If you haven’t been hidden under the rock in the last year or so, Eversolo needs no introduction. This daughter company of Zidoo stormed the market last year with its smaller streaming DAC called DMP-A6. If you’ve been wondering what could be achieved if the budget for the hardware was roughly doubled – then this DMP-A8 review might be interesting to you.
Build and Features
Just like with the smaller model, the build quality of the DMP-A8 is impeccable. Materials used are top-notch notch too. The firm aluminum case rocks a brushed finish on the front panel, matt top and back panel, and ridged sides. The whole look and feel is that of a clean industrial design with subtle, nonintrusive branding.
Big touch LCD is of high quality too, making for easy and comfortable navigation through menus and playlists. Some cool effects can be enabled too. While music is playing, you can choose between several different info screen arrangements. More than that, you can blast a full-screen digital VU-meters or graphic equalizer. There are even several different skins for each of these that you can choose from. This is not essential in any way, but it is sure a fun and cool feature.



Looking at the back, you can find a true plethora of connections. This device has both digital and analog inputs in several varieties. You can connect DMP-A8 to your home network using either Wi-Fi or LAN cable. There’s also one OTG USB 3.0 port, and lastly hidden at the bottom of the device is a slot for the SSD drive for locally stored files. Up to 4 TB sizes are supported.
Moving to outputs, we have both digital and analog ones. Starting with the digital outs – there’s a Coaxial, Optical, USB, and I2S. As for the analog section, a pair of single-ended RCAs and a pair of balanced XLRs are present. Both of these can be used as variable outputs so you can connect this DAC directly to a power amp and use its internal signal attenuation to control the volume level.
An internal DAC will be used if you decide to use analog outputs. This is where the first improvement over the DMP-A6 is seen with AK4191EQ+AK4499EX DAC chips on the job. But it doesn’t stop there. The power supply is redesigned to feature a dual design. This means that there are two independent sections. The first one is a low-noise linear power supply for the analog output stage. The other one is the switching power supply for the digital processing side of things. Lastly, the complete preamp section is redesigned and features a higher-quality analog volume attenuation for analog outputs. Digital outputs can still be digitally attenuated too in case you wonder.
Oh yeah, the physical remote is included this time around – which is crucial if you want to use it as a preamp.
Software
Let’s start with the operating system loaded on the device itself. The OS is based on the Android system but adapted for the needs of an audio streamer. It works well and offers a rich set of options that will let you tailor how the device looks and feels. You don’t like the LED around the knob? No problem, you can dim it or completely turn it off. It’s the same with the display. If you want to see the cover of the album and currently playing track info, you can, but you can also use one of the four VU meters as I mentioned before.
Eversolo provides a great control app that’s available on both the Play Store and Apple Store. It boasts clean looks, nice aesthetics, and well-arranged options. From the app, you can access your library, as well as both Tidal and Qobuz streaming services. Since I use both of these, I can say that the user interface looks great but some functions are missing. For example, the track radio function on Tidal is simply not there. The native player has been improved from the time I reviewed A6. Now the much-needed queue is working properly, and you can rearrange the song order in the queue. It’s great to see that Eversolo listened to complaints and made their app almost perfect. Some much older brands, with even pricier products, can’t match this kind of UI polish.
Luckily, you’re not bound to the native app as Eversolo DMP-A8 supports UPnP, Airplay, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, and Roon. So you can use any of the third-party apps supporting these connection protocols. I tried Roon, the Bubble UPnP app for UPnP, and the official Tidal app for Tidal Connect. Everything worked great.

Sound (Digital Outputs)
I connected Eversolo DMP-A8 to several different DACs including Gustard R26, Laiv Harmony DAC, and my own DIY Tube DAC that’s similar to Lampizator designs. Different types of digital connections were tried. I also used some local files on my home network, Qobuz, and Tidal.
Starting with tonality, DMP-A8 is a well-judged and very neutral sounding. Its undeniable incisiveness doesn’t come at the cost of being too analytical or emphasizing any particular part of the spectrum. The music sounded naturally clean and focused. The space between individual tones and around them was easily noticeable. Reverbs and spatial cues are recovered with ease, and when combined with the background darkness this creates a very convincing acoustic space recreation. Both the depth and width of the soundstage are very pronounced. Compare this to any general-purpose device such as a PC, TV, or smart box – and you’ll probably never use these as a digital transport for your HiFi again. Eversolo will offer clarity, three-dimensional space, and dynamics you didn’t know your digital audio was capable of.
Comparisons (Digital Outputs)
EverSolo DMP-A6 is less than half the price of DMP-A8. I’ll leave talking about feature differences and go straight to the sound. DMP-A6 sounds clean, incisive, and natural. DMP-A8 is all of that but even more pronounced. Tonal balance is preserved but tones do have slightly richer tone timbre. This is not achieved by some sort of artificial warmth since clarity and tone separation are even greater. The background appears darker and the soundstage is both deeper and wider. Finally, A8 feels dynamically more alive and snappy. All of these differences are not huge, but not very subtle either. In a good and revealing setup, you’ll have no problem noticing them.
Add an LHY LPS-A6 linear power supply to upgrade the DMP-A6 and the performance gap narrows. Now DMP-A6 has an equally rich tone timbre and soundstage depth. Dynamics and soundstage width, however, are still better on A8.
Volumio Rivo is also half the price of DMP-A8. However, given that it is purely a digital platform, without a DAC or preamp – I expected it to put up a good fight. That said, even with my Allo Shanti linear power supply, Rivo was not able to fully match the DMP-A8. Eversolo creates a bigger soundstage and cleaner tones with better separation.
