Eversolo dmp A6 vs Master edition vs Z8

I am also curious about the differences in the (2) DMP-A6's.  Is the "Master Edition" really worth the extra $400?

Thanks!

My Dad picked up the Master for his first foray into streaming.   It's very good.   $400 better?  Can't say , but it is a good value at $1299.  He loves it   His integrated amp's DAC is doing all the heavy lifting via USB .    

i only bought the master edition, still playing with it, early impressions are it is excellent

perhaps i will pick up a basic model later

for now i am comparing to other front ends like the optical rendu, zenstream, innuos zen

Jjss49, any initial thoughts vs those other units? I have an optical rendu and have considered all of those other units as potential replacements.

It is Chinese scam, A6 is good enough. 

I bought the Master Edition for my headphone system a few days ago. My main system has an Aurender N200 and Audio Holo May DAC. I really needed something smaller for my desk and didn’t want to spend a ton of money. The Master Edition improved the clocking and provides better op-amps and I’m told the improvements are worth it. We shall see! I can always sell on the used market without a huge loss if it doesn't pan out!

I have the standard Eversolo dmp-a6 as I use just the streamer part. Aren't most of the improvements on the ME version done on the DAC side of this unit?

Aren't most of the improvements on the ME version done on the DAC side of this unit?

@mr_m...that's what I thought also, but can't find any definitive answers.  I use an out-board DAC too.  I was hoping one of our members had both versions and could enlighten us... 

@mofimadness,

Yes. I would like to know too.

I spoke to Amir the owner of summitt audio and he said the clocking and op amps made the background uierer  and noise floor lower. I’m only interested in the Dac and streamer portion of the unit .

jjss49, pls let us know about your thoughts comparing it to the Innuous zen mini when you’ve had a chance to compare.

im also thinking about the Geshelli J2. People like cheap audio man love the j2. I spoke to one of the family members and I was impressed with her openness , honesty and customer service. She was wonderful! With support like I experienced I’d buy from this company. Much less expensive but great reviews and customer support. 
 

im overwhelmed by the choices and people saying the difference is not as big as other factors.

jjss49, pls let us know about your thoughts comparing it to the Innuous zen mini when you’ve had a chance to compare.

Big +1. @jjss49 I’d be VERY interested in your impressions as I’m sure many others here would be too. That’s a very intriguing collection of streamers you have there! I’ve got the Zen Stream but my next upgrade was gonna be to the Innuos Zen Mk3 so…

@soix @brianportugal et al

i am currently on a summer vacation in spain, will be gone for another week, so i won’t really have proper answers on the streamer comparisons for probably another several weeks ... sorry about that not being any sooner

i ordered the eversolo master unit from summit several weeks back and it arrived just a couple days before we left for our trip (i wasn’t going to order both the plain jane and the master version, so i just picked the master with the purported better clocking and ic output stage)

before i left for the trip i played it using my usual cleansed lan feed using its internal ess sabre dac output first, and what i heard was predictably that very well known clean clear crisp spacious rhythmic sound signature that that chipset is well known for when coupled to a good ss output stage

i will compare the streamer output(s) against the others i have in house in due course, but as you know, to do that properly, using the various digital outputs into various dacs, will take some time to cover the many permutations - one that i quickly did was compare its rca spdif out against my well-used ifi zenstream with 12v lps, both feeding the same musical fidelity trivista dac using roon, i could not hear any difference

I have the standard Eversolo DMP-a6, and compared the coaxial output (SPDIF) to the USB output. Both cables were Audioquest Carbon, so that eliminated any differences you would hear from the cables geometry. 

I thought the USB sounded a little cleaner than the coaxial. I had it connected to a Denafrips Pontus ll DAC.

@mr_m Doesn’t the Eversolo have I2s out? Pls let us know how that compares into your Pontus when you get a chance. 

@burtlake 

No. The Eversolo doesn't have i2s outputs.It has SPDIF, USB, optical, and HDMI digital outputs and single ended and balanced analog outs.

The upgrades to the Masters Edition are higher level clocks and op amps on the DAC side so if you are only going to use it as a streamer the standard edition is the same.  If you are going to use it as a combination unit you may or may not hear the benefits of the upgrade.  No matter which of the Eversolo DMP-A6 unit's you chose the Z8 is intended as a higher level DAC. 

@jackd

i agree with you pretty much, except to say that a superior clock in the streamer can help some downstream dacs sonically ... this depends on connectivity scheme to chosen dac...

