[mresseguie]

Question:

I see on the T8 website:

"Great transports rely on stable networks, and the T8 gives you plenty of options. The Gigabit Ethernet port is the default choice for serious listening. There is also an SFP fiber socket that breaks the electrical link to your network when paired with compatible modules and a fiber capable switch, which helps keep network noise out of the audio stack. That option is rare at this price and really helps in racks crowded with gear and routers. Wi-Fi 6 is built in for situations where wiring isn’t possible. It works well, but if you can run a wire, you should.

Flip the T8 over and you’ll find dual M.2 SSD bays, where you can install up to 16 TB across both slots to keep a massive local library inside the transport. Solid-state drives run silently, stay reliable, and boot quickly, making them the right match for a noise-sensitive digital front end. There are also USB ports on the rear for connecting external drives, giving you flexibility if you prefer simple plug-and-play storage.

Once loaded, scanning is quick, artwork displays cleanly, and the library view in the app makes local files and streaming services feel like one collection. If you blend a personal library with TIDAL or Qobuz, that integration is a big deal. The T8 can also pull from NAS drives and popular cloud platforms like Dropbox, Plex, Jellyfin, WebDAV, and Emby, turning it into a hub for nearly any library."


Does this ability to incorporate SSDs into the T8 obviate the need for my installing JRiver on my laptop?

[JackD]

Michael

If you transfer any files you have on a computer or NAS to the internal SSD's you should be able to control everything with the Eversolo app.

[mresseguie]

Jack,

Thank you. I think I'll give it a try.

Michael

[mresseguie]

My T8 arrived two days ago. I've got it up and running with only a minimum of difficulty. All my Tidal playlists are available to play. I'm ordering a 4TB card to begin with. An 8TB card's price tag was enough to bring me back to earth.

I'm so delighted to be streaming again.

[Early B.]

My T8 arrived two days ago.

What's your initial impression of the sound? 

[mresseguie]

What's your initial impression of the sound?

It's pretty darned good. There's a bit of brightness, but not as much as I had anticipated from reading other's early impressions. The user interface seems well designed and reasonably easy to learn. I hope to receive the 4TB SSD by Friday, so I can begin loading music onto it soon after.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. It's been months since I streamed on my main system, so I'm delighted with my new toy.

Have you performed any of the upgrades you mentioned earlier?

Michael

[Early B.]

Have you performed any of the upgrades you mentioned earlier?

On Sunday, I handed off my T8 to an audiophile buddy who will be performing the upgrades. I'll report back once the upgrades are completed.

[djbnh]

I've been following this thread, and it prompted me to look for some reviews. Here's a couple from one reviewer:

https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/eversolo-t8-a-review-that-fizzled-out-r1382/ - this review found the unit to be buggy.  However, here's a recent follow-up to the initial review, with comment about mediation of those issues: https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/eversolo-t8-followup-r1403/

Seems the company was quite responsive when issues were reported, great to read that.

[ketchup]

Hey OP- You mentioned that you do not stream music. Now that you have a streamer, have you tried streaming?

[Early B.]

Hey OP- You mentioned that you do not stream music. Now that you have a streamer, have you tried streaming?

No. I have no interest in streaming music. I spend about $40 a year downloading new music via Qobuz, which is cheaper than their $129.99 annual subscription fee. I suppose I'm an outlier for doing it that way. I reluctantly sold my Denafrips Avatar CD transport and began purchasing streamers several years ago because much of the newer music is only available digitally. 

[Nick B]

No. I have no interest in streaming music. I spend about $40 a year downloading new music via Qobuz, which is cheaper than their $129.99 annual subscription fee. I suppose I'm an outlier for doing it that way. I reluctantly sold my Denafrips Avatar CD transport and began purchasing streamers several years ago because much of the newer music is only available digitally.

It's interesting as to different perspectives on this. I gave up on CDs a long time ago. With streaming, I am like a kid in a candy store 24/7. With the amount of music available on Qobuz, it is easily worth the $129.99 and more. I also subscribe to Tidal.

[Early B.]

It's interesting as to different perspectives on this. I gave up on CDs a long time ago. With streaming, I am like a kid in a candy store 24/7. With the amount of music available on Qobuz, it is easily worth the $129.99 and more. I also subscribe to Tidal.

Yeah. Having access to thousands of albums via a streaming service would drive me crazy. My music catalog is very small. I mainly listen critically to the same handful of favorite tracks late at night for about 90 minutes once or twice a month. Mostly vocal jazz. I grew up on 70's R&B, but I rarely play it. I'll admit—I'm an audiophile snob who eschews my favorite music genre because the recording quality doesn't meet my standards. Don't try to make sense out of it.     

[AllanS]

. I'll admit—I'm an audiophile snob who eschews my favorite music genre because the recording quality doesn't meet my standards. Don't try to make sense out of it.   

Makes perfectly good sense.  Most of my collection is best suited to blue tooth to the car stereo windows down at 70.
I use Qobuz mainly to test driving stuff others recommend, most of which doesn’t do much for me.  A lot of my listening lately is modern day FM on the headphones at night - whatever Bill Goldsmith and company curate for the various Radio Paradise streams.

[Early B.]

Here's an update on my T8 upgrades: the mods consisted of replacing the stock clocks with Ian Canada SC-Pure clocks and “installing” a 12V external power supply. The LPS mod is easily reversible.
   
OK, how does it sound? The improvement is very subtle, if at all. On most songs, I hear no difference. It’s only in the best-recorded songs that I believe there's a slight improvement. Since there's no way to A/B, I can't be certain.

The T8 sounds great in stock form. I purchased the clocks, but I already owned the LPS, and a friend performed the mods, so the out-of-pocket expense wasn't excessive. I don't have any regrets about doing the mods. It's all part of the audiophile's journey.

The T8 and LPS are on the bottom of the rack: