Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer Review

    Audio: Listen to this article.

Throughout the year, every year, without fail, I receive more review requests than I can handle. They usually come in uncoordinated groups. This means I can be way too busy or in a nice little lull between the peaks. A couple months ago I’d just wrapped up writing about several items, when an email came in from a really nice guy representing Eversolo. To be honest, I don’t read reviews of products and I don’t often go searching for products like Eversolo manufacturers. Because of this, I’d never heard of the company. I paid attention solely because the person on the other end of the email said all the right things. Short, to the point, honest, no nonsense, and above all seemed like a good person. In a world with more products than customers, these things matter greatly to me.

We settled on the Eversolo DMP-A6 streamer as the product that I’d review because it fit into my system really well. Sometimes I want a dragster that can go really fast in a straight line and other times I want a Land Rover Discovery with spare tires on the roof and an air intake snorkel. With respect to audio, sometimes I want a DAC without volume control, limited inputs / outputs, and no oversampling. Other times I want a streamer that seemingly does everything because I sometimes want to do everything. The Eversolo DMP-A6 is that Swiss army style streamer that can do almost anything, while maintaining a high level of performance, and reserving resources for feature upgrades.

When the DMP-A6 first arrived I was happily surprised by the feel of it. This is really important to me because I used the DMP-A6 on my desktop, where I could interact with its touchscreen display and volume knob easily. It’s certainly good enough to be the daily driver in one’s main audio system, but I wanted to use it up close in my system powered by a Shunyata Gemini Model 4 conditioner, outputting to an integrated amp with Purifi Eigentakt 1ET400A modules and analog volume control, connected to Wilson Audio TuneTots. Placing the DMP-A6 on my desktop enabled me to give the unit a full workout and utilize its best features.

Oh That Touchscreen!

Most of us have used many touchscreens over the years. We immediately know when one just feels right. The DMP-A6’s touchscreen felt right, from the moment I placed it on my desktop. It’s solid to the touch, smooth enough to sail through a long list of albums easily, and very responsive. Yes, it looks really nice and is laid out well, but the feel of it is what initially made the DMP-A6 stand out to me.

Another surprise for me was the excellent layout and usability of the touchscreen. This is one of the hardest things to accomplish for audio companies. As consumers we all have strange needs and wants. But companies can’t give us each out own interface. They usually settle for some geek’s version of an interface that enables all the technical features or they go the other route that’s all form and no function. Eversolo managed to create a wonderful interface that looks great, offers access to nearly every feature, and logically presents one’s music collection.

For example, I’m currently browsing music I stored locally on the DMP-A6. Tapping Music > Artists > Gary Karr shows a nice looking screen with Gary’s photo, his albums, and the ability to Play, Shuffle Play, or favorite him. Simple, but at the same time showing just the right amount of information for me. At the same time, the right side of the touchscreen remains static, with options similar to a disc player, Pause, Forward, back, etc…

Pick A Side

The incredible flexibility of the DMP-A6 is a bit overwhelming, especially as I thought through the best way to write about this streamer. Over the last several weeks I connected the DMP-A6 to my NAS over SMB, I connected it to MinimServer for UPnP, I side loaded Apple Music, Apple Music Classical, and SiriusXM Radio on the unit, used it as a UPnP renderer for JPLAY iOS, and used it as a Roon Ready endpoint, among other things. Each of these items could be the subject of an article in its own right. I had to pick a side. In other words, I had to settle on a use case that fit my style. Or at least a use case that really interests me currently.

I decided to load up the internal storage of the DMP-A6 (expandable to 4 terabytes) with local music and connect my Tidal account. A fairly simple use case for such a capable device, but I really wanted to contain everything in the DMP-A6. This way I wouldn’t need external drives, my NAS, a UPnP server, a Roon Core, or even a third party app on my iPad. All of those methods worked great in my testing, but I needed simplicity. Perhaps the holiday season and all its chaos had an effect on me and my desire to pull back from using all options all the time.

It’s All Also In The Listening

I queued up Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard on Tidal and started streaming the pure PCM 24/192 Max version straight to the DMP-A6. I also adjusted the volume up a bit on the Eigentakt based integrated, and sat back to listen through the Wilson TuneTots. One of the best albums of all time came through this system with emotion impact and detail, and put a big smile on my face. Say what you will about Bill Evans’ genius, I fall for Scott LaFaro’s bass on this album every time. Even through the somewhat bandwidth limited TuneTots LaFaro’s bass was solid, quick, and as lush as ever. I caught myself sitting in my desk chair smiling as I slowly swiveled the seat back and forth in a toe tapping type of way. I was feeling it and that’s all I can ask for from an audio system.