I'm only repeating what the distributor Aamir told me when I asked the same question with regards to using as streamer only or combo.  I was willing to pay the difference when I called him. I've had mine playing out of the analog outputs since I unpacked it Friday afternoon and it does seem to be improving incrementally and sounds pretty good on it's own. I'm let it keep going until this time next Sunday to see how much more it improves if any.

Selling mine here: https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisb605j-eversolo-dmp-a6-master-edition-music-servers-docks

@jjss49 Curious if you have any updates to share.  I've got the basic version and have compared it to the HiFi Rose 150b as both a stand-alone unit and as a streamer only,  I'm also going to compare it to my Optical Rendu as a streamer and also to my Innuous Zenith MkIII, but probably won't get to those for a couple of weeks.

badgerdms

So how did the Eversolo compare to the Rose 150b?.....

IMO the HiFi Rose 150b is better than the Eversolo as both a stand-alone and as a streamer only.  For some folks not 5x better, but in my system it just has a more relaxed immersive feel than the Eversolo.  The Eversolo has a nice soundstage (as does the Rose) but the Rose just seems to add more texture within the stage.  It's really noticeable on human voices and on more complex passages that blur a bit on the Eversolo.

The Eversolo probably competes better against the lessor priced HiFi Rose products but the 150b is clearly the winner between these two.

I have a Master Edition and had the standard which I returned. I can’t make the comparisons to anything else unfortunately other than to themselves. Without a doubt the Master Edition is absolutely a better sounding component to the standard DMP A6. Running them both into analog inputs of my 300B tube amp (or my Yamaha S2200) aligning up some tracks from Tidal or Qobuz and A/Bing the pair instantly shows that they did their homework with the Master Edition. The Master sounds more realistic, the soundstage has more depth and separation with instrument placement. The Standard sounds much flatter like all the people in the band are just standing next to each other in comparison. Things like cymbal hits just sound more realistic and taper off slower. I think female voices from Diana Krall sound incredible and just flow out of the speakers very naturally. The bottom end is tighter with more definition to the bass. Where I didn’t find a lot of difference between the two units was when playing some late 90s rock. Think, Rage against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Incubus. Part of that may be the quality of the recordings? I’m not sure. I still think that even to the untrained ear it sounds better, it’s just not as big of a difference as say, with some thing like in Etta, James, Uncle Lucius (Keep the Wolves Away), or the entire Darkside of the Moon album. 

I am often quick to bash budget Chinese gear, because honestly a lot of it is crap.  The A6 is a nice box for the money.  You could do a lot worse.  A lot 

@Richl35, did you compare the two versions as streamers only?  that is what interests me, as I use an separate DAC

Thanks

I have compared both as a streamer and the master is clearly better in my system. The master is more warm, and refined sounding, it has a more refined sound, slightly more laid back compared to the standard,

dewest1023

That's an interesting observation. I think one of the YouTube reviews ( (Hans B.) said something similar..... reason why I say its a interesting observation, is  that per Eversolo, the upgrades in the Master Edition relate to improving the Dac performance and have nothing to do with Streaming performance..... Wonder why when used just as a streamer , with exactly the same parts as the Standard version there would be improved performance.....( its not like they improved the power supply, etc.)

Musicclover1,

I am not sure why there would be a difference. I just know it is very noticeable. Even the base sounds different on the Master. The regular solo, has a more punchy bass, whereas the Master is more laid back with what I would call a more musical bass. We are not talking night and say difference but noticeable. 

What external Dac and SPDF cable did you use when you observed these differences when using them as streamers only?

I loved the standard A6 in my system and one of the primary reasons for the purchase was to rip my 600+ CDs to a 2TB SSD.  The ripping app was so buggy - it would rip 3 or 4 discs fine, then it wouldn't rip.  It would give me a "restart?" message but wouldn't restart.  Sometimes, it would load the CD and I'd see the album art and track list but then, when I tried to begin ripping, it would show "no cd" with a blank screen.  The worst was when it wouldn't recognize a disc at all - just "no cd" even though the disc was spinning in the drive.  

I tried the cd drive with my Mac Mini to ensure that wasn't the issue. I ripped a few CDs with XLD and it worked fine.

I loved everything else about the streamer and I didn't want to return it - it just got to be too frustrating.  

Chuke076, I never got the cd ripper to work, with both the standard and the master. I even purchased the cd burner Eversolo supposedly used for testing. Until they fix it, I just burn to iTunes, and drop and drag to Eversolo. Hopefully they will get it fixed.

Musiclover1,

I was connected usb to a schitt yggy dac. 

