) needs only under 10 sec to become ready for playing and is also in deep standby visible as Roon endpoint and so Roon can it wake-up.

Thank you very much for your reply. It nicely summarizes the situation with the DMP-A6 in this regard. Indeed, what Eversolo calls a standby mode does not seem to be any different from a full shutdown from the practical point of view. That is, the DMP-A6 does not have what should, I think, normally be called a deep standby mode, let alone a network standby mode (where the device can be activated over the network through the app, even without Roon). It is also my understanding that this is a hardware issue.
As for the Rose RS250, thanks for giving me this information. This seems to be similar to the Cambridge Audio CXN100 (under 10 seconds for the deep standby mode and under 5 seconds for the network standby mode, dependent to an extent on the network speed). In my previous posting, I was just wondering -- now for my general education -- why, from the technical viewpoint, the speedy wake-up (a relevant factor for some, me including) on a scale of a few seconds (well, under 10 seconds) is not implemented in 2024 in each and every music server/streamer, at least in those with otherwise well designed and "equipped" electric circuits.

 

[Purité Audio]

‘Well designed’?
I’ll just point you to this again.

Cambridge Audio CXA81 Review (Sample 2)

This is a follow up to my first test of the Cambridge Audio CXA81. Results there showed fair bit of noise which was uncharacteristic of other products I have tested from the company. There were a lot of speculation as to the source of the problem but no data to back any. Fortunately company...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Keith

 

[dgp]

‘Well designed’?
I’ll just point you to this again.

Cambridge Audio CXA81 Review (Sample 2)

This is a follow up to my first test of the Cambridge Audio CXA81. Results there showed fair bit of noise which was uncharacteristic of other products I have tested from the company. There were a lot of speculation as to the source of the problem but no data to back any. Fortunately company...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Keith

Thank you, Keith, for sending me this link about the amplifier CXA81 once again. I have read it attentively. I have also perceived your attitude towards Cambridge Audio in general. As a matter of fact, in the last sentence of my posting above, I was not referring to Cambridge Audio. It was a general question.

 

[Salt]

Are we talking about phones, tablets or PC/Laptops now and the startup time, or is this an audio thread?
The only hardware I expect to perform within milliseconds at wakeup is printers, and my car (though I dream the coffeemaker would do so too).

 

[Burki]

Are we talking about phones, tablets or PC/Laptops now and the startup time, or is this an audio thread?
The only hardware I expect to perform within milliseconds at wakeup is printers, and my car (though I dream the coffeemaker would do so too).

Mmh, I don't see the problem here in the startup time, but how standby is handled.
The DMP-A6 can't waked up or shutdown through Roon (all my other commercial Roon ready endpoints from Naim, Matrix Audio, Fiio, Rose Audio,... having this option) and so it will need a lot of power (but also the screen saver, doesn't works as expected) or you've manually start it up btw. stop it.

 

[Purité Audio]

I use the remote to start mine and to turn it off, sometimes I use the app, and occasionally the knob on the front, it seems enough.
Keith

 

[dgp]

Are we talking about phones, tablets or PC/Laptops now and the startup time, or is this an audio thread?
The only hardware I expect to perform within milliseconds at wakeup is printers, and my car (though I dream the coffeemaker would do so too).

