Eversolo A6/A8

My personal experience with Apple Music on the Eversolo is that it isn't great; while it does work.. sort of.. it is not natively supporting the app per se; it's more like its side loaded, so the app is very slow and laggy and can only be used in 'cast' mode; also the iinterface is a bit 'off' layout wise. 

I am always disappointed to read or hear about a lackluster performance in audio as in my experience things are often over hyped or someone could have simply received a lemon...I own a Eversolo A8 moving up from the A6 and I’ve been extremely happy with both so much so I now own the flagship. the Eversolo products have performed exactly as I expected based on the hundreds of reviews and thousands of positive comments. I certainly can appreciate one’s frustration when a purchase goes sideways. Loss of functionality would make me an unhappy camper too,but I have not encounted that with any of the Eversolo products.My A8 is the best streamer I’ve owned thus far, for all of you that decide Eversolo is not for you for whatever reason I get it don’t purchase one or sell the unit you have. I’ve kissed a few audio toads in my time as well. Concerns duly noted but there comes a point...

I to stream Apple Classical and was interested in the Eversolo.  Reading this thread has discouraged me.  Btw I agree with the OP that Apple Classical is superior to Qobuz and vastly more so than Tidal.

  My recommendation to the OP is to get a streamer that has Chromecast or AirPlay.  He apparently is an Android user so he should be able to Chromecast .  I am listening right now to Gregory Solomon playing Beethoven Op. 10 Piano Sonatas using Chromecast to send from Apple Music to my Cambridge Audio streamer from my Samsung Tablet 

When my Dad received his Eversolo I thought it was a decent package but after dealing with them on the customer service side I wish I could retract recommending them.  I apologize to anyone who bought one on my recommendation and is having problems after this latest update.  There are several, some have to do with indexing and music catalog.   

Fortunately his works still via other outputs.   

I have been trying to not crap on Chi Fi but here is a great example of Savings vs. Support/Quality biting you in the ass.   

thank you for the good folks here with the fine suggestion of looking at Qobuz prior to looking for more complicated solutions!  thoughtful advice and helpful.  one user here also siggested Idagio.

so i was able to find a friend who showed me his search results on Qobuz for one classical piece, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #3.  My Tidal search results were the fewest number of recordings (shockingly few considering how important, popular, and well loved Rach 3rd is!), Qobuz had more, maybe 20-30 recordings, and shockingly, Apple Music Classical has 201!  of course, not all 201 are recordings that would necessarily interest me or most people, but still, there were many many that were simply absent from Qobuz and Tidal.  Quantity doesn't necessarily equal quality, i get that.

additionally, there were no write ups about the composer or the piece, nor is there an "editor's choice" recording of the piece that show up at the top of the list.  again, these aren't critical, but when one is browsing and finds a piece of interest, it is fun to learn a little more about the piece via a blurb, and then decide to either listen to it and/or do further research while listening to it.

i was all set to try Qobuz first, until i saw the screenshots my kind friend sent me for Rach's 3rd.

re: @moonwatcher's suggestion of the Fiio R7, it's a good streamer as well!  a little presumptuous to think that most buyers would want this portrait orientation, but ok, some might, particularly for desktop use, but that is one use scenario that is rather specific, and disregards all the audio components market folks.

i googled how to remote control the R7.  i found a rudimentary remote control that they came out with after the R7 was introduced.  i also found an app that they came out with.  strangely, i didn't hear in the reviews whether the reviewers themselves have tested remote controlling the R7 via a tablet or phone using both the android FiiO app or the Apple FiiO app.  i wonder how seamless controlling it remotely is?  is it via wifi or bluetooth (connectivity between the phone/tablet and the FiiO R7?

thanks all.

My modest digital source is a BlueSound Node, LHY power upgrade and a BlackIce DAC with nice NOS tubes and decent cables streaming Qobuz and SXM Radio.

It rivals (but does not beat) my analogue source but at 1/3 the cost.

Most importantly, a great UX and zero issues in 2 years with fast response from BS on a couple of questions I had.

Not suggesting you look at the gear above at all, Innuos would be a great one-box alternative, my only point being a rock-solid platform and responsive customer service is absolutely critical.

If the A6/A8 might be out of the running due to warranty or software issues, consider the less expensive option from FiiO, their R7. It does not offer a USB output though so be aware of that.

John Darko did a review a few months ago and liked it fine. It can access Google’s Play Store and you can install the Apple Music App, since it too is Android Based.
 

I have a friend who loved Primephonic and briefly switched to Apple Classical but was frustrated by the lack of good streaming options.  He has since switched to Qobuz and has no regrets.  You have what is considered a very decent streamer.  Rather than the Eversolo, consider upgrading to a separate DAC and go with Qobuz.  I use Qobuz for classical too and the recommendation algorithms are just as good as Apple's, IMO.

