Eversolo Play Music Streamer with DAC Amplifier 60W 2ch 8 110W 2ch 4 5 5 LCD Touchscreen Support

Heads up - this is a detailed review, first impressions For many years, I have used the best streamer under 1k: Sonos connect with the W4S mod, coax out to my DAC. Sound wise, there wasnt anything close under 1k. Sonos port with W4S mod - inferior, Blusound - not close. I just wanted something a bit more responsive and was dissappointed when the Sonos port sounded inferior even with the W4S mod. So with the recent releases of promising products, I bought both the Innuos Pulse mini streamer and this Eversolo DMP-A6 and compared them. There is so much you can learn from the web reviews, and from experience, there can be little info on sound quality. Example - the W4S Sonos connect has very few reviews for what was for its time, an outstanding product. (It still is). So here are my impressions: Sound quality as a streamer into an external DAC: (my primary use) SPDIF (coax out): All 3 are close. Eversolo is the best by a slight margin. Very slightly cleaner in the highs, Well balanced. Sonos is a very close #2 and I could live with this as well. Slightly brighter, a tad more dynamic. Innuos: #3 Cleaner highs than the Sonos but with the stock power supply has a layer of grunge that an external power supply removes. With an external power supply, it is a bit less clean and a bit less dynamic than the other 2. Again, these differences are slight. USB out: Eversolo and Innuos (with external power supply) are the same. with innuos stock power supply , innuos is slightly grungier, which surprised me. USB I didnt like because it was less dynamics than SPDIF coax, both units. Through USB, highs are cleaner, better sibilants App: Innuos and Sonos apps are the best. #1: Innuos #2: Sonos #3 distant third is eversolo app. Eversolo is hard to navigate and not that clean. Innuos app is rock solid. Eversolo app would not allow me to connect to my iphone app via the camera scan. Tidal streaming: On Sonos and Eversolo, you can use the native Tidal app, via Tidal connect. Innuos you have to use their app, which is very good anyway. Eversolo app is frustrating, so very happy to avoid. Front panel - #1: Eversolo #2: Sonos #3: Innuos Back panel: #1: Eversolo #2: Sonos #3: Innuos Main benefit is that eversolo and sonos has wifi built in. Sound with built in DAC: Did not review. I have read that the Eversolo DAC is not that good. I am going to keep the Eversolo and Innuos for a while and see how they evolve and how easy to live with. I am impressed by the rock solid Innuos - it just works and it is clear that a lot of thought has gone into it and with their app. The Eversolo by comparison is full featured and has a flovor of lets put everything in and see what sticks. I can give up all the bells and whistles on the Eversolo for a better app and their excellent sound quality. Will update after more use. Edit 1: Used a 2TB intel 670p NVMe. Works great. Amazon sells 2TB for $70, 1TB for $40 right now. I would suggest that you use an external enclosure to connect to your computer or server to transfer your music the first time. Format it in exFAT, and then transfer your music. Then move the drive to the Eversolo. I first tried it by installing it into the eversolo and transferring it via wifi. It was soooo slow. Would take about a month to transfer my music. Then did it the way I suggested and that took about a minute. Also, I noted that the CPU in the eversolo is a weak performer compared to the innuos pulse mini, about 3x slower. So anything you ask the eversolo to do that requires CPU is going to be slow. The sound quality coming from the drive is superior than streaming through Tidal. Earlier I commented that the sound from the W4S sonos connect was brighter than that from Eversolo; now the balance from the drive is the same as streaming from the Connect, but more detailed. So far, the Sound Quality is the best from the NVMe with hires sources. (I tested with a 96kHz 24 bit track vs Tidal MQA). Edit2: Spent some time comparing USB vs SPDIF output. For those who are unaware, SPDIF output takes the audio digital signal and clocks it using onboard crystal oscillators to your external DAC. The external DAC uses the clock from your device (DMP A6) as the master clock. USB just sends the digital signal via an asynchronous format to your DAC. Your DAC then reclocks it with onboard crystal oscillators before doing the conversion to analog. So which sounds better will depend a lot on whether the clocks on the DMP A6 vs your DAC. The master edition of the DMP A6 supposedly has better clocks so SPDIF should sound better, whereas the USB should be the same. That said, my DAC has a pretty decent USB conversion, at least as good as the DMP A6. I used the highest quality digital signal from my NVMe for comparison and went from USB to SPDIF everything else the same to my DAC. My conclusion is that the USB output is cleaner, but I didnt always prefer the USB out. The biggest different was the soundstage. The SPDIF was up front, immediate and more exciting, whereas the USB out was further away. For pop, I generally preferred the SPDIF, whereas for classical, I preferred the USB because everything was cleaner, more precise. If you have a cheaper DAC, you probably would prefer the SPDIF. I tried it on a cheaper DAC and I preferred the SPDIF. So it all depends on your preference and the quality of the USB clocking on your DAC vs the DMP A6. Read more

