Eversolo DMP A6

@willywonka  Good to know because I’ve been itching to try out some quality headphones. Something maybe in the $1500 range would fit my budget. I have to go somewhere like Safe and Sound, which is relatively local to me and audition some.  I’ve never had any, so I have to figure out what I like when it comes to headphones.

@richl35 I also own the Master Edition. I bought it for a very High-End headphone system I have on my desk. Space was at a premium and I needed something much smaller. I had no illusions that this might fall short of the sound quality of my headphone system but was willing to make the sacrifice for the space savings and money savings and I was not disappointed. I also own an Aurender N200 and Holo Audio KTE DAC on my Main speaker system. It's not up to that level but its 1/10 the costs.

I think if you’re reasonable with your expectations of the Eversolo then you’ll find it’s a great network streamer that sounds relatively good. But if you think you’re going to compare it to a $4000 DAC and a good quality streamer you’re going to be disappointed. And that’s fine right? After all it’s an $800 device. I personally have the master edition and have had the standard one which I returned. I will tell you right now that even to an untrained ear, the master addition is significantly better. I sent them both up and timed them together feeding into the analog inputs of my 300B integrated tube amplifier. Every time you switch to the master addition there’s no doubt that it’s a better device overall. Saying that, I still think if you compared to a $4000 DAK and quality network streamer, you are still likely to be disappointed. But for what it is and what I want from it, it’s a fantastic component! 
 

  I will say this.. ever solo did the homework when it came to the operating system and their phone app. It is smooth and completely bug free.

The DMP-A6 is quite an attractive unit, very tempted to buy one. In looking at the DMP-A6 forum page at Zidoo, there are a few red flags that would stop the purchase.

USB DAC compatibility
There's no guarantee that your DAC will work with the DMP-A6, primarily being based on Android. 99% of DAC manufacturers can supply a Windows driver if necessary, but not necessarily Android, this comes into play for native DSD support.

Getting hot
Under certain conditions, the DMP-A6 can get too hot.

Use of a modified Android OS.
Should 'the best' player become available since sliced bread, the OS in the DMP-A6 may be too old to work with this modern marvel.

Airplay2
I don't use, but it looks like AP2 is on hold for the moment.

I'm looking for a DAC in the office system, and thought the streamer would suffice, but not the case. Audio-GD have some interesting NOS DACs, might give them a shot.

@willywonka Thanks for the update.  It's definitely a great value, and I would jump all over the Master Edition if I was looking at some of the stuff from (as an example) Matrix Audio, which I've found really wonky in a number of ways.  The Eversolo is really well thought out.

@badgerdms Besides the retailers selling it like SummitHiFi, there is one person so far that has compared the two on the facebook eversolo group. There is no doubt the Master edition is superior but much of this is dependent on how you use it and possibly what connection you use if using an external DAC.

I have the Master Edition for my headphone setup. I also own a Holo Audio May KTE and Aurender N200 for my speaker system. I'm very impressed by what this does for $1299. 

I've been playing with the base unit for a few days and think it's really good.  I haven't heard everything at its price point but given its feature set, ease of use, and sound quality I imagine it measures up favorably with anything in its range.

My issue is when they start claiming it's the definitive best in its range and competes against the big boys.  I've run it a few different ways in one system and will run it in a second system next week.  Against the much more expensive HiFi Rose RS150b, it's not as good as either an all-in-one package using the analog outs or as just a streamer into an external DAC (going into either a Border Patrol DAC or the internal DAC of a Technics SU-R1000.  It's still really good, however.  When I get my other DAC back, I want to see how it streams vs. a Sonore Optical Rendu.

I thought the Darko review was the most balanced as he was actually comparing it directly to two other products that he had in-house at the time.

I'd be interested to hear from folks who compare the standard version against the master edition.

I just set up the Master in my Dad's system.  Great little machine so far.   

i have the master, it (and the basic one) are very good performing units in my experience -- worthy of the hype as high value streamers, well built, good looking... very very very competitive sector...