Audiophilepure

In fact, this chip is more of an SOC than a simple DAC, embedding all kinds of features like advanced 32-bit oversampled multi-bit modulator with mismatch shaping technology, or an Integrated GND-centered, enhanced by a dual set of SGM8262 Op-Amp for the power amp part. What’s even more interesting, is the fact that this time, you can switch between Class A/B and Class-D mode, in case you’d prefer a specific sound signature, in addition to the usual roll-off settings.

Add to that the ability to decode PCM signal up to 32bit/768kHz and even DSD256 files on the go, super low distortion (<0.00045%@32ohms), equally low noise floor (<1.7uV) and very good signal to noise ratio (>123dB), and you get a killer dongle.

PS Audio’s rationale for that decision is because the company feels that USB is a noisier carrier to SPDIF or I²S. While that may be true, I caution the reader to take any blanket statement of standards with a grain of salt. During the AirLens and MK2 review, I had an in-depth conversation with a designer of a dedicated NOS (non-oversampling) DAC that has only one output – USB. That designer considers an external I²S connection to be redundant and inefficient and refuses to use it! That how the audio industry rolls; one designer swears off USB and the other promotes it! The audiophile is left scratching their head. I have encountered such contradictions consistently, so it no longer shocks me. In one sense, I could care less whether the favored connection is USB or I²S, may the best sounding connection in my system win!

https://www.hifinews.com/content/eversolo-dmp-a8

This live album contains recordings made at different locations over a two-year timespan, which gives some tracks a very different feel than others, and the precise portrayal delivered by the DMP-A8 revealed the changes. Maalouf’s ‘Beirut’ for example, which recounts his childhood story of wandering off into his war-torn hometown and witnessing something so horrible he can only relate it via music (which explains the mad Led Zeppelin-infused outro), was so pitch-perfect that I felt almost present in the Nantes hall in which it was recorded.

Maalouf has a customised trumpet with an extra valve to sometimes play shrill-sounding quarter-notes. On some playback systems this can be a bit much, but Eversolo’s DMP-A8 seemed able to steer clear of stridency. In any case, if the combination with certain loudspeakers had introduced some harshness, the DSP in the Eversolo streamer would have allowed me to slightly roll off the high frequencies, making for a more mellow representation.

I will say that the balanced output sounds significantly better than the single-ended, though that didn’t seem to be a problem with the VALI 2++, yet I feel the Mystique Y has a greater affinity to solid-state amplifiers, the soundstage was definitely larger with solid-state. (Note: Benjamin Zwickel, the designer, tells me that the single-ended output is the most direct, that the balanced output stage is after the single-ended, he posits that the improvement I hear is more on the side of the amplifiers than the DAC) There is also the question of noise floor which is the primary focus of the Mystique Y, tube amps just can’t compete with current solid-state, especially current mode amplifiers in noise floor and dynamic range though the VALI 2++ comes close being a hybrid.