Sound (Analog Outs – DAC section)
Moving to the analog outputs shows that DMP-A8 rocks a very capable DAC section too. The sound is effortlessly revealing, wide, and airy. Tones are clear but never edgy, there’s a pleasant natural softness to them instead. The bassline is tight and very natural. It is also very revealing of tone harmonics and inner tone details. The same is true for the midrange by the way – there’s a very natural harmonic richness to be admired here. Moving to the highest frequencies – they are open and well extended, creating wide and airy sound. Overall tonal balance is still mostly neutral and very natural.
So, the DAC section is not an afterthought or yet another feature to be added to the list. One can easily live with this streamer without missing anything or thinking about standalone DACs.
Comparisons (Analog Outs – DAC section)
EverSolo DMP-A6 is a better digital streamer than it is a DAC, in my opinion at least. So out of the box, the gap is quite big here. DMP-A8 sounds much more tonally rich, with better detail retrieval. It’s also more natural sounding – making A6 appear more analytical but actually simpler-sounding and less revealing. DMP-A8 then adds a bigger and airer soundstage to finish this battle.
Add previously mentioned LHY LPS-A6 linear power supply in the mix, helps the DAC section of DMP-A6 considerably. The tone timbre becomes much richer, less analytical, and more natural. But once again, soundstage width and airiness remain better on DMP-A8. And while DMP-A6 with LPS-A6 couldn’t close the gap completely, to my ears it narrowed it by half.
Gustard R26 is now some two years old but still going strong. It is also my current reference DAC below two thousand dollars. Gustard is not a fully-fledged digital streamer, but it does feature a very simple network renderer. Using it, you can stream music with the help of third-party software like Roon or BubbleUPnP. This helped me compare them directly as streaming DACs. I’ll tell you that DMP-A8 put up a good fight, but I found Gustard R26 more to my taste. This R2R DAC sounded a bit warmer and tonally fuller in the lower registers, with more bass grunt. DMP-A8 sounds leaner with the bassline, and somewhat softer and airer in highs. That said, I found it can’t match the deep and very three-dimensional soundstage that Gustard’s R2R design is capable of.
Without getting into more direct comparisons, I’ll say that DMP-A8’s DAC section performs roughly on the level of a very good DAC that sits just above one thousand dollars. Musician Pegasus comes to mind. Solid result.
Sound (Preamp)
Finally, you can use Eversolo DMP-A8 as a streaming digital preamp connected directly to your power amp. A physical remote control makes this easy. By doing this you will hear relays clicking while you’re changing the volume in very fine steps. Functionality-wise, it’s all great. But use it this way and a very big percentage of the performance that DMP-A8 can output as a streamer and a DAC will be left unused. Internal volume attenuation eats away some of that rich tone timbre and great airy soundstage. Just take a Ladder Bach for example. This is a standalone preamp that goes for $945. Using DMP-A8 with maxed line level output, connected to this preamp will yield a noticeably bigger soundstage, better detail retrieval, and healthier tone timbre. The same would go for Schiit Freya+ or one of my all-time favorite Acoustic Invader preamp.
So my final verdict here is that the internal preamp is just not on the same level that the digital streaming and D/A conversion sections are. Use it if you must, upgrade it whenever you get the chance. I will not let this deduct any points from the final score. I don’t believe in punishing the product for having an extra feature that is not on par with its core functionality – a very high-quality streaming DAC.
Conclusion
Eversolo DMP-A8 is a noticeable upgrade over its smaller and more affordable cousin DMP-A6. Which one is a better choice and better value is something that every one of us has to decide for ourselves. My main HiFi system is so revealing at this point, and I invested so much in it, that I find DMP-A8 more suitable and quite justifiable. To put it simply, DMP-A6 would be a weak link at this point, especially if internal DAC is in use too, and not just digital outputs.
It’s quite similar to choosing a car. Some people need or simply want, a big and performant Audi A8. Others are perfectly happy with something smaller like the Audi A6. This analogy is not perfect, and if the DMP-A8 was the Audi A8, then the DMP-A6 would be closer to the Audi A4 I suppose. But I drive Seat Ibiza and I don’t know much about these expensive cars to make this a bullet-proof analogy. The point is – both are good deals but in a different class, so choose according to your needs and wants.
EVERSOLO DMP-A8 – CHARACTERISTICS |
Memory: 4GDDR4 +64GeMMC Music Service: Tidal, Qobuz, Highresaudio, Amazon Music, Deezer, Radio Paradise, WebDAV, UPnP Bluetooth BT5.0, supports SBC/AAC/aptX/aptX LL/aptX HD/LDAC Optical/Coaxial Audio Input HDMI ARC Analog preamp audio input IIS Output Optical/Coaxial Audio Output Preamp Audio Output:XLR(Balanced)+RCA(Unbalanced) XLR Output Audio Characteristics RCA Output Audio Characteristics General
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Great review.
I am the owner of DMP-A6 Master Edition.
I want to “step up” my HIFI system a little bit audiophile higher.
I am very statisfied with my AMP (Musical fidelity M5Si), so i don’t want to change it.
Is it better option (tonallity, musicallity and sound wise), to sold A6ME and buy A8, OR to keep A6ME and insert Gustard R26 DAC into my system ?
What is better option In Your opinion, and wich component will better improve my system in terms of sound ?
Thanks in advance for answer and advice and keep up a good work too.
Hi,
there’s also an A8 LPS upgrade available from LHY Audio – do you know if you will be able to test and review it? I’m wondering if this brings much of an approvement.
Thanks
Hi, I can imagine that performance gains are similar and worthy but due to schedule limitations I will skip testing that one.