Eversolo DMP A6 or A8 ?

[RCHeliGuy]

The A8 has piqued my curiosity, as it could theoretically replace my Squeezebox Touch, Bel Canto DAC, and C-J preamp as a one-box solution! However, as a "Chi-Fi" product, long term reliability and support could be an issue. A key selling point, for me, would be Squeezebox compatibility, which the Eversolo team is reportedly already beta testing (by implementing Squeezelite software into their OS, as Wiim has likewise done). That would allow me to continue using LMS (Logitech Music Server) apps to control my 7 Squeezebox devices, as well as the A8.

RCHeliGuy, a couple questions...

• Prior to getting the A8, were you using a preamp into your Emotiva amp? If so, how does the A8 analog output compare?
• Does it have Home Theater Bypass capability (the manual doesn't say if the analog input can be programmed for no volume gain).

I was using an OPPO 105D as a DAC/preamp. It has a balanced output and did a commendable job. It had a 4.2V XLR output.
However, I also recently ordered and returned the recently released Emotiva XDA-3 DAC/Preamp. It was given some good reviews, but I didn't like it at all.

The A8 has a 2.1V RCA output and 4.2V Balanced XLR output which I'm using. I greatly prefer my AMP with 4.2V input compared to 2.1V.

It looks like each output can individually be setup with a volume passthrough mode. I'm not positive that is what you are asking for, but each output can be configured individually. Optical, USB, RCA/XLR etc.. I can set a default amount of gain and make it fixed so that should make it suitable for another device downstream that isn't an amplifier.

Currently:
Red - OPPO 105D for DVD/BD, I have the OPPO sending in 100% volume through the analog inputs.
Yellow - Amplifier
Green - slimline laptop USB CD/DVD player for ripping CD's directly to the internal drive.
Purple - Roku
M.2 2880 4Tb music drive internally mounted underneath.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I also like the volume protection feature.

I have mine set for the simple reason that I could accidentally grab the slider on the phone app and set it to 100% volume accidentally.

It is very convenient to have the volume adjustable on my phone where I could adjust it from anywhere in the house, BUT I could see easily making a mistake with it.

FYI, the only thing it can not do on the phone app is turn the unit on. That is unless you connected it to your network physically. In that case you can also turn it on from your phone.

However I have seen a few instances where I did have to use the front panel. Mostly having to do with navigating music with the Music Server in a raw way. For example, if you plug in an external drive and it hasn't indexed the library and you try to bounce around the drive. It will work on the front panel, but the phone app can seem to get stuck.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I've seen a slew of reviews of the A8 that tend to be very positive, but I've also seen a few that made a few negative comments.

I have also heard that Eversolo gives their units to the people giving reviews on their products which can't help but help put people in a positive mindset.

None of that changes my personal experience, but it's worth noting.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

Did you try adjusting the toe-in? Sometimes just a small change there makes a big difference. The tree in my family room affected mine a bit.

I'm not making too many assumptions about it. My placement is likely way off and there could be many things causing issues.

 

[Robert D]

I'm not making too many assumptions about it. My placement is likely way off and there could be many things causing issues.

I was able to get mine sounding better by angling in the speaker farthest from the tree. Just very minimal. It amazes me just how much difference it can make. I'll probably then have to move it back after the tree is out.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I was able to get mine sounding better by angling in the speaker farthest from the tree. Just very minimal. It amazes me just how much difference it can make. I'll probably then have to move it back after the tree is out.

I think I've got my imaging back

It took a little trial and error, but I think I got it about right. Certainly it is good enough until the tree comes down and I can put everything back where it normally is. I really am loving the sound of everything right now.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

Back to Sleepysurf's question. I think the A8 is doing a great job as a preamp, but since it is the Music Server, Streamer, DAC, preamp, the entire audio chain is represented by that box and if any of those links are bad I'm not sure I could place where the issue originated.

I haven't played with any of the DSP features yet. Currently everything is just going straight through without any additional tweaks. I'm having trouble figuring out what I would want to tweak and until/unless I have a plan, I'm not wanting to mess with it.

 

[Robert D]

Back to Sleepysurf's question. I think the A8 is doing a great job as a preamp, but since it is the Music Server, Streamer, DAC, preamp, the entire audio chain is represented by that box and if any of those links are bad I'm not sure I could place where the issue originated.

I haven't played with any of the DSP features yet. Currently everything is just going straight through without any additional tweaks. I'm having trouble figuring out what I would want to tweak and until/unless I have a plan, I'm not wanting to mess with it.

What DSP does it use? Is it something they created, or something like Audyssey?

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I don't see exactly what they are using. They just mention this.

They did say that it was limited to sample rates up 192kHz.

 

[Robert D]

I don't see exactly what they are using. They just mention this.
View attachment 24758

They did say that it was limited to sample rates up 192kHz.

It should be nice to see the improvement in sound you get once you run it. Audyssey works good for me. Sounds like the one it uses is proprietary. I've got a box I plug my Power Sound Audio sub into the does eq for it too. I ran that first and then Audyssey. Same with the separate eq on my BF 210 sub.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

This new addition has funtionally worked as well as I could have hoped it would. I'm definitely using my stereo a lot more and my wife is too.

So that by itself is a major improvement!

On top of that I still think it sounds absolutely wonderful.

This the best thing I've done for my stereo in ages.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

My wife has been having fun playing with streaming radio stations from all over the world.
I setup Amazon music which streams around 335 kbps, just for grins. It works, but doesn't compete with Spotify.
I'm mostly bouncing around between playing local ripped FLAC and a high res files and Spotify.
There are some Internet radio stations that stream FLAC files.

The Eversolo phone app works well. It doesn't browse the contents of the 4Tb drive well from the app, but I can search for a song or artist from that and it works well. Playlists work well too.