The DSP options are another large playing field. Think parametric equalizer, loudness, high/low pass filtering as well as compression, signal delay, even FIR filtering. Of course these tuning options double as opportunities to screw up the sound so season gingerly. Interestingly the DMP-A8 does not arrive with Spotify or TuneIn on its preloaded client list but this can be sorted by pressing a button on the display. Thanks to its Android-based OS, the DMP-A8 allows you to download installation files in APK format. This can install Apple Music, Apple Music Classical and a lot more which then outputs not at reduced bandwidth like AirPlay but gives full access to native resolution even hi-res. Terrific! To make this work bit-perfect, the Eversolo prevents unnecessary signal interventions by the Android OS or mixer with the help of its EOS for Eversolo Original Sample Rate Engine developed specifically for this purpose.
Of course there is an app but the DMP-A8 can also be controlled from its display.
The black-anodized housing of high-quality aluminium comes across as rather plain in the unusual width of 38cm, depth of just under 25cm and height of 9cm. Only the volume control and 6-inch sharply imaging touchscreen with its countless gimmicks of VU meters or spectrometers attract frontal attention. Or perhaps one should call the lateral cooling fins further design elements? Versus a computer, the comparatively generous weight of five kilograms is probably explained by the power supply which combines switching and linear sections to segregate digital and analog circuits.
The Eversolo DMP-A8 next to the Adam Audio A8H.
When sampling the sonic qualities of the Eversolo, an extraordinary quaff called Meisterwerk from the Escher winery in the Rems Valley became my assistant. I was curious to see whether the DMP-A8 would taste like a masterpiece, too. To assess this, I linked it via XLR to the high-precision Adam Audio A8H studio monitors and let it fight against the DMP-A6 Master Edition, an Innuos ZenMini Mk3, Wattson Emerson Digital and €1'200 analog Quad Artera Pre.
First off, its sonic signature ran like a red thread through all comparisons, be it as a preamp, DAC or streamer. When the aforementioned digital filters entered the game, I was amazed by how strong the 'Low Dispersion Short Delay' filter registered over against the 'Short Delay Slow Roll-off' even if we are still talking nuances. Often such filters have little to no audible effect but for once I perceived it different. Percussion was more concise, its outlines and metallic shine clearer, voices sometimes crept forward a bit. The 'Sharp Roll-off' filter better illuminated the stage edges and appeared more open while the 'Slow Roll-off' filter constricted a bit. To me the 'Low Dispersion Short Delay' seemed the most balanced so was my default but here everyone decides for themselves.
The analog i/o.
In the quite multi-layered "Interrupted" by Lambchop (album: What Another Man Spills), a lot happens in both foreground and background. Let's first do a purely analog comparison in which both DMP-A8 and Quad Artera Pre were fed by the Linn Sneaky DS via RCA. Both preamps proved very detailed and spatially diverse then revealed different characters. The Quad seemed minimally more analytical and direct, the Eversolo more euphonic and subtly warmer but tonally still on neutral terrain. In short, an eye-to-eye encounter worth a little applause for the DMP-A8 considering the additional equipment or fact that overall it's really more of a digital machine.