I am a newcomer to this forum: I joined it the day before yesterday, primarily because I had a specific question about the DMP-A6 (answered). You are the Major Contributor and also a Forum Donor; perhaps, this is the reason why you think you can write postings of this quality. Regardless, let me briefly comment on the responses to my contributions to this thread, which, in particular, concerns the replies by @Purité Audio.
I readily appreciate the point made by @Purité Audio, "Measurements are everything." As a physicist (although strictly a theorist) in the last 45 years (if I include the final student years for the first degree when I started publishing papers in professional physics journals and when, amusingly, I had courses also in electrical engineering), I think I know perfectly well what it means. I looked at the data published at the beginning of this thread even before joining the forum. Once the measurements are published, the general concept is grasped, and the notations used in the report are understood, this is a full answer as far as the audio quality as such is concerned, isn't it?
What else could be discussed in the "audio thread"? As the long thread here shows, apart from exclamations, it is the technical issues of "convenience" when using the device on an everyday basis that are under scrutiny. Now, for some, like me, the wake-up time is a relevant factor for the buying decision (I have had quite decent audio components at home for the last 30 years or so, but the media server was the first component where this issue emerged). For those who plan long listening sessions well ahead, waiting for 32 seconds (as is the case with the DMP-A6) for the wake-up is probably "not a big deal" (quoting @Brian Hall). For those, like me, who, apart from long listening sessions, want to listen, say, a piano sonata in the excellent -- this is important! -- audio quality while drinking an espresso and dealing with new emails, the sluggish startup is an issue. The CA CXN100 and the Rose RS250, as was kindly pointed out yesterday by @Burki, are by far better in this regard. Not to mention the fact that the sluggishness on the scale of a minute seems to be a sign of mediocre technical quality in this particular context, which may be annoying to those leaning towards perfectionism by itself.
That is, contrary to the assertion by @Salt, the questions I asked seem to be fairly legitimate and customary in this forum (although I may be wrong; after all, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do"). In particular, after the measurements for the DMP-A8 were published here, a similar question about the startup (although probably in a different context) was asked in the corresponding thread by @restorer-john (Grand Contributor!) on July 21, 2024. The answer by @amirm was, "... in the order of 10 seconds. Definitely faster than a computer and then app starting." Aha, this is interesting; if true, this would be a big leap from the DMP-A6.

 

[Zwepp]

I am a newcomer to this forum: I joined it the day before yesterday, primarily because I had a specific question about the DMP-A6 (answered). You are the Major Contributor and also a Forum Donor; perhaps, this is the reason why you think you can write postings of this quality. Regardless, let me briefly comment on the responses to my contributions to this thread, which, in particular, concerns the replies by @Purité Audio.
I readily appreciate the point made by @Purité Audio, "Measurements are everything." As a physicist (although strictly a theorist) in the last 45 years (if I include the final student years for the first degree when I started publishing papers in professional physics journals and when, amusingly, I had courses also in electrical engineering), I think I know perfectly well what it means. I looked at the data published at the beginning of this thread even before joining the forum. Once the measurements are published, the general concept is grasped, and the notations used in the report are understood, this is a full answer as far as the audio quality as such is concerned, isn't it?
What else could be discussed in the "audio thread"? As the long thread here shows, apart from exclamations, it is the technical issues of "convenience" when using the device on an everyday basis that are under scrutiny. Now, for some, like me, the wake-up time is a relevant factor for the buying decision (I have had quite decent audio components at home for the last 30 years or so, but the media server was the first component where this issue emerged). For those who plan long listening sessions well ahead, waiting for 32 seconds (as is the case with the DMP-A6) for the wake-up is probably "not a big deal" (quoting @Brian Hall). For those, like me, who, apart from long listening sessions, want to listen, say, a piano sonata in the excellent -- this is important! -- audio quality while drinking an espresso and dealing with new emails, the sluggish startup is an issue. The CA CXN100 and the Rose RS250, as was kindly pointed out yesterday by @Burki, are by far better in this regard. Not to mention the fact that the sluggishness on the scale of a minute seems to be a sign of mediocre technical quality in this particular context, which may be annoying to those leaning towards perfectionism by itself.
That is, contrary to the assertion by @Salt, the questions I asked seem to be fairly legitimate and customary in this forum (although I may be wrong; after all, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do"). In particular, after the measurements for the DMP-A8 were published here, a similar question about the startup (although probably in a different context) was asked in the corresponding thread by @restorer-john (Grand Contributor!) on July 21, 2024. The answer by @amirm was, "... in the order of 10 seconds. Definitely faster than a computer and then app starting." Aha, this is interesting; if true, this would be a big leap from the DMP-A6.

It's also beyond me why it would take 32 seconds for 'just' a streamer to start up. My Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 is ready to go within 3 seconds from it's sleep (stand-by) mode. It doesn’t matter from where you select a stream (Tidal/Spotify Connect, Chromecast, Bluetooth, DLNA, eARC...), it's always less than 3 seconds before the music starts playing. And it buffers the stream, so you don't miss that 3 seconds at the start of a song. My Denon AVC-X4800H takes about 10 second to start playing and it doesn't buffer the stream until it's ready to go. In a world of many real frustration this is a minor thing of course, but a frustration non the less.. So yeah, I get you.

