Eversolo DMP-A8 vs iPhone plugged directly to integrated amp - why no difference?

@painter24 : I agree the latest iPhone is a ripoff! I use a cheap TCL phone ($100)  and it is fine! 

@soix wrote, "Something’s wrong somewhere. I compared my iPad into my DAC (using Qobuz) bypassing its internal DAC, and my relatively modest iFi Zen Stream sounded much better as a streaming source. I can only imagine the iPad being even worse if I was using its DAC as well."

Ah, if your DAC is doing the reclocking (i.e. you are using USB from both the Zen and the iPad), then you are proving that contrary to many folks, the streamer can still make a difference, even feeding 1’s and 0’s that are supposedly identical.

I’m not an electronics engineer, but there must be "something" happening if you can hear a difference, and especially if the Zen sounds better than an iPAD in this regard.

Maybe we don’t all need $2K streamers, but the use of consumer level "lowest common denominator" Swiss Army convenience devices like iPads leave a bit to be desired. Not bad maybe for an initial step into streaming, but definitely something that can be bettered for not a huge outlay.

Good luck to the OP in figuring out why the *analog* output from an iPhone would even begin to approach that of a dedicated $2K streamer/DAC. Maybe he needs a "control" streamer like a NAD MXN10 ($500) just as a point of comparison.  The $2 DAC inside the iPhone should be pretty atrocious. 

Not to whip a dead horse but do note that some YouTubers have said the Eversolo streamers err on the thinner analytical side, so maybe that is why he doesn’t hear a huge difference. Just a guess and only a guess.

Thanks a ton for all the replies. To start with the member who asked if I'm a bot, I'm not. Saw the first two replies, wanted to see what others might add, and simply got busy and didn't log back in until now. But really do appreciate everyone.

For me, I'm not sure that it's the iPhone sounding as good as the Eversolo so much as the Eversolo sounding like the iPhone. I hear those who commented on the power supply and interconnect but the iPhone is on a very cheap RCA adapter so even if both have bad cables, the "better" one should sound better no? That said, I do have upgraded power supply and chord and WBC interconnects (I know they're not actually the world's best but shouldn't be the worst either).

I'm also not hearing the slightest difference between the different DAC settings. And I have tried both with the preamp turned up and on bypass to control volume from the amp. 

I think from here I just need to go grab my Sonos and DacMagic from storage later in the week and see how they compare to the Eversolo and iPhone. (If that sounds better, maybe I return the Eversolo unit for another one or even stick with what I had until I eventually make some more significant changes in the system.) If there's no difference still, then I'll know the issue may be somewhere else. But that will be so odd. Maybe I'll even hop into a local store to test some different equipment and make sure my ears are working!

For what it's worth, @moonwatcher mentions reviewers calling the Eversolo thin sounding and I will say it sounds thinner than I remember my system sounding. 

@audphile1 

+1 No response is the biggest flag.

Hey, goodonya for trusting your ears and not convincing yourself the Eversolo sounds better just because it’s more expensive or because it “should” sound better.  Maybe try your phone as a source at the dealer and see what happens there.  Best of luck in getting to the bottom of this — it’s a puzzle fer sure, and I’d be very interested in what you ultimately find.