Article: Eversolo DMP-A6 Streamer Review

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[jhwalker]

That's a very reasonable price for such a full-featured system.

 

Personally, I find touchscreen-style navigation a pain for my ~9,000 album collection with over 5,000 artists, which is why I stick with Roon and it's easy "search"-based navigation - I can type "Def Leppard" (or "Yuja Wang") and within a second have all their albums to-hand, no scrolling required, so if I were to use this system, it would be as a Roon-ready endpoint.

 

But sounds like a great integrated solution for you!

[The Computer Audiophile]

17 minutes ago, jhwalker said:

That's a very reasonable price for such a full-featured system.

 

Personally, I find touchscreen-style navigation a pain for my ~9,000 album collection with over 5,000 artists, which is why I stick with Roon and it's easy "search"-based navigation - I can type "Def Leppard" (or "Yuja Wang") and within a second have all their albums to-hand, no scrolling required, so if I were to use this system, it would be as a Roon-ready endpoint.

 

But sounds like a great integrated solution for you!

 

I totally get where you're coming from! I've always been underwhelmed by unusable touchscreens. This one was very different. I actually liked using it. 

 

For full library navigation of my 22,000 album collection it would be a different story I'm sure. But, adding albums to an internal 4TB NVMe drive and streaming Tidal, it makes for a really sweet solution. Select the right horse for the right course as they say. 

[Arcticair]

This one definitely makes me wonder since I just received my Auralic Altair G1.1 at almost 3x the cost of the Eversolo. One glaring omission I detected in both this review and the Eversolo webpage is mention of Spotify Connect. I do like the native Amazon compatibility as that service is gaining momentum to give Spotify a run. I like the touchscreen for navigating music and settings but I also like a web interface which is another topic not mentioned? Otherwise, great specs for this streamer.

[The Computer Audiophile]

52 minutes ago, Arcticair said:

This one definitely makes me wonder since I just received my Auralic Altair G1.1 at almost 3x the cost of the Eversolo. One glaring omission I detected in both this review and the Eversolo webpage is mention of Spotify Connect. I do like the native Amazon compatibility as that service is gaining momentum to give Spotify a run. I like the touchscreen for navigating music and settings but I also like a web interface which is another topic not mentioned? Otherwise, great specs for this streamer.

 

No Spotify Connect or web interface. I installed the app on my Mac successfully. 

[Superdad]

I’ve been considering recommending this streamer/DAC to my brother for his modest system.  He hates bad interfaces (as do I) but Eversolo seems to have gotten it right.

My brother’s primary music source these days (aside from CDs and LPs) is Qobuz.  I think I recall some mixed reports on Eversolo’s integration with Qobuz.  Do you Qobuz Chris? Can you comment on this aspect? 
Thanks!

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 minutes ago, Superdad said:

I’ve been considering recommending this streamer/DAC to my brother for his modest system.  He hates bad interfaces (as do I) but Eversolo seems to have gotten it right.

My brother’s primary music source these days (aside from CDs and LPs) is Qobuz.  I think I recall some mixed reports on Eversolo’s integration with Qobuz.  Do you Qobuz Chris? Can you comment on this aspect? 
Thanks!

I used to do Qobuz, but now I do Tidal, Amazon, and Apple Music. 

[bobfa]

Does the ever solo do Apple Music natively??

[The Computer Audiophile]

3 minutes ago, bobfa said:

Does the ever solo do Apple Music natively??

Not natively. I loaded the Android Apple Music app right on the unit though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[André Gosselin]

Nice review Chris.

I got this streamer a month ago, and really like it.

A couple of issues however, and I wonder if you had time to experience them.

1- CD playback is not gapless. Take Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon as a classic example, top's are clearly audible between tracks. I could add many more examples in classical music, especially opera, where failure to play gaplessly is really annoying.  Interestingly, if you rip those albums to internal storage using the CD app, they play gaplessly .

2- I cannot understand how the screensaver functions. Its behavior appears erratic, and needs some polishing.

 

As a final point: you mention you were able to connect the DMP-A6 to minimserver. Was that using BubbleUPP (or a similar app) as an intermediary? Could you elaborate just a little bit ?

 

Thanks again for this long expected review!

 

André Gosselin

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 hour ago, André Gosselin said:

Nice review Chris.

I got this streamer a month ago, and really like it.

A couple of issues however, and I wonder if you had time to experience them.

1- CD playback is not gapless. Take Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon as a classic example, top's are clearly audible between tracks. I could add many more examples in classical music, especially opera, where failure to play gaplessly is really annoying.  Interestingly, if you rip those albums to internal storage using the CD app, they play gaplessly .

2- I cannot understand how the screensaver functions. Its behavior appears erratic, and needs some polishing.

 

As a final point: you mention you were able to connect the DMP-A6 to minimserver. Was that using BubbleUPP (or a similar app) as an intermediary? Could you elaborate just a little bit ?

 

Thanks again for this long expected review!

 

André Gosselin

 

Hi André good to hear you like the DMP-A6 as well. It's a great unit. 

 

I didn't try CD playback at all. Didn't even think of it. 

 

The screensaver is also something I didn't spend much time thinking about. I used the unit during the day. When I came back into my office the following morning, it would be blank. I touched it and it woke up. 

 

I accessed my MinimServer right from the front panel on the unit, which should function the same in the app. It's like a control point and renderer in one. 

[André Gosselin]

19 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I didn't try CD playback at all. Didn't even think of it. 

But let's not forget about those old-timers who still appreciate listening to CDs.

I reported the problem on he Eversolo DMP-A6 forum. Let's hope a solution can be found.

