Shanling SMT 1.3 has been officially Roon certified and more improvements and features will be added soon, new FW update next week (announced by Shanling)
PS for those who use I2S, SMT1.3 has few rivals, try it and believe it 
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Thanks for your input! Itās great to know Eversolo listened to your issue and addressed it so quickly.
Jay has a great YouTube video going behind scene at Ziddo the parent company. He showed a whole team of developers for eversolo making changes. Their software is their biggest strength
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How does the Eversolo UI compare with the JPlay UI, in your opinion?
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So after I learned that Auralic was going out of business and is now out of business, I started on a path to look for a replacement for my Aries G2 .1 streamerā¦with upgraded Howerwedge power supply. Sonically it sounds fantastic when using the native Lightning DS app and accessing music on my network attached storage, in fact, using that route it sounds better than Roon, Qobuz apps and using Audirvarna and J play to access my NASā¦But alas, the Lightning DS app will no longer get updates so consequently, Iām looking for another streamer and or streamer/DAC combo. The T8 packs a lot of features into it for a very compelling price, Iām just not sure wether it can compete with the Auralic G2 on an equal sonic basis. There was one YouTube reviewer that favorably compared the T8 to his megabuck streamer made by Rockna, which definitely perked my interest. Hard to fathom that the streamer built into the 512 could be as advanced as the T8, but I could be very wrongā¦
Also, I like the fact that the T8 has i2s out witch can be configured to work with PSA DACS.
Any feedback where new T8 owners have had a chance to compare it to other pricey competitors, Iād love to hear about it.
I would certainly like to hear that comparison. But I do know the A6 with upgraded power supply did not come close to I Bernal streamer of 512. Donāt be surprised if you find it at min just as good as T8. But the T8 software puts most to shame.
Chris
The Eversolo UI is good just a little ābusyā for my personal usage with all the choices of streaming services and apps that I donāt or wonāt use. For my use JPlay is leaner and at the moment only is concerned with the services I use, Qobuz and Jplay, plus library streaming and Internet radio by entering the stations URL. It also includes the direct link to Radio Paradise. If you use Apple, Amazon, Deezer, Hi Res, or any of the other services the Eversolo app has you covered plus the EQ functions Another function thatās important to me is having the āRadioā (autoplay) function available for both Qobuz and Tidal. JPlay has it and the Eversolo app doesnāt In addition to the T8 I also own and use an Aries G2.2 and generally prefer to use JPlay with both of them rather than their own apps. To me it was well worth doing the JPlay free trial to see if you like it before committing to purchase it. After using it for almost two years I committed to the Lifetime subscription. Marcin releases updates about every six weeks.
I have an Aries G2.2 and the T8 more than holds itās own against it. I have them both in the same system to easy to compare them in the same room with the same gear. Until things shake themselves out and we find out if Auralic is going to be bought out or the software taken over by someone else I donāt know if I would run out and sell low as long as yours functions as intend and as you say sounds fantastic. Even if no more āupdatesā are coming the affected units should work fine for years as they are. But if in the end you decide to try something else the T-8 is a good option and you can always order one from Amazon and try it for 30 days.
I would have to agree when comparing streamers into your DAC of choice. I have had many. Most in the sub 2000 price sound the same to me. But even the RS130 compared to my upgraded A6 it took careful listening to really hear the subtle improvements. It was better but I think the big money is better spent elsewhere.
But that opinion changed when I compared A6 (sorry sold the 130 by then) to internal 512 streamer.
Is that itās just better or just having it internal is a big advantage to begin with? Not sure. Maybe both. I only know I am not upset with selling rose. I thought I might be.
Again I use roon so the software difference was not an issue.
Thanks, Jack, for your thoughtful reply. Iāve been leaning towards JPlay and the PMGās internal streamer for much the same reasonāconsiderably more than 99% of my listening is spent streaming via Qobuz and my local NAS-based library, both of which are handled directly by the PMG. I did encounter one anomaly where JPlay was unable to stream to the DAC from either source, complaining of an error, but power-cycling the PMG streamer cleared that up. Hopefully, that wonāt recur with any frequency. Iāll likely power down and uncable my Aries if JPlay continues to provide a viable replacement for LightningDS.
ā Chris
Okay, I own a PMG 512 DAC with its great-sounding internal streamer. As an experiment, and because on paper it checks all the boxes, has sooo many options for streaming, and because the price is chump change versus what many of us pay for stuff, I got an Eversolo T8 to compare against the PMG.
Using a Zeskit X-Tech .5m HDMI cable for I2Sāyeah, I know, itās not an audiophile cable, but itās a pretty good HDMI cableāthe PMG was clearly better. This was particularly noticeable on sharp transients, which from the T8 were rounded off, and the three-dimensionality, precise spatial placement of instruments and the quiet between them Iād been used to was somewhat lacking.
Wondering whether my very short, good quality HDMI cable could possibly be to blame, I borrowed my buddyās .75m AQ Firebird 48 to use for I2S. The sound immediately, and immensely, improved. In fact, on first listen it sounded identical to the PMG. Sharp transients! Three-dimensionality! So hushed! Butā¦close listening to the quiet drum intro on Murmuration from the excellent GoGo Penguin/v2.0 (Deluxe Edition) album showed a difference. On the PMG, one can hear the air and depth of that quiet intro in an uncannily 3D presentation. That same intro with the T8 sounded nearly two-dimensional. Bah. But overall it sounds so close.
Maybe a better I2S cable would make the T8 sound identical to the PMG, or so near I couldnāt hear the difference. Itās really tempting to swap in a Tubulus Concentus, but it galls me to pay the 15% tariff, or whatever it is from the Netherlands these days, for something the equivalent of which I canāt actually buy from a US manufacturer. Itās the right price for a $1,380 piece of kit, too, since I refuse to pay more for a cable than what I paid for the equipment that requires its use.
I still have a couple of weeks to decide whether to keep the T8. Is anyone else using a T8 over I2S with the PMG 512 DAC? If so, what cable are you using? What do you think vis-Ć -vis the sound of the PMGās internal streamer?
Thanks!
ā Chris
If the T8 is fresh out of the box then give it some time as it changes with hours in my experience.
Will do; thanks. Iāll borrow the Firebird again and give the T8 more time.
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Take a look at this cable available on Aliexpress or Ebay: 1-4m HDMI 2.1 Cable 8k@ 60Hz 4k@ 120Hz 8K/4K 48Gbps Ultra High Speed UHD Moshou | eBay
It is a very different design to any cable I have seen (more like the ribbon cables you find in equipment internals) and appears of very high quality. I use it between the T8 and my modified DS DAC MK 1.
Thanks for the tip!
ā Chris
Recently tried the USB cable that comes with the A6 MA and it sounded pretty good. Left it in the box for a couple of years thinking it couldnāt sound as good as my AQ Carbon. Really surprised me.
These are some pretty amazing testimonials for the t8 with direct comparison to the auralic and the pmg.
Has anyone compared the t8 internal storage compared to external drives? Any difference in the sound?
I havenāt tried either way since Iām still unsure if Iām going to keep the T8. If I do keep it, in all likelihood Iāll install an internal M.2 SSD because itās much neater, and I donāt have a spare external SSD anyway.
Have you added either type of storage to a T8?
ā Chris
Just have an a6 but with 3 hard drives hooked to a usb hub. It works well
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