It isn’t often that crank up a pretty heavy album while sitting at my desk, but the time was just right for such an experience. On the re-released Quadio version of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, is a 24/192 stereo version. I enjoyed the four channel version immensely, and I thought it was only fitting to slide the stereo version over my network to the DMP-A6 and give it a very loud spin. This music is mean to be played loud. Or, at least in my unwritten book it is.

I put on track one, War Pigs, and pushed the amp and loudspeakers comfortably hard. It was an eight minute head bobbing, air guitaring, and air drumming experience. Part way through, around the three minute mark, I couldn’t help but to nudge the volume up to anxiety causing levels while Bill Ward’s drums kicked in. As a desktop system it couldn’t hit me in the chest with the kick drum, but it sounded fantastic and fun. Hearing Black Sabbath sound great from the Eversolo DMP-A6 through to the Wilson TuneTots is something I wish more Metalheads could experience. Sure the music is great through cheap earbuds, but it takes on new life with greater power, and importance through a system like this.

Last evening I discovered the artist Gerard Cousins. Where have I been, I know. His album The Poet Acts on the Prima Classic record label features great acoustic guitar playing and is one of those albums I’d listen to while working at my desk, if I had a real job. Listening to great music on great audio systems all day every day isn’t what I call real work, but somebody has to do it. Anyway, streaming the Tidal Max 24/96 FLAC version through the DMP-A6 was delightful. It’s a somewhat soft album, unlike the staccato approach of someone like Ottmar Liebert on his album One Guitar.

From start to finish The Poet Acts through the Eversolo DMP-A6 bathed my ears in silky smooth sounds. Not even a hint of listening fatigue was present, yet at the same time the sound wasn’t full of bloom like a tube amp that would annoy me over time. I could listen to this album on this audio system all day long.

One possible feature I’d like to see in this feature laden streamer, is the ability to host a UPnP server. Hear me out on this. If it had a UPnP server, listeners could use an app like JPLAY iOS as the control point, and keep everything contained inside the DMP-A6, rather than rely on an external UPnP server. The navigation of the JPLAY iOS app is brilliant and it works very well with the DMP-A6 in a control point > renderer configuration. Add the server and all would be right in the world. Nit picking I know, and far from a showstopper, but I want to mention it.

Note: Eversolo recently released the DMP-A6 Master Edition with better op-amps, clocks, and slightly better measurements. While listening to the “standard” DMP-A6 I never longed for an upgraded version, but improvements like those mentioned are always welcomed.

Wrap Up

I knew from the initial communication that the Eversolo team was a bit different, in the best way. This made me curious to see, feel, and hear how its products performed in my own audio system. Right from the start, the DMP-A6 impressed me with the feel of the touchscreen. We’re all on touchscreens daily because of our phones, and we have a good idea of what feels good and what doesn’t. Many audio products fail to get the feel of a touchscreen correct. Eversolo nailed the DMP-A6 touchscreen with a solid and slippery yet stable feel that satisfying to use. In fact, for every album I wrote about in this review, I used the front panel touchscreen for navigation. Sure, I used the app on my iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad Pro, and Mac Mini (M1) over the course of my time with the DMP-A6, but I just love the touchscreen. Call me crazy, I not mind and I accept it. Only dead fish swim with the current.

Playing great music, capable of moving me emotionally, through the Eversolo DMP-A6 led to very enjoyable listening sessions with plenty of toe tapping, twisting, and head nodding. Whether it was Bill Evans classics, Black Sabbath blasting, or subtle acoustic guitar from Gerard Cousins, I always wanted to hear more. That wasn’t a conscious thought process, but rather the feeling I had while listening. I didn’t want to turn the system off for the night or even for a phone call. My experience with Eversolo and the DMP-A6 was really great. Both are highly recommended.

Product Information:
 
Eversolo DMP-A6: Price $859.99
Eversolo DMP-A6: Product Page
Eversolo DMP-A6: User Manual
Eversolo DMP-A6: Support

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