 

[amper42]

It's also beyond me why it would take 32 seconds for 'just' a streamer to start up. My Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 is ready to go within 3 seconds from it's sleep (stand-by) mode. It doesn’t matter from where you select a stream (Tidal/Spotify Connect, Chromecast, Bluetooth, DLNA, eARC...), it's always less than 3 seconds before the music starts playing. And it buffers the stream, so you don't miss that 3 seconds at the start of a song. My Denon AVC-X4800H takes about 10 second to start playing and it doesn't buffer the stream until it's ready to go. In a world of many real frustration this is a minor thing of course, but a frustration non the less.. So yeah, I get you.

If you startup a RPI4 by plugging it in to power, it will require about 30 seconds for Moode DLNA software to accept connections. The only way a streamer can start streaming music instantly is if it's already on. To me it's fine to wait 30 seconds on power up so I don't have to pay for phantom power use 24 hours a day.

 

[dgp]

It's also beyond me why it would take 32 seconds for 'just' a streamer to start up. My Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 is ready to go within 3 seconds from it's sleep (stand-by) mode. It doesn’t matter from where you select a stream (Tidal/Spotify Connect, Chromecast, Bluetooth, DLNA, eARC...), it's always less than 3 seconds before the music starts playing. And it buffers the stream, so you don't miss that 3 seconds at the start of a song. My Denon AVC-X4800H takes about 10 second to start playing and it doesn't buffer the stream until it's ready to go. In a world of many real frustration this is a minor thing of course, but a frustration non the less.. So yeah, I get you.

Thank you for the very informative response! Well, one of the specific questions I asked was about the part of the electric circuit that hinders a quick wake-up in otherwise well designed and "equipped" media players/streamers. Was just curious. I got some responses, as you can see, but none gave an answer. I would prefer a knowledgeable answer or a proposition in the form of an educated guess if the precise answer is not known.

 

[dgp]

If you startup a RPI4 by plugging it in to power, it will require about 30 seconds for Moode DLNA software to accept connections. The only way a streamer can start streaming music instantly is if it's already on. To me it's fine to wait 30 seconds on power up so I don't have to pay for phantom power use 24 hours a day.

Well, I contacted Cambridge Audio directly to ask them how long it takes for the CXN100 to become fully (!) operational from the standby mode. The answer was that it depends to an extent on the network speed, but the startup time is under 10 seconds for the deep standby mode and under 5 seconds for the network standby mode (in the former case, the WiFi connection is off). As @Burki mentioned yesterday, under 10 seconds from the deep (!) standby mode is also the case with the Rose RS250.

 

[Joffy1780]

32 seconds does seem a long time, does it have to boot android every time?

 

[amper42]

Well, I contacted Cambridge Audio directly to ask them how long it takes for the CXN100 to become fully (!) operational from the standby mode. The answer was that it depends to an extent on the network speed, but the startup time is under 10 seconds for the deep standby mode and under 5 seconds for the network standby mode (in the former case, the WiFi connection is off). As @Burki mentioned yesterday, under 10 seconds from the deep (!) standby mode is also the case with the Rose RS250.

Anytime you place an electronic device in standby mode it becomes another phantom power sucking device in your building. I have cut my electrical bill by several hundred a year simply by unplugging devices not in use. This prolongs the life of the hardware, protects against surge and saves money every day. But if waiting 30 sec. when turning on gear is a hardship simply pay your power company more than you need to.

 

[dgp]

Anytime you place an electronic device in standby mode it becomes another phantom power sucking device in your building. I have cut my electrical bill by several hundred a year simply by unplugging devices not in use. This prolongs the life of the hardware, protects against surge and saves money every day. But if waiting 30 sec. when turning on gear is a hardship simply pay your power company more than you need to.

I agree, this is an issue to keep in mind. However, I am talking about one single device (among the usual components of a home audio system) that is slow, which is a media server/streamer. All other devices I have can be switched on in practical terms immediately, and I do not keep them in a standby. As far as the power consumption in a standby for the media server/streamer is concerned, it is normally less than 1W in the deep standby and on a scale of a few watts (may be just 2W) in the network standby. This is definitely less than "several hundred a year" mentioned by you. By the way, as far as I know, in the EU, the power consumption for electronic devices in a standby mode in the field of "consumer electronics" sold in the EU has been limited by law for years now. From 2025, the rules are supposed to be even stricter; in particular, less than 0.5W in the deep standby mode.