Eversolo A6/A8


Hi there and greetings!   Pleasure meeting you virtually.

i saw a post of yours saying that you have owned various Eversolo models and that they work properly and you're pleased with them.  congrats to you!

i use an Anthem AVR with my GoldenEars speakers and currently, i'm using a Bluesound Node X as my streamer with Tidal as my source.   i recently tried out Apple Music by buying an Apple TV 4K Ethernet model in order to listen to Atmos versions of recordings for fun, and also tried out their Apple Music Classical as i listen to 80% classical, 20% pop/rock.  i understand that apple bought Primephonic and simply renamed it Apple Music Classical.

i was totally wow'd by apple music classical's search functions, brief write ups on music pieces, and array of performances on any particular piece of music i selected.  loved the selection and how tailored it is to the classical music lover.  as such, i would like to stream apple music & apple music classical at the highest resolution possible with the greatest ease of use.  fyi:  i do NOT own anything Apple in my home with the singular exception of the Apple TV 4K Ethernet box.

i am interested in buying either the A6 or A8, most likely the A8, as it is the ONLY streamer that can stream apple music at high resolution.  i am wondering if it is easy to use, or does it require a lot of tweaking to get it to work properly please?  also, what if apple or android plug up their software holes and essentially disallow Eversolo units from streaming from Apple Music?  Apple is a walled garden with ONLY Sonos as a licensed brand besides Apple products.  do you see this as a risk of essentially "brickíng" Eversolos from ever streaming from Apple again once they decide to disallow an UNlicensed company, i.e. Eversolo, from streaming from it even though currently, Eversolo has discovered a workaround or a "hole"in their software?

thank you in advance.  hope to hear from you!  very much appreciated.

dualmonitors

If the A6/A8 might be out of the running due to warranty or software issues, consider the less expensive option from FiiO, their R7. It does not offer a USB output though so be aware of that.

John Darko did a review a few months ago and liked it fine. It can access Google’s Play Store and you can install the Apple Music App, since it too is Android Based.
 

 

My modest digital source is a BlueSound Node, LHY power upgrade and a BlackIce DAC with nice NOS tubes and decent cables streaming Qobuz and SXM Radio.

It rivals (but does not beat) my analogue source but at 1/3 the cost.

Most importantly, a great UX and zero issues in 2 years with fast response from BS on a couple of questions I had.

Not suggesting you look at the gear above at all, Innuos would be a great one-box alternative, my only point being a rock-solid platform and responsive customer service is absolutely critical.

thank you for the good folks here with the fine suggestion of looking at Qobuz prior to looking for more complicated solutions!  thoughtful advice and helpful.  one user here also siggested Idagio.

so i was able to find a friend who showed me his search results on Qobuz for one classical piece, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #3.  My Tidal search results were the fewest number of recordings (shockingly few considering how important, popular, and well loved Rach 3rd is!), Qobuz had more, maybe 20-30 recordings, and shockingly, Apple Music Classical has 201!  of course, not all 201 are recordings that would necessarily interest me or most people, but still, there were many many that were simply absent from Qobuz and Tidal.  Quantity doesn't necessarily equal quality, i get that.

additionally, there were no write ups about the composer or the piece, nor is there an "editor's choice" recording of the piece that show up at the top of the list.  again, these aren't critical, but when one is browsing and finds a piece of interest, it is fun to learn a little more about the piece via a blurb, and then decide to either listen to it and/or do further research while listening to it.

i was all set to try Qobuz first, until i saw the screenshots my kind friend sent me for Rach's 3rd.

re: @moonwatcher's suggestion of the Fiio R7, it's a good streamer as well!  a little presumptuous to think that most buyers would want this portrait orientation, but ok, some might, particularly for desktop use, but that is one use scenario that is rather specific, and disregards all the audio components market folks.

i googled how to remote control the R7.  i found a rudimentary remote control that they came out with after the R7 was introduced.  i also found an app that they came out with.  strangely, i didn't hear in the reviews whether the reviewers themselves have tested remote controlling the R7 via a tablet or phone using both the android FiiO app or the Apple FiiO app.  i wonder how seamless controlling it remotely is?  is it via wifi or bluetooth (connectivity between the phone/tablet and the FiiO R7?

thanks all.

When my Dad received his Eversolo I thought it was a decent package but after dealing with them on the customer service side I wish I could retract recommending them.  I apologize to anyone who bought one on my recommendation and is having problems after this latest update.  There are several, some have to do with indexing and music catalog.   

Fortunately his works still via other outputs.   

I have been trying to not crap on Chi Fi but here is a great example of Savings vs. Support/Quality biting you in the ass.   

I to stream Apple Classical and was interested in the Eversolo.  Reading this thread has discouraged me.  Btw I agree with the OP that Apple Classical is superior to Qobuz and vastly more so than Tidal.

  My recommendation to the OP is to get a streamer that has Chromecast or AirPlay.  He apparently is an Android user so he should be able to Chromecast .  I am listening right now to Gregory Solomon playing Beethoven Op. 10 Piano Sonatas using Chromecast to send from Apple Music to my Cambridge Audio streamer from my Samsung Tablet