Kasman Posted February 25, 2024 Posted February 25, 2024 Does anyone know if the A8 can output BOTH rca and XLR at the same time? I’m thinking for subwoofer integration.
Robbiefest Posted February 25, 2024 Posted February 25, 2024 12 minutes ago, Kasman said: Does anyone know if the A8 can output BOTH rca and XLR at the same time? I’m thinking for subwoofer integration. I have an A6 and via my preamp I would switch between rca/xlr instantly. It’s likely they were both outputting at the same time. In the source option u must select xlr/cd as the output
Silent Screamer Posted March 24, 2024 Posted March 24, 2024 On 12/12/2023 at 4:33 PM, pjohn said: Wholeheartedly disagree! Many of us who have done the research and have acquired a DAC we are happy with don’t want to buy a unit just so we can bypass the DAC it came with. We want to build on the investment we have already made. If the pre packaged unit suits you thats fine. But some of us like more flexibility to customise our gear, I think there is a market for just a streaming transport with a touchscreen. As there is a market for the Streamer DAC . Agree and I probably would have bought it if it existed. I am using the digital out to an active crossover that applies 8 DACs after the processing, so I am unlikely to ever use the internal DACs in the unit.
Silent Screamer Posted March 24, 2024 Posted March 24, 2024 On 14/02/2024 at 7:39 AM, Robbiefest said: If I had to chose between the A6 and the Node N130, I'd probably stick with the Bluesound Node. To me it's a more authentic sound, meaning closer to what I would imagine Vinyl and analogue reproduction sounds like. It's many years since I've heard a pure analogue source, but with the Node, my imagination very much allows me to feel as though I'm in the recording environment, in the room or club of the recording. There's a palpable aliveness about the Node, which the A6 generally can't reproduce at this time. I'm presuming changing over the A6 power supply to a PD Creative linear power supply as I did with the Node, will up the anti, and the A6 will gain a little in that authenticity. Be very keen to hear your thought on the A6 ME power upgrade when you do it. You mention the unit taking a little while to burn in. I am running my ME through an active crossover so I am bypassing the internal DAC, so the differences I am hearing is purely source changes only. I haven't had it running long but at first it seem a little over detailed and maybe a bit harsh (or maybe I am mistaking the detail for being harsh). But whatever it is I wasn't immediately sure if I liked it. It is chalk and cheese from my previous source, but it was a bit overwhelming at first. A couple of weeks in I think it seems to be loosing a bit of that sharp edge it seemed to have first up, and I am enjoying the much improved sound stage.
Robbiefest Posted March 24, 2024 Posted March 24, 2024 13 hours ago, Silent Screamer said: Be very keen to hear your thought on the A6 ME power upgrade when you do it. You mention the unit taking a little while to burn in. I am running my ME through an active crossover so I am bypassing the internal DAC, so the differences I am hearing is purely source changes only. I haven't had it running long but at first it seem a little over detailed and maybe a bit harsh (or maybe I am mistaking the detail for being harsh). But whatever it is I wasn't immediately sure if I liked it. It is chalk and cheese from my previous source, but it was a bit overwhelming at first. A couple of weeks in I think it seems to be loosing a bit of that sharp edge it seemed to have first up, and I am enjoying the much improved sound stage. Well I was only thinking last night, that finally my A6 ME sounds like the real deal. I bought it in October, put the pdcreative power supply in around 3 to 4 weeks ago and waited. The first few days with the new power supply was pretty dissappointing. It was all over the place. Bass was super boomy and it actually lost some of it's charm. The A6 was sounding ok just prior to the power supply change, but I don't think it was going to mature or change any more. I still preferred the Node. Last night I had a listening session with the A6 ME with PC Creative power supply. It now has a super large sound scape, ( which is always what I'm seeking ) , more detail than the Node, the bass response is much more musical than a few weeks ago etc. Overall it's very musical and listenable now. It'a a much fatter sounding machine with the new power supply, it's not harsh at all. I would say I've eeked out all the charm and music from the ESS chips that its going to give and for a long time I thought it's not going to get there. The 2 machines still present imaging and bass a bit differently so I'm happy to have the 2 in my setup. The Node still has a fuller thicker bottom end, but which tends to suggest a bit more muscle, but the A6 has better seperation and inner detail. It's easier to hear into the recording. I never use an external dac from the A6 but from the Node I have to use my Bryston DAC to get that big bottom end. If I don't the Node is very sweet and relatively open, just lacking that last 5% of muscle power in the lower end. 1
