Upgrade digital front end - Eversolo DMP-A6 better than Allo Digione Signature?

Hi-Fi Corner
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I have recently posted a topic regarding upgrading my vinyl analogue rig and got some useful ideas. Now I started thinking of also upgrading my digital frontend.

Currently I use Raspberry Pi4 + Allo Digione Signature + Shanti LPS → custom tube DAC from Etheraudio → SN2 + HicapDR → Chord Epic → Monitor Audio Gold 200 5G

I noticed that my sound is not so clear and open and probably I need something more neutral and airy. I came across 2 products that seem great bang for the buck and those are Eversolo DMP-A6 and Eversolo Z8 DAC. Has anyone tried them with Naim? Are ESS Sabre chip DACs a good match with Naim amplification? Do you think Eversolo would surpass my Raspberry / Allo Digione Signature capabilities?

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I don’t know if they have tried the other dac you mentioned but @sonwleo just got the eversolo dmp a6. Edit: if you go on the “what was the last bit of gear” thread you don’t have to scroll up far for their initial impressions

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… here’s a link What was the last bit of gear you bought in 2023? - #1695 by sonwleo

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Hello, I got the Eversolo DMP-A6 Master Edition, the Eversolo has good looks and the software is pretty stable, after seeing so much rave about it on the web, and reviews that praise the Eversolo almost as the bargain of the year I got one.

The Eversolo is a fancy android box like the Zidoo media players, build is ok in the case of the Eversolo, but is not built for example like a Naim.

Different dac’s and streamers always sound different, this Eversolo in my case the master edition the sound is good, I did not find it amazing but good enough quality that I opted to keep it.

If it is better than everything at the same price, I doubt it, but I haven’t had much to compare it, for sure is more complete as a dac than my bluesound but also less forgiving that could be good or bad for some users, it’s not on pair with my ifi pro idsd or uniti atom he and not even close to the NDX2, but is good enough that I could live with his presentation.

As a transport it also has a sound, every streamer has, and again, this is a question of taste, is a good and polivalent transport for an external dac, I compared to the bluesound, ifi zen stream, sotm sms200 ultra, again I did not find to be better, more resolution than bluesound, depending on the taste of the listener, very different than the zen stream, the zen more musical and tridimensional the Eversolo more present and forward, with a wider image but on similar resolution, not on the level of the sotm in all respects, the Eversolo is more musical and congested global with worse layering.

But what the Eversolo has informative screen, good looks that the others can’t match, and is good enough for the price. The screen colors is on the dry or very neutral compared to the Naim units that present better blacks and more warm colors.

I like it, but I Am not amazed by it, one thing that is very positive in my view is the usb connection that supports better my existing dac’s and on par with the sms200 ultra on the formats it can output, supporting until dsd512 without an issue in Roon.

Another thing I know about Zidoo is that they abandon the support for hardware fast, at least as soon they launch a new version of a player, and I Am hopping they do not do this with the Eversolo.

This Eversolo is selling like mad thanks to YouTubers and the press raving about it, the most sincere review, at least for me, was from John Darko all the others in my view are only giving hype to the product. Is good but not a miracle.

After comparing to what I have, I even thought not keeping the unit, I was not amazed by it, mine was in for a small review and I got it cheap, I kept it for that screen, Roon support, and for my home cinema and stereo denon amp.

So my advice if possible, try to listen before acquiring, because it could be the one thing you ever searched, but if you have higher end gear than the Eversolo you will not be amazed.

Also connected to a set of amplified speakers, the focal solo 6be, originally the Eversolo was to remove the sms200 ultra and ifi pro idsd from this speakers, unfortunately the price difference in both solutions was too much apparent in the final sound experience, the Eversolo loses big, but is not a fair duel the sms 200 with the ifi costs five times more.

Take my words with a grain of salt, and that I have my own personal tastes in what I like in sound, presentation, the unit is good but listen and compare before pulling the plug, I Am sure most people will like the Eversolo a lot, for me will be a popular work product for using future small dac’s.

Edited the post to correct a little the sentences, English is not my main language. Thanks

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Here are our findings:

Summary is a PI is no substitute for a top quality digital source.

A PI with a good quality digital hat is not to be sniffed at though. We still use one in office with our SuperUniti.

DAC chips (ESS etc.) are pretty much the same in many digital sources nowadays. It’s the DSP, implementation, PSU etc. which are important.

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To add I also have a supernait 3 with hicap dr, the Eversolo it wasn’t a bad result, a little bright, but I could blame for sure the audioquest earth Interconnect I used.

I do not know the Eversolo standalone dac, the z8 feels like a good deal. I saw a video from someone on YouTube on the Eversolo dac that said the it was as good as the Naim 222, I talked to my dealer that represents both brands Eversolo and Naim, and the feedback of the dealer was that the review is exaggerated, YouTube became a great deal of business for brands to promote their products, so take YouTube as it is, a business model that drives sales.

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Dealers are a refreshing source of honest opinions, on naim kit and other brands!

Yes, many reviews are certainly not impartial - the bias perhaps induced? :laughing: Payment, sponsorship, free kit, a desire for views/likes can all skew opinions.

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I’m searching for a brighter sound, but I’m not sure how to achieve it.

