The Eversolo Z8

There’s a lot to love about the Eversolo Z8 DAC.

In this post I’ll be covering my personal thoughts on the Z8’s performance as a dac & preamp combo, it’s feature set and how it compares to a recent purchase in relation to sound then finally its value proposition in the market. We trialled the Eversolo Z8 for a month as our primary DAC and Preamp to the main entertainment system in our family room.

Z8 Gallery

More than just a beautiful box

A text came through to my phone notifying me of an item to pick up at the post office YES!. Living in the country I’ve become accustomed to waiting for the post to arrive. Initially when we moved here it was a challenge to deal with extended delivery times compared to the big smoke normally receiving the post within 24-48 hours. So waiting close to a week for a delivery can be a frustrating experience!

The bright side of the extended wait time is feeling like a kid again, waiting in anticipation for a promised date to come around; Christmas, Easter…the impatient excitement would grow as the date approached. The same now goes for mail delivery. Yes, it’s what passes for excitement now in”old age”! That sense of excitement with the notification “you’ve got mail”! There are some upsides to waiting.

Quickly jumping into the car I zipped down to the post office at an appropriate speed of course 🙂 to get my long awaited stuff and things. I already knew what it was but the excitement was still there as I would shortly be unpacking my new toy, plugging it in and audibly feasting on the new sound signature yet to be experienced.

The brown box it arrived in was nothing to look at, just your standard postal shipping box. Cutting the tape and unfolding the panels to reveal another brown box ! YaY  a box within a box, like pass the parcel peeling away each layer to reveal what’s actually inside. Now this box had a nice looking Eversolo logo and some print, again opening the panels to reveal yet another box, this one much sexier than the last, sleek, elegant and nicely designed with embedded patterns that pops at every angle, here we go!

Overall it’s a pretty cool concept actually building on the anticipation for the receiver. The box in a box process also protects the final more expensive box inside, three boxes in total. You can see the final parts of the process in the images above; overall it’s a very cool concept and makes the experience more fun.

My initial thoughts are that great effort has been put into the packaging. If the same level of detail is put into the Eversolo Z8 we will be in for a real treat; I’m now seriously looking forward to getting the Eversolo hooked up to our main system and putting it through it’s paces.

The Eversolo Z8 itself is a sleek, attractive matte black box that can easily blend into your setup or be a stand out component. If you like UV meters and dimmable lights the Z8 has got you covered 🙂

The matt black finish does leave finger prints but it’s not a toy you’ll be touching all the time so once it’s in the final resting place give it a wipe down and leave it alone. And if the wife or hubby has cats, keep them the heck away from it.

One of the first things that grabbed me was the build quality of the Z8 and its weight. The Z8 is really well built and you can see this in every aspect from the packaging to the attention to small details like the front badge and illumination of various components on the front panel. The back of the DAC is well thought out with defined separate sections for input and output with plenty of space to get your fingers in to make connections.

I’ll link to the Eversolo website at the end of this post if you’re interested in more detail.

What’s in the box?

– Eversolo Z8

– Remote control + Batteries

– USB cable

– Power cable

– Antenna

– Manuals

– Protective jacket

Eversolo specs from their website for your convenience.

Functional overview

Connectivity Notes

Here i’ll list the inputs/ outputs but also provide a little more info and functional examples as to what can be connected to each.

Inputs

– USB-B

– USB-C

— Connect a Roon Labs Core mini PC or Nucleus server for your local library and access external streaming services + more

– Toslink/ Fibre (Optical)

– Coaxial

— Connect either Toslink or Coax from your TV to upgrade the sound with better speakers from your primary setup and really up your TV audio game.

— Connect a streamer like WiiM Mini or WiiM Pro to up your streaming game.

– Bluetooth

— not my bag for sound quality but it’s there making connecting and streaming from a phone or other device super easy which is a great convenience

Outputs

There are 2 primary outputs that can be used at the same time or individually + a stand alone headphone jack.

– Balanced XLR

– RCA

— Both of these can go directly to a power amp, another preamp or physical EQ’s if you so desire.

– Headphone jack

— yes you can directly connect a pair of head phones 😉 making this a very versatile unit!

Dials/ Buttons

Yep it has some

– Power on/ off button

– Big volume knob that you can physically turn up/ down triggering the LCD display to show the appropriate volume SPL

– Press the volume knob to enter the setup menu

– Turning the volume while in the menu lets you select menu options

— Even better use the remote or your device to access the menu and make the appropriate changes it’s much faster and easier.