Silent Screamer Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 3 hours ago, Robbiefest said: Well I was only thinking last night, that finally my A6 ME sounds like the real deal. I bought it in October, put the pdcreative power supply in around 3 to 4 weeks ago and waited. The first few days with the new power supply was pretty dissappointing. It was all over the place. Bass was super boomy and it actually lost some of it's charm. The A6 was sounding ok just prior to the power supply change, but I don't think it was going to mature or change any more. I still preferred the Node. Last night I had a listening session with the A6 ME with PC Creative power supply. It now has a super large sound scape, ( which is always what I'm seeking ) , more detail than the Node, the bass response is much more musical than a few weeks ago etc. Overall it's very musical and listenable now. It'a a much fatter sounding machine with the new power supply, it's not harsh at all. I would say I've eeked out all the charm and music from the ESS chips that its going to give and for a long time I thought it's not going to get there. The 2 machines still present imaging and bass a bit differently so I'm happy to have the 2 in my setup. The Node still has a fuller thicker bottom end, but which tends to suggest a bit more muscle, but the A6 has better seperation and inner detail. It's easier to hear into the recording. I never use an external dac from the A6 but from the Node I have to use my Bryston DAC to get that big bottom end. If I don't the Node is very sweet and relatively open, just lacking that last 5% of muscle power in the lower end. Thanks for the update. Last night I got looking at a YT video on the LHY x Beatechnik LPS-A6 PSU Kit. Seem to be a lot of positive reviews about it in the comments, although not everyone is reporting the same things. Which is probably not that unexpected considering people have different systems, and some are using the DAC and others aren't. The common thread seem to be a bigger sound stage and a bit more detail, but most aren't reporting super huge differences over the A6 ME. Which leads me to think at $286 USD (probably close to $500 AUD converted) is it really worth spending the money? I mean there is a $1000 difference between the A6 ME and the A8, spending $500 on the A6 ME puts you half way there, or do you just sell the A6 ME and just buy the A8? The A8 supposedly has better DACs (which I currently wouldn't use) and a pre amp I also wouldn't use , but it does have a LPS on the analog section, which at the moment I wouldn't use. BUT if ever I decided I wanted to move away from the active crossover I would be better positioned with the A8. Hard to say if a LPS is a smart investment for the A6 ME.
jeromelang Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 When I first got the a8 I had it connected into the Playback Designs MPS-5 DAC via coaxial and USB, onto Pass Labs x350 and Sony SS-M9ED in the bedroom system and found the bass a bit truncated - meaning the real deep lower frequencies were missing. I thought that was due to the digital interface problem. Then I got it connected via it's analog RCA output into Sony TA-N1 and SS-M9ED in the living room and found that Tidal on the A8 sound so lightweight and lacking deep bass extension compared against the the Tidal app on my Philips OLED936 TV. Yet, when I drive TV sounds (Netflix, Disney, youtube) into the A8 via its eARC input, I don't find any truncated bass at all. Is there an issue with Tidal on the A8?
Robbiefest Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 4 hours ago, Silent Screamer said: Thanks for the update. Last night I got looking at a YT video on the LHY x Beatechnik LPS-A6 PSU Kit. Seem to be a lot of positive reviews about it in the comments, although not everyone is reporting the same things. Which is probably not that unexpected considering people have different systems, and some are using the DAC and others aren't. The common thread seem to be a bigger sound stage and a bit more detail, but most aren't reporting super huge differences over the A6 ME. Which leads me to think at $286 USD (probably close to $500 AUD converted) is it really worth spending the money? I mean there is a $1000 difference between the A6 ME and the A8, spending $500 on the A6 ME puts you half way there, or do you just sell the A6 ME and just buy the A8? The A8 supposedly has better DACs (which I currently wouldn't use) and a pre amp I also wouldn't use , but it does have a LPS on the analog section, which at the moment I wouldn't use. BUT if ever I decided I wanted to move away from the active crossover I would be better positioned with the A8. Hard to say if a LPS is a smart investment for the A6 ME. I personally knew the sound of the PD Creative power supply and what it did for my Node so I wasn't willing to gamble with the Beatechnik. The A6 ME and Node now have a lot of similarities in their sound, which is what I was hoping for as the Node to me, is very musical. Unfortunately I bought the A6 a week before they announced the A8 and I had held off for a long time. Would I have spent the extra $1000 at the time though? Probably not. I got a $200 discount on the A6 at the hifi show in Oct 2023 which is what pushed me into buying it. Isn't funny how when it first came onto the market it was getting nothing but rave reviews but as soon as the a8 was announced people change their minds. I'd tried a few ESS dacs and got rid of them all and I would say I'll not go down that path again, but whilst I have an A6 ME, I'll just live with it. Once you're into the $3000 range it's a whole other world . I'm pretty sure if I had an A8 to try, i'd like it and be more drawn to the AKM sound.
joz Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 49 minutes ago, Robbiefest said: Isn't funny how when it first came onto the market it was getting nothing but rave reviews but as soon as the a8 was announced people change their minds. Certainly is isn’t it!
