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Eversolo DMP-A8 Balanced Streamer/DAC Review

Rate this streamer/DAC/Preamp:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 5 1.3%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 12 3.1%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 74 18.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 301 76.8%

  • Total voters
    392
I have both units, if i get some time this week I’ll hook them up via balanced inputs on my luxman integrated, play the same file played at the same time on repeat off the internal ssd, and see if i can hear a difference. I have a mic and software i can use to level match them, so I only have to switch inputs. Maybe will level match using the A6 as baseline and then adjust the A8 (I dunno, digital vs. analog volume??) I’m not sure I will be able to hear it… they both sound really good to me.
Milli volt meter at the outputs of each device would be more accurate.
But we have the measurements of each, both are impeccable so there are probably other things you could be doing that might be more worthwhile.
Keith
 
I have both units, if i get some time this week I’ll hook them up via balanced inputs on my luxman integrated, play the same file played at the same time on repeat off the internal ssd, and see if i can hear a difference. I have a mic and software i can use to level match them, so I only have to switch inputs. Maybe will level match using the A6 as baseline and then adjust the A8 (I dunno, digital vs. analog volume??) I’m not sure I will be able to hear it… they both sound really good to me.

I'd be curious to hear your observations.

I can't get out of my head the words of one YouTuber who claimed the sound of the A8 was more "analog-esque" than the A6... at which point I stopped watching the review...
 
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Why is the default settings for PEQ, FIR gain is set to -5? Actually after implementing PEQ, the gain reduced to 5 db due to that? Are we supposed to compensate by adding 5db in the volume control knob?
What happens if i set the gain of PEQ/FIR to 0db gain? Will i miss anything.
I know about headroom, but still i feel i have enough headroom even in 0 db gain(May be I'm wrong).
But I would say after spending some time with my Rew , I managed to get (FIR+PEQ) to compensate for my room effect and the outcome is awesome..Though it is a single point (MLP) measurements, it does sounds much cleaner bass. Is there anyway to implement multiple MLP measurements in the FIR?
 
It’s to avoid pushing the unit into clipping, you can adjust of course.
Keith
 
It’s to avoid pushing the unit into clipping, you can adjust of course.
Keith
Thanks Keith. How to find if it is clipping any idea? To my ears I cannot find anything weird (its my hearing observation). It could be easily that I might miss some small details due to clipping. Can I measure the output voltage of xlr output or RCA with reference level(using multimeter to check if the voltage is within the specification ?I tried to make a sweep with rew with volume level of 15, I cannot see any clipping in the data.
For MLP, i got an idea like i can sweep for multiple MLP and make an arithmetic mean to use for FIR, which will be still a decent representation of multiple MLP's. Will give try next time.
 
I found someone talking about this a bit here, and it sounds like there's a problem with going below 50% volume using the HDMI eARC volume controls from the TV.

Anyone else experience this? And if so - could you modify the volume range in the device settings to help with this?
1/ perhaps its to have enough volume , its a base
2/ why think its eversolo ? the firmare its in tv too
 
Thanks Keith. How to find if it is clipping any idea? To my ears I cannot find anything weird (its my hearing observation). It could be easily that I might miss some small details due to clipping. Can I measure the output voltage of xlr output or RCA with reference level(using multimeter to check if the voltage is within the specification ?I tried to make a sweep with rew with volume level of 15, I cannot see any clipping in the data.
For MLP, i got an idea like i can sweep for multiple MLP and make an arithmetic mean to use for FIR, which will be still a decent representation of multiple MLP's. Will give try next time.
If it’s clipping you’ll know it when you hear it ..

Bk
 
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1/ perhaps its to have enough volume , its a base
2/ why think its eversolo ? the firmare its in tv too
2/ Those are good thoughts. My understanding of eARC / CEC commands here is that they are pretty dumb - they just communicate "volume up" and "volume down", and there's no reporting back to the TV what the actual volume is. That's why the TV UI doesn't give you a number. So it should be impossible for the TV to somehow have logic that causes it to stop working at a certain volume level, as it can't even know the volume level.