My thoughts on the Eversolo Play (CD version), 2 months after I switched out my WiiM Ultra plus Vibelink Amp set up. First off, why did I even look at shelling out $800 for the Eversolo (CD model) when I was getting on fine with the WiiM combo? This can be traced to the initial "no big deal" rationalization I went through when buying the WiiM Ultra knowing full well it did NOT support Apple AirPlay 2. Much is written about that already but for whatever reason the Ultra was released so neutered. Heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem, it ate away at my listening experience and left me ripe to look for the next thing...maybe a future WiiM Ultra II? Who knows? Enter the Eversolo Play with a larger display, one box convenience (also checked by the new WiiM Amp Ultra), and Apple AirPlay 2 (NOT checked by the WiiM Ultra Ultra). I was already feeling the pull to the "Add To Cart" button. The CD capable model sealed the deal. Amazon it is in your hands now to deliver this magical device. The unboxing ritual revealed a reassuringly weighty device with tastefully rounded corners and solid fit and finish. No remote – humph. My new Eversolo Play was moved to the space occupied by my WiiM stack. Connections were pretty much unplug/plug back in. The set up was very WiiM like - a few software updates and configurations and all was ready to go. Initial impressions are that the build quality is a tick better than the WiiM Ultra. Materials and the control knob are satisfying to view and handle. The WiiM Ultra utilizes flush speaker banana plug receptacles which I prefer over the protruding posts on the Eversolo. Starting up now, configurations are accomplished by combination of interacting with the front knob and the outstanding Eversolo app. A word about that. Both WiiM and Eversolo are to be commended for outstanding home-grown apps. Both have great stability and functionality as if the creators actually understood how their customers will enjoy listening to their music. The Eversolo app gets the nod for the very useful Screen view which mirrors the on-device display and is unexpectedly useful (and cool to watch). The configuration options for the Eversolo are greater than the WiiM and somewhat daunting at times. I still have not figured out how to wake the Eversolo display from screensaver mode automatically after the display goes to sleep. What about the sound? I am using KEF Q1 Metas (2 way/5 ¼ inch woofer/86 db sensitivity/4 ohm) bookshelf speakers. To me, the Eversolo brings a warmer, less analytical sound signature than the WiiM. Several reviewers have rated the WiiM as better sounding in shootouts. As it is in these things, all is a matter of taste. My expectations for my office sound system is to complement rather than dominate the environment. What that means to me is balanced, fulfilling music even at low volumes. The addition of a small subwoofer (connected to the included Sub out on the Eversolo) fills the bottom without requiring a clockwise twist of the volume knob. The WiiM power advantage (200w/4ohms vs 110w/4ohms for the Eversolo) is not an issue for my use. The KEFs are wonderful, by the way. They are very forgiving to listener placement so I can work in several locations in my office without deteriorating the experience. So, wrapping this up, apart from the Apple Airplay issue, I never would have embarked on this comparison with the Eversolo Play. If you are happy with your WiiM – then look no further. I was and could still be if Airplay was not an issue. The differences are not so great to warrant a decisive endorsement for one or the other. The Eversolo build quality, bigger screen, Apple Airplay, and warmer sound signature are the main differentiators in my mind (plus the CD if you select that model). This is a great time for music enthusiasts with so many outstanding reasonably priced options. Hope this was helpful. Read more

I really wanted to love this one, but I ran into enough issues that I sent it back. Still, they rev the firmware frequently, so likely these issues will be sorted out over time. Hardware platform is great. Sound quality is generally very good, in my use case as a streamer into an external DAC. The issues I ran into were random chops of the last 5 or so seconds of songs when using spotify or apple music. I don't care how good the sound quality is if the song gets cut! I also found the app would disconnect from the player fairly frequently. I like so much about the design of this player. I may buy it again in six months after the firmware has time to settle, but for now I've sent it back. I’m updating this even though I’ve sent the unit back. Their tech support finally got back and suggested that the cuts at the end of Spotify and Apple Music songs were likely due to the crossfade switch on each app being set to on. I did not set this to on, so if this is the case that is the way it was on the Eversolo by default. It’s nothing I’ve encountered in other systems before. Nonetheless, it seems like it could be a plausible answer. It took from Sunday to Thursday AM to get it to me, but it does show there is some level of tech support. I still think the hardware platform is solid and it is an intriguing device. I’ll likely give it another go in 6 months after it has matured a bit. Read more