For what it costs everyone should have at least one.
1 Like
In the meantime, the new DMP A8 has been on the market for a couple of weeks and there is great talk about it online and they consider it much superior to the A6, in fact it obviously costs twice as much
Iāve been watching a lot of reviews of the A8 and it seems to be a great product at a great price. Iāve concluded that if you are interested in a preamp and DAC the A8 is a fantastic choice. But if you already have a preamp and DAC that you love the A6 is the way to go. Iām somewhat biased, being a A6 owner but, I think my conclusions are valid.
2 Likes
Of course, everyone makes their own assessments based on their own expectations, but from the features and components used in the A8 it seems that it plays in a different league compared to its predecessor.
1 Like
I believe a A6 feeding a MK ll DAC via usb should be in another league (for a whole other league kind of money) compared to a A8 which is my point. Itās all on how you want to set up a system and where you want to allocate your funds. If you want a all in one the A8 is a fantastic choice, particularly for the money.
I have an A6 with a Dragon pc feeding a MK2 via USB. It sounds good. It is still not as good as the PST cd with a Dragon HDMI feeding the MK2. That is my reference. There are tons of streaming and cable combinations out there but if it doesnāt meet or beat the reference, what is the point. We all want a low cost solution to revolutionize the streaming world but, like everything else in audio, you have to pay the piper in filters, cable and gear to get there.
1 Like
Fun!
2 Likes
Iām still using my (cringe) Panasonic 4k player to spin/convert cdās and play/convert DSD256 files to analogue, and am happy as a pig in mud. Uses the same DAC chip as the A6 and the audio/video paths are supposedly isolated from one another, including a separate power supply for audio.
Could the system be improved with a better music source component and better DAC? Yes, but just canāt after purchasing new speakers in 2023 (FR20) and a new preamp (No. 523).
1 Like
A manās reach should exceed his grasp, else whatās an audiophile for?
Digital will continue to evolve. Pick it up on the -10 or -12 or whatever.
Meanwhile enjoy those FR20s as I am mine!
1 Like
My Master Edition sounds pretty amazing feeding an external DAC but there are many other streamers that may sound better and most are at a higher price. For me, the point that sold me was that pretty amazing app comes with it. Now I can stream from Qobuz without any added boxes or software.
1 Like
I can say all sorts of nice things about the A6, I really like it. But it isnāt in my main system. That job goes to my Grimm MU1. The MU1 is a brilliant device that only costs 15 times more than the A6. It is so not 15 times better though. I believe the MU2 is in my future. The more I read about the MU2 the more I canāt ignore it. Sadly, because of my deep appreciation for the BACCH tools, I canāt use the MU2 as anything other than a DAC. It could be worth it. Itās the worlds first 1.5 bit DAC. LOL.
I still believe for most people, especially people who ādonāt do Roonā. the A6 is one hell of a good place to start.
5 Likes
This APK/app thing is fascinating to me.
If you:
- Are using your A6 away from home (cabin)
- Are a Roon subscriber
- Donāt have a Roon core away from home
- Use Roon ARC
Similar to how Iāve installed SiriusXM and Pandora on my A6, it appears that Roon ARC has an APK that you could install and run Roon ARC directly from the Eversolo.
Havenāt tried it because my A6 is at home with the core, but would love to hear if others are able to get it to work.
1 Like
I come from feeding my DAC qobuz directly from my iPad for years so, in that context, the lower noise floor of the Eversolo has been a revelation. I know you are not a fan of the MKll but looks like I might try my hand with it finally. That, and possibly a power supply upgrade to the Eversolo is probably the digital endgame for me, hopefully. My pockets arenāt nearly as deep as yours unfortunately.
1 Like
The MK2 is a great choice, or āend gameā DAC, as you say. You have to go upstream in the class to do better, or at least, different. Specifically, that gets you to the Tambaqui and MSB Select at $13k. Both are very good, but very different sounding devices. Add that Ted keeps making his DAC sound better over time, and Massive was exactly that, massive. Itās a no cost Christmas present year round. Time to seek validation with a home demo.
3 Likes
Are you keeping PST? If you do then I assume you have SACDs. How will you play them through MU2? As I understood it doesnāt. I have 400+ so thatās the reason MK2 is a must for me. With the coming Massive and future FWs it maybe good enough for me as an end-game DAC (until TSS).
I just got a response from PS Audio and Iām starting the ball rolling on finally getting a MKll of my very own. Just a short time until units with Massive installed should be available. I can wait until then. So excited to finally hear in my own system what everyone has been talking about with this DAC! Sure hope it lives up to the hype.
2 Likes
FWIW, the next fw/sw upgrade will be available early January per Paul. Maybe they want to install same in your unit.
Correct, the MU2 will not accept the SACD layer as it does not have the specific l2s required. I have a much smaller collection than yours and have taken that into account. I love the MK2 and its upgradability.
The MU2 simply does so much more and we will see if it also sounds better. Timing is everything, and I have lost the willingness to wait for the TSS.
4 Likes
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on MU2.
1 Like
No one seems to be talking about the TSS anymore. Perhaps Ted needing to spend so much time ironing out wrinkles with the MKll the TSS might never happen in our lifetimes.
1 Like