One correction, with latest firmware update it IS possible to adjust parametric EQ frequencies to what ever frequency you like, they are not fixed to certain frequency point.

This is a proper review. Every other reviewer said the preamp stage was excellent, one such reviewer has experience with pass labs gear. I appreciate the fact you were able to honestly tell us it was not up to the standard of an entry level preamp. Excellent work.

I have been an audiophile for 50 years. Your reviews are so honest and precise Its comforting to know you can get a professional and honest product evaluation. Thank you.. Steve.

Great review. Eversolo should come out a pure streamer/transport/file server without the DAC and Pre-amp; and having the BEST sound quality. It is for those audiophiles who already have separate DAC, Pre-amp etc.

I hope that Eversolo comes out with the streaming section the A8 as a standalone device.

your reviews are great. so articulate, thorough yet clear and engaging.

well man you saved me 2k usd!!! I planned to use the Eversolo as a preamp replacing my 15 years old Jeff Rowland Capri b/c other reviewers said it was on par with pass labs stuff... 🤦🏾🤦🏾🤦🏾🤦🏾🤦🏾🤦🏾

I was hoping the preamp would be transparent and support a turntable as well as digital sources. A separate preamp sounds like the way to go. Thanks for another candid assessment.

This is the most helpful and informative review I've seen of this unit and your comparisons to the family of streamers from Eversolo. Thank you so much.

This is by far the most unbias review of the Eversolo products, thank you. My reference system is an Accuphase E-4000 with a Cary Audio DMS-700 and Marantz SA-10 SACD player driving T+A Criterion loudspeakers. I've been build a secondary system using an Advanced Paris Audio A-12 and was thinking about, after all rave reviews, pairing it with the DMP-A8. Your honest review has given me pause to research a bit more.

Once again a fair and honest review. My experience: I bought the A8 and returned it immediately as the DAC section, exactly as said in the review, is below par and very (imo) weak compared to R26. My point in general is that A8 does too many things to be used as a Streamer (DAC not used, R2R volume attenuator/preamp not used). Also when used as a streamer the digital attenuator (unless I did something wrong) has only 15 steps. I would not recommend this product

Good job done ! I am waiting for Eversolo to produce a Streamer only product !

Excellent review, I’ve been watching your reviews for a few months now and am always impressed with the insight you give on the pieces of gear and it’s much appreciated.

Excellent review. So many reviewers give no justification for their comments in regards to what they hear, just meaningless words like "better, fuller" etc.". You described differences in what you heard, separation, depth, width, tonal accuracy, soundstage, etc. That is what we need from a review. Thank you. Many potential buyers likely own better DACs already than what is inside the A6, for sure, and likely the A8 as well. The same likely goes for a pre-amp. A lot of us have them in our 2 channel systems already, but may still be looking for a high quality streaming source to add to it. Something to replace a computer or entry level streamer perhaps. So, as many others have commented, I wish they would also make the effort to build the best stand alone streamer they can and, like the A6/8, at a reasonable price. Give it the upgraded femto clocks, I2S digital out, a top shelf power supply, control it with a high performance GUI and just drop the DAC and analog sections altogether to keep the price affordable. If they kept it under 1,000 USD/Euro, they truly would have no competition. Keep the A6/A8 for customers that do need a DAC or DAC/Preamp. As offered, the 2.25x price of the A8 over the A6 as a stand alone streamer is a tough call for me.

Maybe there is a DNP-10 coming with a much improved Pre-amplifier for $3000 to $4000. Then it would be a truly hi-end audiophile product. Love your work, thanks for doing what you do.

Anyone using the PEQ, you must adjust the DSP gain to avoid nasty random clipping sounds. Even if you adjust the low frequency down you need to adjust the DSP gain. Took me a while to realise that was needed. I’ve set my DSP gain at -4.5 to stop the clipping distortion noises.

This is the best review I have seen of this streamer/DAC, thank you!

Great and honest review as always! 😊 Thanks a lot 🙏 for this very thorough and thoughtful review!

Due to your prior excellent video regarding the Volumio Rivo I would much prefer that over these other "one box" solutions. A dedicated digital streamer such as the Volumio would much better serve my needs, as I have built a system around separate components. Currently I am using a WiiM Pro Plus with an Allo Nirvana power supply. So were I to 'upgrade' then a Volumio Rivo would be a much more reasonable purchase.

One thing the Eversolo crowd shares with the McIntosh crowd, they are Defensive on their products. You think this was the 1st streamer made? And with the Power Supply upgrades offered for the A6/ME, that's like talking about Recapping or Power/RCA cable upgrades. Thanks for the reviews as you are Very Important in keeping these reviews real.

