NVME browsing/playback experience

Been reading a lot of great things about the gen2 A6, and I’m close to pulling the trigger.

I have a few questions for owners/users:

- what’s the max NVME size / recommended read/write speed?

- I want to copy my ripped SACDs to storage. Have you had a better experience leaving things as ISO or expanding out to DSF?

- With SACD ISO, is it easy to choose between stereo and multichannel?

- Is there an easy or automatic way of updating metadata and album art?

- I use both Qobuz and Apple Music. Any issues saving both to SSD?

- Using HDMI out, is there any video display included, or is it audio only?

- What about Blu-ray audio/video?

thanks in advance !

 

I can't answer all of your questions from first-hand experience, but this is what I've been informed - I own a Gen1 DMP-A6, not the Gen2 model.

Max SSD capacity is 8TB for the Gen2. Max read and write speeds of even cheap SSDs will outpace the relatively slow internal buss speed of the DMP-A6 Gen2, so buying an expensive ultra-fast SSD just to use exclusively in a DMP-A6 is over capitalizing IMO and IME. The only advantage of a high write speed SSD would be if you installed it inside a fast computer to transfer your files to it before installing it in your DMP-A6.

Rip your SACDs as ISO files. It saves a lot of disc capacity compared to DSF and you can switch between stereo and multi-channel playback on the go from the touchscreen on the DMP-A6 or via the app remotely. There is no difference in sound quality.

Metadata of ripped CDs and SACDs is supported by various ripping programs (but not all). For WAV, Flac, MP3 you can use programs like MP3tag which will fetch and append metadata (tags) and often has album artwork as well. Metadata is imbedded in the SACD ISO so there's no need to add it. Just add the album artwork to the same folder as the ISO and you're good.

I don't use Qobuz or Apple Music so I can't offer any comment but I'm sure there will be many here who can.

There is no video available via HDMI, just audio.

No support for Blu-ray and audio formats like ATMOS aren't supported.

 

Great feedback. Thank you!

 

I'm curious on this Alan. I have ripped a number of Blu-ray Audio discs with MakeMKV and Music Media Helper 8. Using MMH8 to extract the audio from the MKV I can select DTS MA-HD or Dolby Atmos audio streams (if present on the disc). Now if I play a Dolby Atmos rip it is of course downmixed to 5.1 but will play with my DMP-A6. The Eversolo app will show "FLAC" "48 kHz" "8 ch" "24 bit" and "*.** Mbps".

At the moment I'm listening to a rip of Steven Wilson's "The Raven That Refused To Sing" Blu-ray Audio disc. The Eversolo app is showing "FLAC" "96 kHz" "6 ch", "24 bit" and "6.30 Mbps".

So I'm curious as to why you say there is no support for Blu-ray audio. When playing Dolby Atmos or DTS MA-HD rips I do not see these "logos" but the sound quality is identical to if the disc was playing in my Oppo 203.

 

Interesting. I wish I could locate the post where I recall (possibly someone from eversolo??) writing there was no Dolby ATMOS support. Perhaps I should have verified the validity of that person's post before commenting rather than just taking their word for it. Now I've developed a mild case of FOMO.

As a matter of interest (as I have a lot of Blu-ray audio discs) have you ever tried ripping a Dolby ATMOS channel identification test track which some discs have to determine how the extra channels get re-directed to what channels in a 5.1 setup?
I recall many years ago an audiophile friend of mine used to rip the 5.1 multichannel tracks from DVD-Audio discs but play them back through a 2 channel DAC and he said there was no channel information lost, but when his setup played back a 5.1 channel identification track we could only hear the front L and front R channels. The audio for the centre, rear L rear R as well as the LFE were absent. This was a completely different case when he played the same channel identification test track on his DVD-Audio player and selected the downmix mode. In this mode none of the audio was lost. From what I understand MLP has the downmixing "data" embedded in the audio which "instructs" the player on how to handle the additional channels in a 2 channel playback system when replaying a multichannel track. Now I fully appreciate MLP is not the same as Dolby ATMOS or dts MA-HD.

When I have an opportunity to do so I will have a go at ripping a Dolby ATMOS blu-ray disc using the programs you mentioned. It would be great to add all of these tracks to my DMP-A6 library instead of having to put a physical disc in one of my Blu-ray players. Thanks for the heads up. Most appreciated.