FYI, the cd ripper now works as advertised with new firmware update,

Ok, one of the most talked about audio topics does not disappoint.... Eversolo A6, versus A6 ME, versus A8... It appears the smoke (and mirrors) has still not cleared as to what is the best path to take if one is replacing ones streamer with an Eversolo (Zidoo). So far it seems if you are planning to use the onboard DAC get get the A6 ME. If you are using an external DAC like myself (Pontus II with upgraded board) then simply get the A6... If you want "nirvana" the A8... But even here a solid reviewer says na, not a big deal unless you are using DSP properties it is not worth it and i am in that camp as well. So, at this point I am back to simply getting an A6 and connect it to an external DAC (Pontus II w/upgraded audio board via Alvin Chee) and use my Iris DDC to get any additional sonics benefits. Then, plug in the LHY 5v power supply i was using for Bluesound node... Should be a fine combo.... Any further thoughts from fellow audiophiles?

isn't this proof that too many choices and permutations around gear causes uncertainty and attendant anxiety?  i have the master edition, and enjoy it...  

lol….here I am reading the entire thread trying to make a choice. Clearly a burden of the human condition to stall when too many of them are presented. Choice paradox! So what about compared to a Lumin U2 mini? Or will the A8 still outperform my existing preamp and dac if I simply find an excellent streamer upgrade? They’ve all been toured through on YouTube, but still doesn’t quite get to many of the specific scenarios. Would be so cool  if Eversolo would put out a streamer only version of the A8 with those added features. Just not part of their approach and business model it seems…

Not really expecting an answer here, I know I would simply need to try and compare. Imagine that any streamer upgrade alone would make enough of an improvement. Just illustrating the frustration with all of this! I’m going to keep at where I am for a while longer and see what turns up. Thanks to everyone here just the same for clearing up some of the benefits of one vs another.

Fyi, I have now owned the Eversolo A6, A6 master, A6 master with LPS, and the new A8. Only used these as streamers and mostly local file playing. Yes, they all sounded different. As most of you know, the A6 is very forward and can be bright. The Master is a little less so and the LPS adds some refinement. The A8 Is VERY good and fixes all the nasties. Very refined sound, but will not be to everyone's taste. It was not mine, granted  I did not put much time on, before I returned it. The sound was just a little too laid back for my taste and system. For the money the A8 is a very good kit, and it compared very favorably, to the HI Fi Rose 130 I had on hand. So much so, I sold the 130. I ended up with a Aurender N200. Bingo! that one worked the best for me.

dwest1023,

Since you didn't use any of the above listed EVERSOLO Dac sections - just as a streamer (at least that's the impression I got), may I inquire what DAC you did use in your evaluations?

Thanks....

Sure, I used a Schitt yggy, Denefries Pontius 2, and a Denefries Terminator 2 Plus Anniversary. The amp used was a Passlabs 250 with Dynaudio special 40's.

I have the Eversolo DMP-A8 and I like it for my second system but have issues with the phone app (Android).

I can't seem to get AppleMusic on the phone app even though I signed in on the unit. Also, I'm not sure how to get the SSD files organized (by genre, song etc) or how to get a playlist going. I've foudn Eversolo's website help pretty useless with respect to the app. 

@dwest1023 May I ask how your DMP-A8 compared to the RS130, with both only used as a digital streamer into an external DAC?

I hear some opinions that the A8 is as good as the RS130, with others claiming the RS130 (and Lumin U2) are superior.

My DAC is quite high-end, if that matters (Weiss 501).

IMO and in my system I found the A8 to sound better than the R130. As you know the A6 has a very forward sound. In my small listening room, it was just too much in my face. I purchased the 130, and at first, I thought it sounded very good. However, with longer listening, I found it too laid back and boring. It had no jump factor at all.. Just laid back and boring. Sold the RS130 and purchased the A8. It was laid back but not as much as the 130. I found the sound to be very refined. I always loved the Eversolo app. I think it is one of the best out there. The Hi Fi Rose app is the worst I ever came across. Bugs everywhere. I Could have been satisfied with the A8, but came across a deal for the Aurender N200. Now that unit IS on another level. It is a very musical streamer. and fits first my system perfectly. I consider the A8 to be awesome for the money. Eversolo fixed everything that I considered wrong with the A6.

Not that anyone responded but I figured out the answers to my problems in the post a couple above. For Apple Music, I had to go to the Cast choice rather than Streaming in order to control it. 

For the organization of my downloaded files, I had to add them to the Library before they were sorted. That works fine except for the process. I did not see any way to select all of my files to add to the library so I had to add them one by one. So either I missed how to do it easier or it is a miserable experience taking a few hours of repetitive actions.