Thank you for the comparisons, it really is vital! If you are looking for an all in one the A8 is is a contender, but if you are trying to put together a system to achieve the best sound possible for the least amount of expenditure, the DAC and the pre-amp in the A8 become redundant. I would tend to go with DSP (Leedh processing) for volume control if you are on a budget.

I much appriciate your reviews since allo usb bridge. Your conclusion on A8 using it as preamp, leaves me a little helples as to my interest it would be beneficial to USE A8´s and also A6 ´s DIGITAL INPUT, like for example with CD transport or other streamer, to really find out how the internal DAC (´s) is (are) performing. Thanks and stay healthy :)

Hmm.Great review.I think I;d take the 6 with upgraded PSU and use a Lab12 tube pre.Waiting for the DMP 6 to get a eArc in version 2

The only thing missing from this excellent review is how the DAC portion of this unit compares the Gustard A26 and how the sound of this device compares with the Eversolo A6 ME.

Your comment that just "enabling" EQ/DSP without actually changing anything "negatively" influences "fidelity" is a point most overlooked by many KZfaqrs and on-line "guru's" IME.

Both devices if used only as a streamer I believe they have the same audio quality. The difference is if they are also used as a DAC, in which case the new analog and digital sections of the A8 outperform the A6 streamer. Since I only need a streamer, I decided on the A6, which has one advantage that the A8 does not have, which is an HDMI multichannel audio output.

I’m buying the A6 Masters Edition to use til I can get my hands on a A8 . I like all in one setup . I don’t have a audiophile ear but pretty good. My devices aren’t the best either . I think the A6 will be nice for my Onkyo AVR paired with Focals . I want the A8 to connect with my Rotel 1591 MKII paired with Polk R700s . Love your channel just subscribed . Very detailed review . Thank you and great success with your platform

Thanks!! Personaly.. you are my favourite reviewer

Great review. Thank you. Mine's shipping from Canada to US this week. Can't wait.

If you want your preamp to add color, don't use the preamp. If you wish for transparent straight-wire performance with no added noise, the A8 is fantastic.

Very nice review and I appreciate the comparisons.

Really SO appreciate your attention to detail and how comprehensively you approach pairings. Removes the guess work in so many ways. Argh! I wish Eversolo would also release transports without the dac at a price competitive with the Rivo (or others similar). But I suppose they'd lose money doing so?.

I will wait for the Master version😊

Heard A8 and Limetree Bridge II in my space. For Limetree I had MCRU linear power supply. No audible differences. I'll keep the Lindemann Limetree then.. even with LPS it's less than half the price. (Btw, A6 is sibilant and overly harsh metallic highs like a lot of chi-fi.)

Thanks for the detailed review. I was considering this unit alongside external dac so I could have less boxes since it has an integrated pre-amp. However, I don't think the integrated pre will do my nice dac and nice power amp justice. The search continues...perhaps a Holoaudio Serene.

I enjoy your reviews. Your are well listened, know your music, and present remarkable reviews in I assume a 2nd language. Thank You I will wait until the initial A8 purchase rush is done, I want to know how the NAD M66 sounds. I am well invested in Bluos devices already. Please review it as soon as you get one.

Great review! Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic review. Thank you!

Absolutely outstanding review as always...thank you. I think the combinations of a WiiM Pro Plus with Linear Power supply, paired with the Gustard R26, would out perform the DMP-A8. This is my game plan. I also think we can look forward to another Master Edition in the A8 coming soon.

Excellent review!

Great review! Love the way you broke it out to compare the streamer only, DAC only, preamp only and then all together. Seems like a great streamer and DAC for a very reasonable price. I wonder how it compares to the HIFI Rose 250 or 150? The 250 is about the same price. Also, just watched a great review on the Orchard Audio Pecan Pi+. Can the Pecan Pi+ compete with this or the Rivo? I personally am looking for the best reasonably priced streamer under $2K to pair with a Gustard R26 / Denafrips Pontus ii DAC and Audio Research Preamp. Which one do you think would be best for me?

[@9:10] I don't like or use DSP either. Subscribed! (my A8 gets delivered in a couple of days)

Good review. I would also like to see an eversolo dac z6 review.

I have orderd an A8, and a iFi Audio Pro iCAN Signature. I think that can be a nice combo, as there are meny settings on the amp to! Mvh/Peter

Solid, professional review. You got a new subscriber. English is a second language to me too, so I humbly suggest you force yourself to add the article "the" to specific substantives like A8, A6, DSP, etc.