Display

Great looking 3″ multi colour LCD screen

– Cool looking VU Meters (about 4 to choose from if i remember correctly)

– Volume SPL

– Current Input/ Output

– Audio Quality

– MQA Decoding

– Menu

Remote

Its a remote, plastic with rubber buttons. It’s not a hand crafted machined steel remote that you might get when purchasing a much more expensive component system but hey it’s a remote, it works well and you get a remote app as well. So if that floats your boat which it did for me then everything you need is covered.

– You get a physical remote that works well

– The app runs on both iOS and Android

— Lots of additional functionality when using the app if you wish to dig into the weeds of what the Z8 has to offer.

Cables

– USB-B – included

– USB-C – not included

– Power – included

What’s it sound like?

Even though we had the Z8 setup for a month I’ll cherry pick a few listening sessions that stood out for me as that’s why we are all here to find out how the Z8 performs, right?

Eversolo PCM Filters Are Important – Please Adjust Accordingly

For the initial setup I left all the defaults. There is a PCM filter section in the menu that allows you to change the sound characteristics. It’s very useful for different sized rooms and frequency roll off. The default was set to “fast roll off medium phase” which I believe is the right setting for our room and seating position “medium close”.

After having the defaults for a few days I thought we should check the other filters, initial thoughts are that there is little to no difference. Well that’s what I thought at the time. Interestingly enough when I left the filter alone and proceeded to listen to music, I found that the sound stage was narrower and more recessed from initial listening, very strange.

Eventually I remembered I had messed around with the PCM filter and dived back in to make a few adjustments back to “fast roll off medium phase”. Once the change was made everything was right with the world again. The difference was remarkable reverting back to a wider stage, faster decay and attack sharpening the sound with more detail and just filling the room with glorious sound.

I highly recommend if you go for the Z8 please check the PCM filters and adjust for your room size and preferred listening bias. Take your time over multiple sessions as I discovered it took time for my ears to adjust before I could really tell the difference between filters.

Eversolo PCM Room Filtes

Musical Interludes

Sitting in my favourite spot between the speakers kicking back listening to some semi Jazz “Also Sprach Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss I find myself getting lost in the music again. I could sit here and blab on about rich textural soundscapes and detailed treble blah blah blah and maybe some of you would like to hear about such things. What I can tell you very honestly is the EverSolo Z8 delivers in spades for the price both in sound quality and features.

When a device allows you to escape the everyday doldrums and helps put a pep in your step and a smile on your dial by conveying emotions through the music, you’re enjoying it and that’s really what it’s all about.

Here’s what I’m hearing just for those who are chasing a little more meat on the bone. I’ll keep it simple, straightforward and in bullet point form:

– Great sound stage very full and with the right speaker placement for your speakers it’s quite wide. I’ve listened to my fair share of DAC’s some do cast a wider stage but for many the Eversolo Z8 will be very plentiful.

– Detailed instrument separation yes it’s important to make sure your speakers and amp are equally matched and I’m basing my impressions of the Z8 DAC on my reference system which makes it easier to tell when swapping out a component what the differences are.

– Stage depth is pretty good allowing you to hear instruments to the front middle and back of the sound stage. Again, there are better DACs out there but you always sacrifice something be it features, performance or price so for what the Z8 delivers it’s a really nice sweet spot.

A new day has flicked over and again I find myself listening to the Z8 this time to “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims. The volume is low to medium around 65 DB and the musical details stream through with great emotion. Teddy’s vocals come across warm and clear with substance and balance, super neutral in tone and not coloured in the slightest. Mids and bass come through with texture like a warm hug, the soul in his voice moves right through you – WoW love it!

I enjoyed it so much I had to play it thrice 🙂 Funny enough this is the very first time I’ve heard this song – Love using Roon for new music introductions; that’s a full post for another time.

Last but not least I thought some old school soft rock from 1996 “(I Just) Died in your arms tonight (extended mix)” by The Cutting Crew. Great example of soft rock with drums, electric guitar and synths throughout. The lead singer’s voice was just as I remembered it growing up. Deep and emotional cutting through the air like a hot knife through butter – love it! The snare drums are tight, great kick bass all super clear and very enjoyable. Every note was clearly represented and moved me as it once did. God I love music.

