A capable streamer and DAC, built as the foundation of a real hi-fi system without a flagship price.
Headfonics called it "the best UI and mirror-control experience I have tried thus far" in a streamer.
AVForums said that as a piece of source equipment, it's "nigh on unbeatable."
Not every system needs (or can justify) a five-figure source component. The DMP-A6 Gen 2 is built for the much larger group of people who just want a genuinely good streamer and DAC that they can build the rest of a system around — and it delivers a lot more than its price tag suggests it should.
Two ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chips run in parallel, one per channel, so each side of the stereo image gets its own dedicated conversion rather than sharing — that means less crosstalk and a cleaner noise floor. A newly upgraded linear power supply replaces the switching supply from the original A6, which is a big part of why this generation sounds noticeably cleaner than its predecessor. It also plays nice with almost anything: Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon Music, Roon, and Bluetooth streaming are all built in, plus HDMI ARC for easy TV pairing and a 10-band EQ if you want to fine-tune the sound to your room.
If you want a legitimately good digital front end without spending flagship money, this is the sensible place to start.