I temporarily(?) replaced a new well reviewed $7000 preamp/DAC/streamer with the A8. I’m really trying to justify spending the funds to replace that preamp as opposed to just using the A8. It not only sounds as good, but maybe slightly better to my preference. These differences are so small but certainly not $5000 different. The streamer is multiples times better, the DAC is newer technology and to me, sounds better. I think it sounds slightly more detailed and a slightly better sound stage. As for a preamp, I’m hearing no noticeable differences between the two. I think my power amp and speakers handle the sound as well as with the other preamp. One of two things is happening here as far as I’m concerned. Either my other preamp isn’t as good as I believed, or the A8 is a better preamp than I expected. I’m extremely pleased with the A8.

Good point with the $2000 audiophiles price

Great review as always. I think you may have been referring to Steve Huff when you commented on the reviewer but not sure. If so, I really like Steve but I think he's a little out of touch with how he classifies the quality or label of audio components because he spent so much time playing with and owning super expensive gear for so long. Only in the last year has he started to embrace more "affordable" gear and he's still not quite labeling the gear right.

I wonder if the A6 Master Edition w/linear power supply closes the gap in SQ even more that the a6 Standard w/LPS? You mention as a streamer and also with the DAC engaged the LPS allows the A6 to compete in tone and texture with the A8, but not in staging. Just wondering if the A6 ME widens the soundstage over the SE enough to close that gap a bit with the A8?

I'd like to see a review of the Topping Pre90 preamp, others have gave it high marks

Thanks Srboljub! How does the RME ADI-2 compare as a preamp? Your impressions of it seemed quite a bit better.

It makes me wonder, while I would like to upgrade, how soon before the A10 comes out of an A10 Master Edition?

Danke!

I noticed quite the difference between the a6 (normal) and a8 through usb digital, connected at a chord tt2+mscaler. So much that with the a8 I liked the combi, with the a6 I did not. They say there is not much difference digital, but why was the a8 way more dynamic, full sounding. It should not matter through usb, but it did. So is it clocks, changes power supply. I don’t know quite annoyed it made such a big difference. The a8 analogue is better than the a6, but won’t use that, neither then pre out. So than you pay way more for just the better digital. But a6 I did not like, not analogue not digital

Hi! Thank you for your work. So a question arises. A8 alone or A6 into R26 via USB? Thank you, cheers from Italy

Many of potential buyers already have a very good DAC and preamp. Hope Eversolo and Wiim can make the streamer only unit for less money and better performance. It is a waste of money buying streamer with inferior quality DAC or preamp built in.

Excellent vid

Hoped A8 came with 10M clock input

Thanks for the best a8 review on youtube! How do i bypass the pre amp and how to connect or set?

Great review, thanks. So the best config is DMP-A8 (streamer only) + external DAC + (Preamp + Amp) or integrated amp?

I'm upset along with many other audiophiles. I'm upset because I would have waited to buy the A8 if I had known it was coming down the pipeline so soon. However, I do love my A6!

hi, A6 as a streamer with Gustard R26 as a dac are better than A8?

As alwats a very succint review. Just a pity A8 doesn't come as a minus the preamp model for people who have a good preamp. I will never use function as I use an EAR Yoshino 912 Pre Amp. However I would like the jump in performance from the A6..

Hi, thanks for the nice video! Would you like to publish a comparison between 2 DACs? The Ares 12 and the gustard r26 ???

I would like to see a digital transport from eversolo with a better equalizer. I dont want to pay for a delta sigma dac.

Eversolo A8 vs Lumin D3 ktory lepszym wyborem?👍👍👍

Please do consider reviewing Lejonklou Kalla streamer and DACs from Audial, Newontech, Merason and TentLabs

Could you please do a shoot out between the A8, moon mind 2 and PS audio's air lens? I had settled on the mind 2 until I heard about the A8 ,which if nothing else has the screen in it's favour, I'm just looking for the best streamer at this price bracket. I have to say that to be fair though you should include the A6 master edition as it's specs are the same as the A8 except for in the power handling. I don't feel comfortable with the idear of raspberry pie( or is it strawberry fruit cake😆) but any other worthy streamer, if you feel it deserves it. grate review as ever thanks.

Fantastic review. Planning to get one soon. Could you please advise how to install & stream Apple Music on A8.

Thanks! Do you have any plan to review the Eversolo AMP-F2 amplifier?

Great insights! Thank you brother! I wonder if i should consider this for my Hegel H390 integrated amp for the network transport as i love the DAC in the H390. Would you recommend that? Appreciate your thoughts 🙏🏼

Does the DMP-A8 work via I2S with your Gustard R26?

Hi! I am struggling to find a sound-Upgrade to my current system without spending a leg and arm. It"s a ifi zen stream in exclusive DLNA Mode with a LPS, connected via USB to a Chord Qutest, also with LPS. As far as i understand your review, the DMP-A8 probably would not be the sound upgrade i am seeking?

Great video. Thank you. I would like to connect the Eversolo DMP-A8 Streamer with the KEF LS60 speakers. Do I need any additional hardware to play Hi-Res Audio via Apple Music? Sorry, I'm not an expert in this area.