Having read all comments it seems there might be too much hype on the Eversolo, so I might think of other options, too. ND5 XS2 might be an option too. I’ve had NDX and wasn’t super satisfied. ND5 XS2 should be improved, though.

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I do not have the ND5 XS2, and I do not know how different is from the NDX2 that I have, the internal dac of the Eversolo is brighter sounding than the NDX2, I like very much the sound of the NDX2 with the supernait 3, the Eversolo is an option.

I know sometimes is difficult to listen in our home the gear we want, but if you can try to listen in your system both the ND5 XS2 and the Eversolo DMP-A6, or DMP-A6 master edition, the changes on the master edition is better internal clock and better op-amps.

I do not have currently the normal version of the Eversolo to know how much they differ. On Monday I will try to contact my dealer to see if he lend’s me one to have an Idea of the sound differences between the two, and if he Is permissive to send one I will post some feedback.

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Did you only compare the streamer part, or can you also say something about the preamp?

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in short - the eversolo is a great competition for every other brand - price wise no competition

anyway I don‘t want to pay for a screen which I visually don‘t like on hifi equipment

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I did need to enable the pre-amp or volume control to connect it to the focal solo 6be.

It worked as expected, since I did not had similar pricing gear to compare it, only cheaper alternatives and more expensive ones, I felt the Eversolo is not on par with the more expensive and better than the cheaper ones. I also felt my small ifi xdsd gryphon dac sounded better on the focal utopia than the internal Eversolo dac, but those are very different products with very different uses.

The balanced outputs have less gain than the balanced outputs of my ifi pro iDSD, a lot less gain.

As a package Streamer/dac/pre-amplifier is a good product, I did not felt the Eversolo beats a dac every 1300 euros dac, or 1300 euros streamer or a digital pre amp of the same price, but if we think, the Eversolo offers all this functionality e one package and one fee only, and the 860 euros normal version is a bigger bargain than the master edition for sure.

As I said before, the Eversolo is very cool but I Am not amazed by it, but I kept my unit, I like the looks and functionality of it. It’s a cool product.

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I agree with this statement, little on the market can for the price of the Eversolo offer a so compelling and looking package. The experience is really solid, the software and operating system is stable. It’s a little uniti atom for the masses.

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I forgot to mention that I’m only interested in the streaming capabilities of the Eversolo DMP-A6, since I want to extract high detail of my digital files and want a bit leaner sound.

In my particular system, it could be that the tube based DAC is not a good match with the Allo Digione Signature or with my SN2. So probably I first should figure out which component is causing excess bass and not so open midrange.

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As a transport is good, and you can play with the Ethernet cable and usb or coaxial digital out cable to the external dac. I have played a little with it.

As I have a few audioquest cables in the Ethernet experimented with a cheap Ethernet, then an audioquest cinamon cat7, a vodka cat7 and a diamond cat7, on usb a cinnamon usb and a diamond usb, did not use the usb cable that comes in the box.

The cheap cat5 cable work very well, the cinnamon ups a lot the highs and adds dimension and impact, the vodka add refinement more focus and bass, the soundstage recesses a little but the image lowers in height, there are other things the vodka does better but find the cinnamon a great match but the highs can be too much. The diamond costs more than the Eversolo makes no sense but refines the sound a lot I do not think the users of the Eversolo will match it with a diamond.

The usb cinnamon turns the Eversolo more musical, the diamond adds texture, detail and precision lacks a little bass. On coaxial used a carbon and is a good match.

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There is a high chance, the tube based RIAA in my vinyl rig most probably also adds some bass emphasis and blurs the sound a bit.

I might try Chord Hugo2 for example and I should gain more transparency and clarity. Most probably I haven’t heard the full potential of my Allo Digione Signature yet.

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I use an Allo USBridgeSig/DigiOneSig/Shanti as transport feeding (i/c is a DC1 with BNC conns) an nDAC/XPS.

I like it :grinning:

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The normal eversolo dmp-a6 is here to see if the master edition make the price diference justified.

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I have connected both to the supernait 3 with audioquest earth interconnects, the normal DMP-A6 is a demo unit and my master edition has played for some days, both are for sure burned in. Used a audioquest cinnamon cat 5 in both because I liked the result with the master edition.

The excess of highs have disappeared with the burn in, the sound is now better on the Master Edition.

The diferences are present, the master edition has more body and slam, the presentation is less digital and feels more human, also is a little easier to pick small nuances on the tracks. But I do not feel they are huge.

The normal A6 is a bigger bargain than the Master Edition, as a transport to another dac I couldn’t identify changes in sound, only using the internal Eversolo dac, the Master Edition shows a small uplift in global presentation, if that uplift justify 400 euros more, maybe for some, if using the internal dac is a priority maybe so, if not, the normal A6 is the very much the same transport .

With the same cables, the master is a little better.

Comparing with an NDX2, you notice right away is better in everything, realism, transparency, texture, clarity, detail, layering, but it’s 7000 euros vs 860 euros, and you will not feel you are having 7 or 8 times less music pleasure, and that is a big and scary thought. If I did not compare 3 streamers I could live happy with any of them without feeling I Am losing too much. And they work great with the supernait 3 with hicap dr.

The dealer said that the Eversolo combines great with the small naim 50 anniversary amp and a pair of focal 906.

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