Silent Screamer Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 48 minutes ago, Robbiefest said: I personally knew the sound of the PD Creative power supply and what it did for my Node so I wasn't willing to gamble with the Beatechnik. The A6 ME and Node now have a lot of similarities in their sound, which is what I was hoping for as the Node to me, is very musical. Unfortunately I bought the A6 a week before they announced the A8 and I had held off for a long time. Would I have spent the extra $1000 at the time though? Probably not. I got a $200 discount on the A6 at the hifi show in Oct 2023 which is what pushed me into buying it. Isn't funny how when it first came onto the market it was getting nothing but rave reviews but as soon as the a8 was announced people change their minds. I'd tried a few ESS dacs and got rid of them all and I would say I'll not go down that path again, but whilst I have an A6 ME, I'll just live with it. Once you're into the $3000 range it's a whole other world . I'm pretty sure if I had an A8 to try, i'd like it and be more drawn to the AKM sound. While I tend to be drawn to more expensive stuff. In this particular case I don't know if it would be a worth while step up in price (for me). And even after you spend the extra $1000 I would still only be getting a SMPS for the digital side I am using, So it would probably need a future upgrade or wait for the A8 ME which might have LPS on both. I would probably look at an external DAC if I wasn't happy with the Sabre, and knowing me would opt for something above the AKM level. Looking at (which is no judge of quality) the PD Creative just looks a bit beefier than the other one. And probably landed with GST might be $100 cheaper.
Silent Screamer Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 6 hours ago, Robbiefest said: I personally knew the sound of the PD Creative power supply.... I hope you're right. I've just ordered one. Will see soon enough.
Robbiefest Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 58 minutes ago, Silent Screamer said: I hope you're right. I've just ordered one. Will see soon enough. just give it a few weeks to settle down .
Silent Screamer Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 8 hours ago, Robbiefest said: just give it a few weeks to settle down . Will do. Can I having it playing music without the crossover / amps turned on?
Robbiefest Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 7 minutes ago, Silent Screamer said: Will do. Can I having it playing music without the crossover / amps turned on? Can you explain about cross over / amps please? I have no idea what they are, where they are in your system and how they change the sound? It sounds like some form of EQ?
Silent Screamer Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Robbiefest said: Can you explain about cross over / amps please? I have no idea what they are, where they are in your system and how they change the sound? It sounds like some form of EQ? I have the A6 ME connected to a GroundSound DCN28 active crossover via USB / Halcro multi channel amp. I was wondering for burn in, can I just leave it playing without any other gear turned on. Edited March 25, 2024 by Silent Screamer
Robbiefest Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 4 minutes ago, Silent Screamer said: I have the A6 ME connected to a GroundSound DCN28 active crossover via USB / Halcro multi channel amp. I was wondering for burn in, can I just leave it playing without any other gear turned on. Not sure about the leaving on without being connected. I had mine running via analogue RCA to my preamp. When I went to work, I'd just leave it running at low volume. If you're going to be using USB out all the time, I personally would leave the groundsound on as well as leaving the a6 running. I used paradise radio so it would give signal all day. I'm sure you'll get differing views on whether it needs to have signal coming out of it to break in. I'll do some research on the Groundsound. I'd not hear of them before. Cheers. 1
joz Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 7 minutes ago, Silent Screamer said: I have the A6 ME connected to a GroundSound DCN28 active crossover via USB / Halcro multi channel amp. I was wondering for burn in, can I just leave it playing without any other gear turned on. I would think just leave it running without amps on. 1
Silent Screamer Posted March 25, 2024 Posted March 25, 2024 5 minutes ago, Robbiefest said: Not sure about the leaving on without being connected. I had mine running via analogue RCA to my preamp. When I went to work, I'd just leave it running at low volume. If you're going to be using USB out all the time, I personally would leave the groundsound on as well as leaving the a6 running. I used paradise radio so it would give signal all day. I'm sure you'll get differing views on whether it needs to have signal coming out of it to break in. I'll do some research on the Groundsound. I'd not hear of them before. Cheers. GroundSound was like the European version of a top level DEQX of its day (except it is 4 way). OK GroundSound ON amp OFF it will be for now (unless I actually want to listen. Good idea, I can stream a local station.
Damranger Posted May 31, 2024 Posted May 31, 2024 Roon Ready certification has just been announced https://roon.app/en/partners/187/eversoloaudio The new firmware will start rollout from June 3
Robbiefest Posted June 1, 2024 Posted June 1, 2024 1 hour ago, Damranger said: Roon Ready certification has just been announced https://roon.app/en/partners/187/eversoloaudio The new firmware will start rollout from June 3 I presume this is for the A8. I believe the A6 is already Roon ready. I've been using Roon on the A6 for a few weeks now.
Damranger Posted June 1, 2024 Posted June 1, 2024 25 minutes ago, Robbiefest said: I presume this is for the A8. Yes, the A8 has only just received the certification in the last day or two.
oldrose Posted June 1, 2024 Posted June 1, 2024 1 hour ago, Damranger said: Yes, the A8 has only just received the certification in the last day or two. Finally! This makes the A8 a very good buy for Roon users.
Robbiefest Posted June 1, 2024 Posted June 1, 2024 20 hours ago, oldrose said: Finally! This makes the A8 a very good buy for Roon users. PIty Roon isn't a good buy for anyone due to the high price.
oldrose Posted June 1, 2024 Posted June 1, 2024 43 minutes ago, Robbiefest said: PIty Roon isn't a good buy for anyone due to the high price. Expensive yes but I’m finding it good value after a few aborted trials.
powerav Posted June 2, 2024 Posted June 2, 2024 1 hour ago, Robbiefest said: PIty Roon isn't a good buy for anyone due to the high price. This is how I justify price and especially to wife, I started subscription around July so my tax return pays for it each year.
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