Wonder if the A6 ME willl match up to the A8 as far as a streamer only sound wise

Great review ! Thanks for the comparison vs Gustard A26 & R26 for the DAC part. Do you mean a DMP-A6/ME with LPS-A6 (used as a streamer only) combined with a Gustard A26 will perform equally or better than DMP-A8 (they use the same AKM chips, but not the same power supply, etc.)? What about DMP-A6/ME with LPS-A6 (used again as a streamer only) combined with a Gustard R26, will it perform better than DMP-A8 ? My assumptions based on your great review is that DMP-A6/ME combined with Gustard R26 are the best price/performance combination ? By the way, did you use USB to connect the streamer (DMP) to Gustard ? A8 could be interesting to leverage I2S interface to R26 maybe (unlike A6)? My music library is mostly DSD, and I found delta sigma still better than R2R to deliver great sound stage & crisp details; in native PCM R26 is the king IMHO.

A6 + gustard R26 or A8 ? Nice to see a claremont 56 fan, that almunia album is really nice.

I only buy this device when it have hdmi 2.1 output for audio pcm, dsd or for video 4k 60 or 120!

For those people who unwisely wanted to use the A6 volume control, maybe you should have compared the A8 preamp section to the A6

I wonder how do you bypass the pre-amp section. If you use the XLR output does it go through the internal pre-amp circuit? If that could be done, it would be awesome, and it can go straight into my McIntosh pre-amp.

Please review Lumin D3! That would be fantastic comparison. It’s have unique digital pre-amp feature, probably beating A8 in that regard.

Great idea giving it away as a xmas prize 😋😋😋😋😋

Great review, thanks! Was wondering if you had ever tried the Nain Uniti Atom and how you would compare it to the A8.

Without questioning the review conclusions, I'd still appreciate if someone explains what makes digital USB output of one streamer better than another one. Each of the two receives exactly the same compressed audio stream, decodes it into PCM (which must be exactly the same in both cases) and sends it over USB to a DAC.

I have the A8 thinking of getting the the ladder bach or shitt Kara. Which on should I go for? 👍🏻

Great review! How do you bypass the preamp on the A8 (to use just the streamer & dac)? Advice appreciated. Thanks

You always give us excellent honest reviews, thank you 🙏🏻 Can you help me with a question or two, totally understand if you don't have the time. I want to buy a preamp for my A8 however I am stumbling on the impedance matching, is this relevant? Lots of people talking about good and bad impedance matching and it's worrying me. What's a better match for the A8, ladder bach, schiit Freya +, gustard p26 or denafraps Hestia. Also is the denafraps Hestia the same as the ladder bach internally? Also I can't find any reviews of the gustard p26? I actually prefer the looks of the gustard p26 but can't find any reviews on it. Thanks in advance! Steve 👍🏻

🤷‍♂️ THANKS SRBJ 🤗💚💚💚

Nice previews ! I would like to know if the dac inside the A8 is better than RME dac. Thanks in advance. Pit

Interesting review. I'm currently running the Naim ND5 XS2 as an all-in-one streamer/DAC. I would be interested if you (or anyone else) has a view on how the A8 would compare in terms of sound quality in the same all-in-one streamer DAC configuration? cheers

Great as always. No need for external power supply?

Becoming a fan of your channel , Is A6 with upgraded lps or with out lps as a streamer with gustard r26 better than a A8 or a ifi zen streamer with a r26 compare to a A8

Consider on your reviews showing the conections you have made on the device. Inputs Outputs What cables you use? Internet conections and devices used? Well its an idea give more texture to your reviews.

Looks like a contender to replace my Innuos Zen Mini

After watching reviews of A8 and finding out that it has band equalizers, I went to settings in my A6 and for short period of time it also had band equalizers😊 . Couple days later it disappeared. I reached out to eversolo and they denied that band eq was never available on A6 and to show them pictures or video of that. Unfortunately I do not have any evidence of that but I was happy for that couple of days tinkering with eq. Unfortunately it was removed, I assume with an update. I wish they kept it and had it available on A6. Did any of you guys also experienced band eq on eversolo dmp-A6 for short period of time?

Your comparison with cars would've been so perfect if you had chosen the Audi A6 and A8 instead of Mercedes!

To bypass the preamp, you set the analogue outputs as fixed? This will make HDMI ARC pointless, right?

I was going to get this to replace my PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC/pre (and Node 2), but I was thinking it may best to keep the PSA SGCD and use it as a pre and A8 as DAC and streamer. Thoughts?

Eversolo A6+ Gustard A26 or standalone A8 in terms of sound quality?

I wonder what accuracy you could hit which device you hear from the two one in a blind test.