mthartenstein Posted February 11 Posted February 11 I just bought an Eversolo DMP-A6 ME. I've attached it to an existing preamp, Rogue RP1, and from there it feeds a NAD C298 power amp. I like the Eversolo. It replaces a Bluesound Node 2i purchased about four years ago. But I'm encountering a problem with sibilance on female voices and I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered it and, if so, have they found a way to mitigate it. It most likely is a system compatibility issue. But if anyone has any thoughts I'd love to hear them. Thanks, Mike
reignofchaos Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Yep the internal dac of the DMP-A6/A6-ME is extremely edgy. I have an A6-ME but I never use its internal dac due to this issue. USB output to an external dac sounds fantastic however.
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 12 Volunteer Posted February 12 On 12/2/2025 at 1:34 AM, mthartenstein said: I've attached it to an existing preamp, Rogue RP1, and from there it feeds a NAD C298 power amp. Can you try the Eversolo as a preamp direct to the NAD? 1
georgehifi Posted February 12 Posted February 12 1 hour ago, sir sanders zingmore said: Can you try the Eversolo as a preamp direct to the NAD? Definitely the 1st course of action, as the "not needed added gain" of the active pre is always a source of something that "can/could" go wrong. If you have enough loudness "going direct" then an active pre with even more gain is a negative rather than a positive, unless it's a tube preamp and you want some tube colorations/distortions. Cheers George 1
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 12 Volunteer Posted February 12 1 minute ago, georgehifi said: unless it's a tube preamp and you want some tube colorations/distortions. I think the Rogue RP1 is a tube preamp with apparently a very good phono stage. So I can fully understand wanting to keep it in the chain. I guess my suggestion was more about troubleshooting - if the sibilance is gone when the Eversolo is connected directly then we know that something else is the cause. 1
georgehifi Posted February 12 Posted February 12 (edited) 34 minutes ago, sir sanders zingmore said: if the sibilance is gone when the Eversolo is connected directly then we know that something else is the cause. Yes the preamp. BTW @mthartenstein your Eversolo can output 5.2v, and your Nad only needs 1.4v in to get to full wattage output, before clipping (and it has input level control), like having a passive preamp if you need to use it. Shows you how much you need an active preamp with even more gain. All your doing is robbing Peter to pay Paul with another active gadget in the signal path and extra set of inter connects that go with it. If you need/use the phono stage then you have decisions to make Cheers George Edited February 12 by georgehifi
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 12 Volunteer Posted February 12 25 minutes ago, georgehifi said: Yes the preamp. BTW @mthartenstein your Eversolo can output 5.2v, Could the Eversolo be overdriving the preamp perhaps? Maybe that’s the issue. Easily tested by reducing the output of the Eversolo
georgehifi Posted February 12 Posted February 12 (edited) 45 minutes ago, sir sanders zingmore said: Could the Eversolo be overdriving the preamp perhaps? Maybe that’s the issue. Easily tested by reducing the output of the Eversolo Yes that's a possibility, but if you do it's leaving the analog output noise/distortions of the Eversolo where they are, and just reducing the digital domain volume ( maybe adding bit striping also), then boosting those Eversolo distortions/noises even higher with the Rogue active pre gain and then it's own noise and distortions added to that also. This is what I meant robbing Peter to pay Paul, it's a no win. Your always better to use all the output the source/s have to give if you can, with the minimum additional gain to then be able to run the power amp/s to clipping. Cheers George Edited February 12 by georgehifi
mthartenstein Posted February 13 Author Posted February 13 Wow everyone, thanks for your thinking about this. I hadn't thought of removing the RP1 from the signal path to see if it changes the sibilance issue. I'll give that a try tomorrow. I realize that the streamer has a separate preamp but I really like the sound the tube front-end of the Rogue imparts to the signal. I really smooths things out a bit. I don't need the phone stage. I had hoped that the DAC in the Eversolo could serve multiple purposes. I have an older NAD CD player that I toslinked to the Eversolo so I could use it's DAC and leave the NAD as transport only. I don't use the CD much but with the change it sounds much fuller, a definite improvement. Your comments about the various gain stages multiplying the incoming signal to saturation are well-considered. I've been playing with the settings of the Eversolo and the Rogue. However, I've found the answer isn't as simple as I'd hoped. If I source internet radio the input is quite high. With Qobuz the gain is probably half that of the radio and within it the volume varies significantly depending on the recording. I suspect the gain increases exponentially. I'll play around more tomorrow and let you know what I find. Thanks for all your help. Mike 1
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