Eversolo seems to be the talk of the town at the moment, that was certainly the case at North West Audio recently. The same happened a couple of years ago with Korean outfit HiFiRose entering the market to exciting effect with feature-packed streamers and innovative amplifier designs (the RS180 is a Class AD design!).

China-based Eversolo is owned by Zidoo who have a high regard in the AV world, but they have now entered the HiFi market with this Eversolo DMP-A6 streaming DAC. If you have a preferred streaming transport already there is alternatively a straight DAC-Z8, or a DAC-Z6.

Design

Eversolo DMP-A6 touchscreen is adjustable for brightness

This Eversolo DMP-A6 (Digital Media Player) is a streaming DAC that has a preamplifier or fixed output capability, and it is controlled using the brilliant 6” colour touchscreen or in an Android or iOS App. It connects to the internet through either WiFi or an Ethernet slot at the rear. The A6 has two 9038Q2M DACs from ESS. There is an (oversized) 3rd generation XMOS XU316 processor doing all of the work around it.

Inside the A6 functionality includes MQA decoding and/or rendering, it is Roon Ready, and it has Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, Airplay and DLNA services included. There is a slot at the base of the unit that can support up to 4TB with an M.2 SSD card.

Inputs to the device include USB 3.0 or USB C as well as a TOSLink optical, or Coaxial input. As well as this there is Bluetooth 5.0. Interestingly there is no HDMI eARC or USB B for a Windows computer (preferring the USB C instead). Outputs from the DAC are HDMI, XLR and RCA, alternatively, you can output to another DAC via coaxial or optical cables. There are seven digital filters available for selection.

The rear of the Eversolo DMP-A6 with balanced XLR output

Eversolo claims the circuitry is fully balanced, so the option of fully balanced output offers a low noise environment for signal quality. There is also the option to playback or rip CDs into an SSD card using an external optical disc.

There is a Master Edition version of the DMP-A6 with an improved Clocking System and improved lower noise ‘Op Amp’ chips (those chips in an integrated circuit that amplify weak electric signals).

Quality

The finish, at this price point, is exemplary, and really impressive…

The A6 has a lovely solid aluminium alloy chassis in a matt finish that is one of those that scratches or rubs up easily with dry hands, I usually use gloves when setting things up but when I adjusted the box on the shelf, I did manage to get a fingery smudge on the casework, that rubbed off with a cloth off easily.

The finish, at this price point, is exemplary, and really impressive, with the high-resolution touchscreen flush to the top and sides, it is very pleasing indeed.

Dimensions – L 187mm x W 270mm x H 90mm
Weight – TBA
Eversolo DMP-A6 Price – £759

Distribution – This review sample came from Audio Emotion in the UK

Performance

Review Equipment

I have the Eversolo DMP-A6 fixed analogue out (using the App) into my Moor Amps Angel preamplifier with Atlas Mavros interconnects. The Angel 6 power amplifier is driving either Kudos 505 Titans or Audiovector QR1s which are surprisingly musical given the competition.

I’ve also had the Eversolo into a T+A integrated amplifier and a more modest, but definitely excellent, Rega ELEX.

Physically

Eversolo DMP-A6 with VU Meters, there are four to choose from

This has had to be one of the very easiest setups I have ever completed with a digital streamer, and that includes all the excellent HiFi Rose and Bluesound products like the Node X and a recent M10 all-in-one from NAD.

The touchscreen in setup is so simple and intuitive, it is so brilliant. The App QR code on the screen makes everything dead easy. I was up and running in minutes. I spent longer picking my preferred VU Meters!

Key for me was the bypass of the volume control to the preamplifier and this was easy to find in the App.

The App

The Android App is super-fast and there is very little delay in my Pixel 7 Pro communicating with the A6. All the settings are in the App, and they can be accessed on the touchscreen. However, a really clever feature in the A6 is that you can cast the touchscreen to your phone, and this too is great fun, most settings are accessible with the VU Meters on your smartphone screen or iPad a crowd pleaser.

Another nice touch, if you’re not casting, is the App background changes colour and matches the artwork playing, a small but nice detail, that I have noted in the BluOS App too, recently.

Tidal Connect

Eversolo DMP-A6 has full MQA support

Works seamlessly as I was expecting by now. Although the Eversolo App is pretty easy to get around I usually prefer to be in the Tidal app and there is little to choose between the output.

Sound Quality through streaming

Generally, I’m finding this fixed-out streaming presentation to be extremely pleasant indeed. Be it Qobuz or Tidal, I would characterise the presentation to be very forward and bright, but in a good way. It is a bit like listening to a remastered track where the producer has turned everything up, though often losing dynamic range. I, however, am not hearing any dynamic loss particularly and this ‘heightened’ soundstage is perfectly acceptable to me through the Titan or the Audiovector QR1s. Extended listening has been without fatigue, the presentation is in no way harsh, which can be the negative connotation of brighter!

