Do I really need a DMP-A6 ME or A8 or will an A6 work

The orginal questions was: "If all I want is the music streaming services (Ethernet Connection), CD playback/RIP/Storage and external audio out for external DAC, will the A6 do everything the same as the A6 ME and the A8?" - so the answer is simple: the standard A6 will do.

But I would not use either for CD ripping - I recommend to use a PC and dbpoweramp because of the AccurateRip and batch functionality. It is just so much fun to use this software.

If you do not want to shop around for an external DAC later, I recommend the ME. It is widely accepted and should "just do it". Maybe the A6 sounds the same, but there seems to be a tendency that owners of the regular A6 buy a DAC, I wonder why.

 

Because, without any technical knowledge they literally believe anything, literally akin to fairy stories, sad really.
Keith

 

I went with the A6 over the ME as I'm using a Marantz SA-KI Ruby as a DAC as well as a CD/SACD player. I already owned the SA-KI Ruby so no need to buy an external DAC or the ME. I've never ripped CDs but plan on buying an external Blu-ray burner and will use dbpoweramp. It'll be a learning process but have a large CD, DVD-A and Blu-ray Audio collection that I'd like to have on hard drive(s).

 

Standard A6 owner here. I also can't comment about the sound difference between the A6 and the A6-ME from direct experience, but it seems to me to understand that the price difference between the two versions cannot be justified by the sonic performance alone but more by the fact to run the best possible technically configuration for this model. From the functional standpoint both versions are identical, speaking of which if one is interested in the streaming and functionalities capabilities only the A6-ME makes really no sense and even with the standard A6 you're going to lose a good portion of its integrated streaming + DAC design value proposition. If I were the OP I would patiently waiting for the streaming only model which in my opinion is the very next in the queue for the Eversolo lineup.

As a regular A6 owner I am too considering to buy an external DAC, not because I expect something better but because I seek something "different". Actually I cannot find anything technically or objectively wrong in the current sound performance of the A6, I just find it too upfront, bright and sterile sounding for my taste, something which I only read about the Delta-Sigma (ESS Sabre) configurations before acquiring the A6. Again nothing really wrong about this, it's just not for me, maybe my taste is leaning more to an R2R implementation side, and if this will be confirmed I would also opt for an A6 streaming only model + separate DAC or, hopefully, and integrated solution with an R2R DAC stage.

 

Arrogant and condescending. What more can I say?

 

Hopefully nothing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection

 

Properly engineered dacs such as the A-6 have a flat frequency response so if you are finding the sound ‘bright’ that is down to the FR of your loudspeakers, sadly many contemporary designs have a rising treble which might initially sound revealing but ultimately tiring.
The type of chip has no consequence whatsoever it’s all in the measurements taken at the dacs output.
Keith

 

You often hear that R2R dacs have a particular ‘sound’ and generally they measure pretty poorly but this Denafrips measures pretty well and will as a consequence sound identical of any other well engineered dac irrespective of architecture or chip manufacturer.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/denafrips-ares-ii-usb-r2r-dac-review.11166/
Imagination is extremely powerful.
Keith

 

póg mo thóin

 

It's probably unwashed, so, no thanks.

May a horrible famine fall on your land.

 

Maybe also because -- my case -- they already had an external DAC before buying the A6.
Just using the A6 as a digital streamer/server.

 

Might be in my head but I think that the DMP-A6 ME sounds better as a transport than the Wiim Pro Plus. Also prefer USB (not available on Wiim's) vs coax for my Rotel preamp.

 

Be shure is in your head

 

Anything else of any importance (given the higher costs do not hurt)?