Eversolo DMP-A8 Balanced Streamer/DAC Review

[Hasse B]

The DMP A8 has a gain control. On my A8, which I use as a preamp, it is in the middle position. How have you set the gain control?

 

[Gyosa1]

The DMP A8 has a gain control. On my A8, which I use as a preamp, it is in the middle position. How have you set the gain control?

Gain control ?
Where can find this on my A8 ?

Bk

 

[Purité Audio]

On the front panel on the right.
Keith

 

[Sony]

Hello everyone,

I apologize in advance if this is a basic question, but I would greatly appreciate any insights on an issue I've encountered with my newly purchased DMP A8.

I've connected the DMP A8 to my amplifier via RCA cables, and while the sound quality is excellent, I find that I need to set the amplifier volume to around 50-60% and adjust the DMP A8 gain to approximately -20 to -10 dB in order to listen to music from streaming services like Tidal at a reasonable volume. I don't mind these settings, but I'm curious if this is typical.

For context, I also have a turntable (Planar 1 connected to a Schiit Mani preamp and then to the amp), and with that setup, I only need to set the volume at around 25% to achieve a similar loudness.

Additionally, I've noticed that when streaming via Tidal Connect, the music is about 10-20% louder compared to playing the same tracks directly from the DMP A8. Has anyone else experienced this? What might be the cause?

Thank you in advance to anyone who can provide guidance on these matters.

 

[Zala DK]

Any thoughts about the A8 compared to this one, with or without special PSU

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Thanks

 

[Purité Audio]

Hello everyone,

I apologize in advance if this is a basic question, but I would greatly appreciate any insights on an issue I've encountered with my newly purchased DMP A8.

I've connected the DMP A8 to my amplifier via RCA cables, and while the sound quality is excellent, I find that I need to set the amplifier volume to around 50-60% and adjust the DMP A8 gain to approximately -20 to -10 dB in order to listen to music from streaming services like Tidal at a reasonable volume. I don't mind these settings, but I'm curious if this is typical.

For context, I also have a turntable (Planar 1 connected to a Schiit Mani preamp and then to the amp), and with that setup, I only need to set the volume at around 25% to achieve a similar loudness.

Additionally, I've noticed that when streaming via Tidal Connect, the music is about 10-20% louder compared to playing the same tracks directly from the DMP A8. Has anyone else experienced this? What might be the cause?

Thank you in advance to anyone who can provide guidance on these matters.

More output ( twice as much) through the XLRs.
Keith

 

[Sony]

More output ( twice as much) through the XLRs.
Keith

Cheers !

My current amp (Onkyo A9010) doesn’t have XLR, so I guess I’ll just keep it cranked up for now.

Any ideas why Tidal is much louder via Tidal connect vs DMP app ?

 

[Purité Audio]

No, have you asked on the Zidoo forum?
Roon user here.
Keith

 

[thegeton]

"...most of the time the problem is between the chair and the monitor."

Such is the case for a significant majority of the issues at my house...

 

[Gyosa1]

On the front panel on the right.
Keith

The volume knob ?
LOL

never heard it called “gain control “ ….

Bk

 

[Sony]

No, have you asked on the Zidoo forum?
Roon user here.
Keith

nope, i might tho.

interestingly, tidal connect at -30db gain and 30% volume on amp = tidal on dmp at -20 gain and 50% volume on amp

I’ll play with the setup a bit more, could be a setting somewhere I’ve missed.

But, as I said, I don’t mind amping the volume as long as the sound quality is good

 

[steveoat87]

I have a zidoo UHD8000 and it is clearly a work in progress. It has the potential to be very good, but its Roon implementation thus far (in the latest beta) is faulty; no multichannel dsf support (everything is downmixed to 2 channels), despite it says its Roon Ready.

 

[mirror88]

I have a zidoo UHD8000 and it is clearly a work in progress. It has the potential to be very good, but its Roon implementation thus far (in the latest beta) is faulty; no multichannel dsf support (everything is downmixed to 2 channels), despite it says its Roon Ready.

Only the Sub HDMI port(audio only) support multichannel DSD

 

[steveoat87]

Only the Sub HDMI port(audio only) support multichannel DSD

Hi Mirror, I am using the sub HDMI port and it provides multichannel dsf when I use the internal zidoo music app and even jplay for ios. However, on Roon, I can't play multichannel dsf. Everything is downmixed to 2 channel. Don't even see option for 5.0 or 5.1 channel mapping.

 

[mirror88]

Hi Mirror, I am using the sub HDMI port and it provides multichannel dsf when I use the internal zidoo music app and even jplay for ios. However, on Roon, I can't play multichannel dsf. Everything is downmixed to 2 channel. Don't even see option for 5.0 or 5.1 channel mapping.

Did you upgrade to 1.1.47? Switch to receive the beta version option. The multchannel Dsd supports for roon ready since v1.1.47

 

[steveoat87]

Did you upgrade to 1.1.47? Switch to receive the beta version option. The multchannel Dsd supports for roon ready since v1.1.47

Yes I did. Please take a look at the attached regarding what I see on Roon. There is no channel mapping for 5.0 or 5.1. Everything seems to be downmixed. There are far fewer options than I remember when I used the A6

 

[mirror88]

Yes I did. Please take a look at the attached regarding what I see on Roon. There is no channel mapping for 5.0 or 5.1. Everything seems to be downmixed. There are far fewer options than I remember when I used the A6

Did you try set the hdmi audio output to RAW or Auto? We tested some devices and no problem with multi-channel DSD for roon ready

 

[steveoat87]

Did you try set the hdmi audio output to RAW or Auto? We tested some devices and no problem with multi-channel DSD for roon ready

Hi Mirror, I tried both RAW and Auto and still having problems playing multichannel DSD for Roon Ready. No difference at all between the two settings.

 

[Spyerx]

New firmware out, lots of feature upgrades including native Apple Music integration, which is super slick to be able to combine playlists across sources. It’s at “CD” lossless 44.1k though, you need to use the android/side loaded Apple Music app to play high resolution still.

 

[Robocop]

This comment from stereophile A8 review site. What is he talking about Ultrasonic noise? Subjective by all accounts!!!! No testing has revealed this to be an issue.

My comment comes a bit late, I hope some will still find useful. I listened and tested (with my limited gear) both these models. And one confirmed the other, the A6 sounded slightly more coherent/I could make more sense of details and soundstage. While both units suffer from very high ultrasonic noise it is even more so true for the A8. My suspicion is that the volume control circuitry (absent in the A6) is badly placed and picks up copious amounts of noise from surrounding digital circuits. Both units use reputable DAC chipsets and frankly I expected better implementations. As positives one can appreciate the user interface which is quick and easy to figure out. But the rest sort of... reflects the price.