Am I losing insight into the soundstage? I don’t think so, resolution, and detail, are all here and my well-known reference tracks such as Subterranean Homesick Alien (OKNOTOK download, WAV, 24 bit, 96kHz) have much of the depth and space I look for.

Of the seven digital filters available to the output, there’s not a great deal to choose between them, in my view.  They are fairly easily interchangeable in the App.

UPnP

My very temperamental Naim UnitiServe has performed perfectly with the Eversolo App and the delay is almost negligible in the network. I dare not turn off the UnitiServe, fully expecting it to pack up if I do, but the Eversolo seems to like it and the quality is excellent from this local server. It strikes me that if I had one of these Eversolo DMP-A6s I would likely just buy and fit a 2TB SDD in the base of the DMP for a hundred pounds for the convenience and reliability of it (see below!).

Bluetooth

The Bluetooth platform has been flawless in my experience. The Ashes (international cricket) have been on with BBC Sounds in the listening room and the depth of the sound is notable, particularly when Aussie wickets clatter away!

TuneIn, BBC Sounds and other Apps

The OS for the Eversolo is clearly Android, and there is the opportunity to download Apps in the A6. I was able to easily download and use both TuneIn Radio and BBC Sounds with ease, this is impressive for me and it hints at future-proofing as new stuff comes out.

Optical in

Using my crispy new Audiolab 7000CD Transport with Amos Lee’s eponymous debut I get the same detail and heightened response from the A6. It is certainly a brighter DAC presentation that I am not tiring of at all, notwithstanding the often-negative connotations of the description. I have, broadly, favoured a lighter presentation over the years, preferring a subwoofer to carry the low end.

Internal SSD drive

Inserting an M.2 type SSD in the Eversolo DMP-A6

In conversation with Audio Emotion, I thought I would just buy an SSD card based on the dodgy nature of my UnitiServe as discussed above just to see how it worked, and to slightly differentiate this review from the myriad of others.

I purchased the Integral 2TB SSD M3+ GEN4 (5000MB/s) for £94 pounds (it’s about 10cm long, 4 or 5cm wide), crazy prices for storage and it arrived the following day. It is amazing to think a 2TB Melco N100 is over two thousand pounds (as is an Innuos Zen Server); yes, it is mint-perfect audio storage, but it is such a lot of money and if it goes wrong, like my UnitiServe, where are you left?

The SSD card took about 2 minutes to fit and install, and another 30 seconds to format using the touchscreen (I used NTFS OVER fat32 on advice from Audio Emotion). I added a simple username and password for the network credentials then I copied and pasted a few albums across. It really couldn’t be simpler.

After this, I copied my whole Naim UnitiServe on the SSD drive across my network overnight (over 1TB) and it sounds at least as good as it looks. Incidentally, I’ve since bought an adaptor for the M.2 SSD so I have a super-fast copy of my Naim UnitiServe on an SSD that I can simply plug into any USB slot I choose.

Headphones

There is no headphone output with this A6, not really an issue for me as the analogue or digital output can very easily go into a headphone amplifier, like a Mojo2 for example. I note the Eversolo DACs have headphone outputs though.

Thoughts

Whether you call this a streamer, a DAC or a networked server it is an outstanding product…

What are we to think of this Eversolo DMP-A6; its functionality, presentation, and the value proposition it offers? In any other month, the Bluesound Node X would have been on repeat and getting my rave reviews; it is simple, similarly clean, and detailed but without the touchscreen and varying functionality, it doesn’t feel very exciting. There’s little to choose between them in the sound presentation so there’s only one conclusion to make here. I have not heard the Cambridge Audio CXN V2 which is also at this price bracket but based on my EVO 150 experience there is also some competition here, so you’ll need to have a good listen before you choose your preferred solution.

I will, however, be very happy to revert to my own reference iFi Audio Pro iDSD DAC with a Chord Electronics 2Go/2Yu streaming transport that is as clean as a whistle. This arrangement is maybe four or five times the price of this Eversolo DMP-A6. I believe the 2Go/2Yu/Pro iDSD presentation is more revealing in this setup with the Moor Amps allowing that inside view of the soundstage that is hard to find, though the Eversolo is doing a fine job of competing with it at a fraction of the price.

Overall

…the sound quality on offer here is absolutely exceptional at this price point…

This Eversolo DMP-A6 is simply fantastic fun and it has reinvigorated my love for streaming music. Although obviously the VU Meters are a bit of silliness the sound quality on offer here is absolutely exceptional at this price point.   Notwithstanding this highlight, I would almost certainly buy one of these as a replacement for my NaimUnitiServe when it packs up, it is just about a no-brainer in my view at this price. Whether you call this a streamer, a DAC or a networked server it is an outstanding product, and, at this time, likely to be the HF&MS product of the year.

Specification

Full details are on the company’s site.
Many thanks to the excellent Audio Emotion, who have been nothing short of excellent in facilitating this review.