I too am a classical music listener.  I also listen to other genres,  but would estimate that 75% of my listening is classical.  A streamers OS,  and which services it supports,  are critical.  That's why I am still using a Node2i,  moded with a TeddyPardo LPS.  It's the only streamer that I have found that supports the two services that I listen to, Amazon HD and Idagio.  Idagio is a streaming service featuring classical music only. The major limitation is that the search function for Idagio within the BluOS is pretty funky.  The workaround is to go to the Idagio app, search for what you are looking for,  then add it to "my music ". Then it will show up in the BluOS app. The other limitation is that all of their music is streamed at 16/44, so no Ultra HD.  However it is all FLAC files,  so lossless and the quality is really good. They are really great at showcasing new recordings,  both through their "Discover" tab and by email. Knowing Apple,  and how proprietary they are,  my guess is that they are going to discover that gap and plug it pretty quickly,  and the Eversolo will no longer be able to access Apple Classical.  

Totally agree that the OS is number one in evaluating a streamer. That's why I have bluos (Node 130) on a secondary system and sense (Innuos ZENith mk3) in my primary. I use both Qobuz and Tidal. Qobuz has the better classical collection and I sincerely doubt there is anything out there sounding better, including Apple music, even so I never heard it.

I was pretty vocal about Zidoos lack of support on their forum , even mentioning that I asked them for warranty support 5 days before it expired and no further contact .   A solid company would have PM'd me or replied but no one from Zidoo reached out, on their own forum. What does that say?

Imagine if he had a DAC that only had a a USB input or even worse, a huge library of DSD material on it that can only be played via USB ?     That's why it's unacceptable 

This product could be so good if they were a more mature company but digital sources need stable, vetted firmware to work well.  They are just not at that level.

So frustrating to lose an audio output format like USB that is now ubiquitous...

If you are potentially buying a product that will have problems and also have substandard service, why not just switch to a streamer that has a long history of quality and service. They also don't have the quirky software and interface that many Eversolo buyers complain about?

Is it just because of wanting Apple Music?

I would do some research into streaming services such as Quboz or Tidal, along with the streamers offered by Aurender, Lumin and Innuos.

They will have better quality sound, larger music libraries and better user interface apps.

You came here to get advise from people that know more than you. You seem hesitant to take that advise and that is never a smart thing to do.

Its too bad.  I have been a harsh critic of off brand Chinese hardware and took a lot of heat for it but it's unfortunately how a lot of these companies operate 

They probably are very reliable on the hardware side but many people underestimate how important the firmware is in the scheme of streaming.   

If a company can't fully support a streamer when it stops working then what good is even the best hardware?  

I really had high hopes for this product but in the end I think I foresaw the future ...  

@oddiofyl

thank you kindly for your reply post.

wow, awful issues re: your dad’s unit.

in my use scenario that i’m considering, i will ONLY use the A8 with its internal DAC. i don’t want to use another DAC to do the D/A conversion.

may i ask if you or your dad have used the A8 with Apple Music or Apple Music Classical streaming please?  i am buying the A8 specifically to stream Apple Music.

it is disappointing that Eversolo has not responded to your requests for service.

My Dad was one of the first to buy the A6 when it was launched. It was great until the last update. It will no longer recognize his amp’s DAC since updating to the latest firmware. It went from playing fine, to updating the firmware to loss of USB functionality

Initially they were prompt to respond but they insisted it was the associated gear. I put the A6 in my system and it worked perfectly so it’s not the hardware.

After thoroughly troubleshooting they did not respond when I asked for warranty service. They also would not send me the previous version that worked saying it was risky and might render the unit inoperable

They insist it’s not their software and ignored my request . I even mentioned that the clock was ticking and only 5 days left on the warranty. In addition they told me they have never heard that problem when there were two active threads about the same DAC2 card on their forum . And a few on other forums.

I have both Aurender and Bluesound and have had issues but they were resolved quickly.

I spoke to people in the know and they have also stated that Eversolo is not taking care of warranty issues. I firmly believe after this experience that there is no real support for the hardware, it works or it doesn’t. As far as firmware i think they really lack the resources that Aurender, Innuos , and BluOS have and they clearly do not care if their bugs hobble the device.

I would stay away from this brand. It is is decent box when it works but don’t expect it give you years of service.... it is disposable.

These are getting up there in price , I would never spend $2k on an A8 when you can buy an Innuos , Luminary, or Aurender for not much more. That is the wise thing to do. Those companies know how crucial support is on these devices.