Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer Review

[Left]

Well, since Daphile is little more than Logitech Media Server, there is - piCorePlayer, on a Pi of your choice, with 7" touchscreen.

Starting with Squeezer, there are at least six LMS apps in the Google Play store.

 

[amirm]

Please add a standalone streamer category that has some useful metrics.

And how would I do that? My test signals are not on any streaming service.

 

[PeteL]

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.

I assume that by free review, you mean, ad-free review right? Which is already something to be grateful about, not minimizing that, but there is no such thing as people paying to read a review in 2023. Even the paper magazines, I mean is there still people subscribing to this? No, they are sent for free to the people in the industry, and they are distributed for free at trade shows... But actually paying hard cash? No such things I'm afraid. Now you are right, it's a tough crowd, but if you read trough these pages a lot, You'll find that this crowd is even way tougher on reviewers from other sites, Or even tougher on manufacturers. we are indeed a criticizing bunch.

 

[pjn]

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.

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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/

I'm a total sucker for VU meters - that is lovely. And performance is fine. Based on their website it does everything I want - app controlled so the lack of a remote is probably a quibble. It may replace my Bluesound Node which has quite a few interface quirks that makes it a bit frustrating at times

 

[sids911]

I'm a total sucker for VU meters - that is lovely. And performance is fine. Based on their website it does everything I want - app controlled so the lack of a remote is probably a quibble. It may replace my Bluesound Node which has quite a few interface quirks that makes it a bit frustrating at times

I was hoping to do the same thing - but the HDMI out only interface kinda is a bummer. I wish it had both HDMI Out and In(ARC) (for admittedly a bit more). My setup involves using Apple TV going into the TV and TV using HDMI Arc into Bluesound Node. This helps me run the Roon app on Apple TV as well!

 

[C. Cook]

Just pre-ordered one. This reminds me of what PS Audio was trying to do with their $7.5K DAC and failed, but for 1/10th the price. How could you possibly go wrong?

 

[BlackTalon]

Just pre-ordered one. This reminds me of what PS Audio was trying to do with their $7.5K DAC and failed, but for 1/10th the price. How could you possibly go wrong?

Weeeeeelllllllll...

 

[C. Cook]

Weeeeeelllllllll...

LOL I worded it that way on purpose. Otherwise I would have said "What could possibly go wrong?"

 

[Rottmannash]

If I didn't already have a Node 2i I would buy this in a heartbeat.

 

[C. Cook]

Weeeeeelllllllll...

Wait are you a PS(oS) Audio fan?

 

[BobPM]

And how would I do that? My test signals are not on any streaming service.

So basically you diss streamers for not being a Roon endpoint just because you don't have a way to test them (see Wiim review). As discussed above the push / pull claim doesn't seem fair since an endpoint just offloads the pull function to another computer making it a much more complex system. If you can't test standalone streamers, fine, I just think you shouldn't criticize the ones that don't promote Roon.

 

[bill poster]

How does it compare soundwise with Lumin U1 /U2 mini?

 

[BlackTalon]

Wait are you a PS(oS) Audio fan?

Sadly my wallet and -- mopreso -- my common sense prevent me from being a PSFaudio fan

 

[enricoclaudio]

How does it compare soundwise with Lumin U1 /U2 mini?

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.

 

[sids911]

If someone doesn't need Multiroom / EQ - is this a good alternative to Roon?

 

[multisport4me]

If someone doesn't need Multiroom / EQ - is this a good alternative to Roon?

Sure seems like it. I mean, you can use this without Roon and it has a nice UI, supports the various streaming services, has a nice DAC and digital outputs as well. Plus, you can always move to Roon and still use this in your Roon setup. Now whether or not it streams as well as some other boxes seems to be a point of contention up here so until some us start to receive units and can offer up our subjective opinions on its streaming prowess, I'd hold your fire if you're worried about it. Golden Week is over and the Zidoo/Eversolo staff should be back to work tomorrow....hopefully to ship orders out to dealers.

 

[Fontie]

i wonder when a reasonanbly priced all in one streamer with dirac and hypex/purifi amp will arrive to the market...soon i reckon..

 

[Timcognito]

i wonder when a reasonanbly priced all in one streamer with dirac and hypex/purifi amp will arrive to the market...soon i reckon..

SoundStage! Hi-Fi | SoundStageHiFi.com - miniDSP SHD Power Integrated Amplifier-DAC

www.soundstagehifi.com

 

[Fontie]

SoundStage! Hi-Fi | SoundStageHiFi.com - miniDSP SHD Power Integrated Amplifier-DAC

www.soundstagehifi.com

nice, hypex modules?

 

[C. Cook]

Sadly my wallet and -- mopreso -- my common sense prevent me from being a PSFaudio fan

Same here. I once had a couple of their early DACs and amps, then auditioned the mega-expensive DAC I was referring to for a few months at home before selling it on the heels of the ASR review and measurement post. Honestly the early DACs using the Burr Brown chips were quite good for the time and the amps used ICE Power modules so not all was bad. But they jumped into the Snakeoil business and I have no desire to ever buy anything from them again.