[The Computer Audiophile]

3 minutes ago, André Gosselin said:

But let's not forget about those old-timers who still appreciate listening to CDs.

I reported the problem on he Eversolo DMP-A6 forum. Let's hope a solution can be found.

Absolutely. Spinning CDs is OK with me. If they're happy, I'm happy.

[André Gosselin]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I accessed my MinimServer right from the front panel on the unit, which should function the same in the app. It's like a control point and renderer in one.

Maybe I am thick, but I cannot figure out how you got MinimServer to show up on the DMP-A6 front panel. Is your DMP-A6 directly connected to the host running MinimServer, through USB?

In my case, I have a running MinimServer instance and a DMP-A6 on my network, no connection to the MinimServer host.  I can connect those two

using BubbleUPnP without problem. But I cannot find an other way to connect DMP-A6 to MinimServer.

Do not waste more of your time on this topic. Surely someone else can answer.

Regards

[mirror]

Music streaming - UPnP, then you can connect to the MinimServer

[André Gosselin]

Alas, this does not work for me. I am running the official Eversolo firmware (not the beta!) Eversolo wired to the same network as the host running minimserver. BubbleUpNp can see the DMP-A6 renderer and the minimserver library and connect the two. However, on the Eversolo, going to Music streaming> UPNP shows nothing. Must be something wrong I am doing, but I have no clue. A hidden setting somewhere ?

Help appreciated!

André

[botrytis]

DMP-A6 Setting Menu Introduction---Network, General, Transfer, About (eversolo.com)

 

Check in the settings - I don't have one but found this page. I hope it helps.

[Marcin_gps]

Chris, thank you for using JPLAY iOS app 🙏

 

Best regards,
Marcin
 

[RichardSF]

13 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Not natively. I loaded the Android Apple Music app right on the unit though.

I'm confused about this point. You loaded the Android Apple Music app onto the unit, and presumably launched it, so doesn't that mean it is running natively on the unit? Your screenshots of the Eversolo Control app seems to be showing the remote screen of the Android app running on the unit. If this is doing what I think it is, it's really very slick. Perhaps it was Eversolo Control that launched the Android app, but I imagine that you should be able to launch it manually on the DMP-A6 screen.

 

Also, you mentioned using a Purifi based integrated amp, but the photos show a couple of Schiit Vidar monoblocks on the desktop and no integrated amp. Is it simply out of sight in the photos? Which integrated amp model did you use?

[firedog]

Just curious if you tried it at all in your big system, and if yes, did that reveal any flaws not heard on the desktop?

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 hours ago, RichardSF said:

I'm confused about this point. You loaded the Android Apple Music app onto the unit, and presumably launched it, so doesn't that mean it is running natively on the unit? Your screenshots of the Eversolo Control app seems to be showing the remote screen of the Android app running on the unit. If this is doing what I think it is, it's really very slick. Perhaps it was Eversolo Control that launched the Android app, but I imagine that you should be able to launch it manually on the DMP-A6 screen.

 

Also, you mentioned using a Purifi based integrated amp, but the photos show a couple of Schiit Vidar monoblocks on the desktop and no integrated amp. Is it simply out of sight in the photos? Which integrated amp model did you use?

 

Hi RichardSF, I suppose we should define the word natively in this context. 

 

The DMP-A6 supports services such as Tidal natively in that one doesn't load a Tidal app. Tidal is accessed within the native Eversolo app / touchscreen via API to Tidal's service. Similar to how Roon, JPLAY, and other apps natively integrate Tidal. 

 

On the other hand, installs of items such as Apple Music, Apple Music Classical, and SiriusXM were done by manually installing the apps on the DMP-A6. The apps are then launched from the touchscreen or the Eversolo app. They aren't totally integrated natively into the Eversolo app / ecosystem, but rather apps installed on the platform. 

 

It is really slick. It's how I get my SiriusXM Yacht Rock fix as well :~)

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 hours ago, firedog said:

Just curious if you tried it at all in your big system, and if yes, did that reveal any flaws not heard on the desktop?

 

I didn't put it in my main system. 

[botrytis]

44 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

I didn't put it in my main system. 

 

I think it would be an interesting experiment for you to try, at least.

[botrytis]

So, this device is based on Android 11 not 14 which is the current version of the OS. Android 11 is not supported any more nor is it getting security patches. This is like having a red flag and waving it in the middle of a field and hoping there is no bull around to charge at you. This is why I will not buy any Android or iOS-based music appliance. The OS goes out of date too fast.

 

How is the company dealing with this issue? 

[Daren F]

14 hours ago, André Gosselin said:

Maybe I am thick, but I cannot figure out how you got MinimServer to show up on the DMP-A6 front panel. Is your DMP-A6 directly connected to the host running MinimServer, through USB?

In my case, I have a running MinimServer instance and a DMP-A6 on my network, no connection to the MinimServer host.  I can connect those two

using BubbleUPnP without problem. But I cannot find an other way to connect DMP-A6 to MinimServer.

Do not waste more of your time on this topic. Surely someone else can answer.

Regards

 

It's not just you. I've tried JRiver Server, BubbleUPnP Server, Minimserver and AssetUPnP Server and nothing works.

 

With JRiver Server, I'm able to see my local servers however the audio files on the server will not populate within the app.

 

It would be nice to be able to use the Eversolo native app to access UPnP servers without having to use a third party app.

 

For now, I'm using Enby Server with the Symfonium app. Symfonium has a very nice UI and supports smart playlists.

 

The issue was reported on the Eversolo Forum back in June but has never been acknowledged or fixed.