Eversolo Z8 as a Preamp for connecting a TV

In our house we have a Sonos sound bar plus play ones for rear sound. The Sonos makes listening to the TV audio a much improved experience over the built in speakers. These sound bars are great but have their limitations and since we have a proper HiFi setup sitting right there alongside the TV it just makes good sense to use the HiFi for TV audio.

With the Eversolo Z8 we have the option to connect the TV output either via Coax or Toslink Optical. Most modern TVs will have both plus HDMI for a neat single cable solution, using HDMI allows using a single TV remote to control the volume of the preamp.

In this setup we are using optical as there is no HDMI option on the Z8. It’s still simple enough to pick up the Z8 remote or use the iOS app to change the input to the TV and change the volume – super simples (for those that know the reference, for those who don’t take a look at Compare the Meir Cat commercial in case you didn’t get the reference here’s a quick link to one of the vids it’s worth the watch, very clever!)

Now seriously anyone who hasn’t upgraded their TV by adding external speakers should consider doing so. If you’re into home entertainment you don’t need to spend tens of thousands on a new Dolby Atmos blah blah by dropping 5, 10, 20k+  on a system and let me tell you those numbers are low-balling how much can be spent on a decent home entertainment setup.

For many a simple 2 (L+R speakers) or 2.1 (L+R speaker + Sub) system will deliver in spades over your TVs internal speakers above and beyond a sound bar which is still an upgrade. We’re not going to dive into sound bars vs separates discussion in this post so to keep on track with the Z8 review, in summary the Z8 can take inputs from your TV and connect to your main system if you so desire acting as a preamp to help enhance your visual and audio experience.

…

Final Thoughts.

Compare The DACs

Quick comparison for you with the SMSL SU-1 I purchased earlier in the year. What a great value little unit…for the full review check out our article on the SU-1 post.

It’s not a fair apples to apples comparison as the Z8 is more of an all-rounder with more features asking a higher price tag. In reality finding exact like for like is a hard task as there will always be something in the mix to give one of the components an advantage.

We really have 2 different audiences in mind here with use cases but what it boils down to is the sound signature which we will discuss in more detail below.

– The SU-1 is a small compact entry level DAC which sounds amazing for the price tag about AUD$150 inc GST

– Z8 wins on features hands down

– Both have a similar sound stage width + depth

– Both reveal detailed sound of instruments when paired with correct speakers and amp

– Z8 wins on build quality

– Z8 wins on visual presentation

– Each DAC has its own sound signature both being neutral but each does have its own bias presenting slightly differently with the Z8 being on the warmer side of neutral while the SU-1 is more on the cooler side of neutral slightly analytical, what you prefer is simply a matter of taste and how each DAC suites your setup.

At the end of the day if you love a neutral sound you’re going to love the sound of the Eversolo Z8 DAC when paired with the right amp and speakers. Pairing is super important when it comes down to it; if you have speakers that are a touch bright and the amp highlights that brightness it’s going to be hard to listen for extended periods of time. With a good pairing the right amp could reduce the brightness of your speakers and the same goes for the right DAC it could take the edge off the final sound exiting the speakers, or if incorrectly paired could make your speakers even brighter adding to listening fatigue.

I’ve listened to speakers costing upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars and they have still been bright. Something more expensive doesn’t automatically make it sound appealing to your ears and on top of that we are all different. As we age hearing loss can mean a speaker that sounds bright to you may be ok for someone else.

With that all in mind I highly recommend the Eversolo Z8 for its feature set, sound quality, smart looks and build quality. It’s an excellent choice for a DAC that can also be used as a preamp allowing for multiple sources to be connected for both input and output with both XLR balanced and RCA connections.

It’s super versatile with the physical tactile remote control you can touch without looking at it’s 3″ screen. In addition, you have the benefit of a mobile app if you so desire to use it as a remote and dive deeper into the weeds of what the Z8 can do while in the comfort of your favourite seating position.

If this is going to be your first DAC or even if you are upgrading you won’t go wrong with the Eversolo Z8; it’s an excellent choice.

RRP $1,200 AUD

RRP price is taken at the time of writing this article.

Would you like to make the Eversolo Z8 part of your setup?

Are you completely new to enhanced home audio, thinking of upgrading or just keen to speak with someone else who is as passionate about sound as you are?

You’ve come to the right place!

Fill out the contact form below or call me direct for a chat about all things Audio/ Video.

speak soon

“”Cheers

Gerardo

Links

Eversolo Z8
Eversolo PCM Room Filtes