1/ that would certainly be a strange product decision to have this be a feature and not a bug lol
 
2/ Those are good thoughts. My understanding of eARC / CEC commands here is that they are pretty dumb - they just communicate "volume up" and "volume down", and there's no reporting back to the TV what the actual volume is. That's why the TV UI doesn't give you a number. So it should be impossible for the TV to somehow have logic that causes it to stop working at a certain volume level, as it can't even know the volume level.

1/ that would certainly be a strange product decision to have this be a feature and not a bug lol
50 its middle of my sony tv , pioneer its 31.5 : under 50 i would have virtualy no sound : a lot a people destroy speeker with amp D to powerfull

by mistake can arrive between manipulation

when i cut amp the tv volume change from 50 to 24

the level are the same number , product are different : its a technical raison
 
2/ Those are good thoughts. My understanding of eARC / CEC commands here is that they are pretty dumb - they just communicate "volume up" and "volume down", and there's no reporting back to the TV what the actual volume is. That's why the TV UI doesn't give you a number. So it should be impossible for the TV to somehow have logic that causes it to stop working at a certain volume level, as it can't even know the volume level.

1/ that would certainly be a strange product decision to have this be a feature and not a bug lol
My Sony tv displays the volume / changed on screen when connected to A8 via HDMI.

Bk
 
@mirror88 - Since A8 has DSP function, would it be possible to implement PEQ import function? This will be a powerful, as we can use some 3rd party app like Multi sub optimizer to optimize PEQ below lets say 300Hz. This means multi MLP can be achieved with robust optimization. One of my reason to switch from A6 to A8 as well is, my thought was it has PEQ import function like a minidsp but later found it don't. Since DSP is available in A8, I'm just curious why it is not implemented?
 
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.
There is a hidden Gain control setting in the DSP that lowers the volume (-8dB) in my case according to source used even though DSP is not active. Quite annoying but you can remove this gain adjustment.
 
The -gain adjustment is to prevent clipping after you implement filters.
Keith
 
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Is the hardware in place to have the A8 outputs function as a crossover? In other words, balanced to speaker amplifier, crossed over, and an rca output to send lfe a sub? Would it be a matter of updating the software or is it not possible with the A8 as it currently exists?
 
Is the hardware in place to have the A8 outputs function as a crossover? In other words, balanced to speaker amplifier, crossed over, and an rca output to send lfe a sub? Would it be a matter of updating the software or is it not possible with the A8 as it currently exists?
I would add, also, is it possible to have the dsp work for the analog inputs as well?
 
Is the hardware in place to have the A8 outputs function as a crossover? In other words, balanced to speaker amplifier, crossed over, and an rca output to send lfe a sub? Would it be a matter of updating the software or is it not possible with the A8 as it currently exists?
The A8 uses a single Stereo DAC, so can only output two distinct analog signals, one for Left and one for Right.
 
Is the hardware in place to have the A8 outputs function as a crossover? In other words, balanced to speaker amplifier, crossed over, and an rca output to send lfe a sub? Would it be a matter of updating the software or is it not possible with the A8 as it currently exists?
You can do that but you would need a sub with its own eq/filter , no eq on the analogue input .
Keith
 
You can do that but you would need a sub with its own eq/filter , no eq on the analogue input .
Keith
So I'm clear, I can set the xlr out put to send a signal that cuts-off at 40 hz but the rca signal will only send a full range signal requiring the sub to set the crossover? Or is it that however I set the dsp, it is outputted the same whether via rca or xlr?
 
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At the moment you can only add eq to the digital inputs and outputs, the XLR and RCA outputs will have the same filtering.
So you would need filters on the sub.
Keith
 
I just bought an A8. But if to get full use of dsp you need to add another component, such as the Flex, and thus bypass the A8's dsp, I wonder if the extra cost of the A8 can be justified over an A6 and a separate pre-amp like the Kara. Remove the dsp and obviate the need for an analog input and there seems to be nothing to recommend the A8 over the A6.

I hate Monday morning regret but that's kind of what I'm feeling at the moment.
 
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