 

Just to be clear I'm not saying the DMP-A6 supports Atmos. I'm saying that the DMP-A6 will play an Atmos file downmixed to 5.1. One that comes to mind is the latest DSOTM Blu-ray with an Atmos mix. I read on the Steve Hoffman forum that several members liked the Atmos mix better than the 5.1 mix when played on a 5.1 system. I found that I liked the Atmos mix better when compared to the 5.1 mix. I have ripped a number of other Blu-rays with Atmos mixes as well and have played them with the DMP-A6. I do not notice any loss of channel information with any of those mixes. Most of these mixes are of albums I'm familiar with so any missing channel information would be obvious.

The one thing that I found with most Atmos mixes is that the volume is 10-15dB lower in volume than DTS MA-HD mixes. In other words when playing a DTS MA-HD mix cranked up the volume digital display of my Emotiva XMC-1 is usually around -20dB. When playing Atmos mixes the volume digital display is around -10dB or more. This is a concern as it could be an issue if I switch to some other music where that -10dB volume setting will be waaaaaay to loud.

I have not tried this but if if time allows and I can figure out how to rip just the test audio I'll try it.

I have never tried this as I play all of my DVD-As in 5.1 whether it's with the DMP-A6 or with my Oppo 203.

Sounds good. I'll be curious as to your thoughts on this.

 

Thanks for the reply @Bill Mac Yes, that 10dB difference in playback level could be an issue especially if the previous track you played was ATMOS and you had already had the wick turned up. Since owning my DMP-A6 I had to go back and re-rip some of my old CDs and normalise them so there wasn't any really noticeable average peak level differences from album to album which could be annoying in play on demand mode or in mixed playlists.

 

I prefer extracting sacd-iso to dsf. not all my machines support iso, and not all my machines have multichannel outputs. So i can point mch libraries to the machines that understand them and have a 'small' foodprint for my portable stereo sacd player.

The output of the eversolo is marine blue. There is no no video option for hdmi. Audio is just send between a static video value. So you get a nice solid color onscreen. Otherwise a tv or avr will start doubting the connection.

i have not found a way to save tidal songs onto the eversolo. (so i gues the same aplies to apple or qobuz)

No video! look into the zidoo brand for video.
The zidoo has a BD player that alows you to run dvd-a iso's but at the time (i tested) it was not working correct.

 

I believe the DMP-A6 Gen 2 Max SSD is 4TB, not 8TB

 

I have no issues storing my qobuz tracks locally on my 4TB SSD. I added the SSD to my network, added the path in the qobuz downloader and it successfully loads onto the SSD, including album jackets etc. flac, dsd etc

 

Supports M.2 NVMe SSD
The SSD slot on the bottom supports up to 8TB SSD, allowing you to expand your music library. High-speed interfaces ensure instant loading and playback, everything is smooth and stable.

 

Then why does my owner'a manual for my Gen 2 say 4TB

From eversolo:

Key specifications
Interface: M.2 NVMe 3.0
Form Factor: 2280
Maximum Capacity: 4TB

 

That is not what intend with downloading tidal.
Downloading files from streaming services are copies of favorites (or tracks inside a playlist) that can be accessed without internet connection.
They are only accessible within the stream services player.

A qobuz file downloaded and payed for is freely to use as personal copy.

 

They don't update their manuals!

 

No idea what you're telling me. OP asked if qobuz worked and it does.

 

So their manuals, their website and everything else they've posted online is incorrect?

If you can post a link from eversolo that confirms it, then I'll believe it.

 

https://eversolo.com/Product/index/model/DMP-A6+Gen+2/target/GmOiCZnWE6feq7k9e[ld]3ulg==.html#/

 

I stand corrected. Shame they don't update the actual OWNER'S MANUAL

Must've changed with an update along the way. I obviously missed the meeting.

 

The NVMe maximum capacity is not a limit the Eversolo software puts on istel9f, or is forced to comply to by compiled libraries: it is, eventually, a limitation dictated by the underlying OS - which is Linux - and as such should support well beyond 8TB.
Ext4 theoretically could reach 1EB, although due to FS-tables it could be constrained to 50TB.
ExFat, OTOH could reach 128PB, although for reasons similar to the Ext4, a more reasonable 256TB is accepted as a physical limit.
As you can see, 4TB is more a "better safe than sorry" size, rather than a really supported one. If the OS supports it, then you can use it, and the proof is that people are indeed using 8TB NVMe's despite Eversolo not confirming it anywhere...

HTH

 

According to link (above) sent to me by SVIDEO, Eversolo has confirmed it or supports it, given it's in their sales documentation

Either way, good to know 8TB works