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Matrix Audio X-SABRE Pro MQA: Best Audio DAC in the World?

digicidal

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@amirm , Does this mean it is about time for new measuring equipment ???

LOL. Give the current equipment time to get a little dust on it before writing it off as inadequate. ;)
 

Willem

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This is impressive indeed. Does it also have typincal classic pre amp features like balance, tone and loudness controls etc? Those were what made the RME ADI-2 the best DAC for me.
 

Bamyasi

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Thank you @amirm, excellent work as usual! This makes me feel much more confident with placing my order. I just hope Matrix had stockpiled on X-Sabre Pro in advance and would be able to ship my unit soon :) I expect them running out of stock pretty fast now that ASR has spread the word (and plots).
 
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Bamyasi

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A quick question for @MatrixAudio: Can you please confirm that Power Holdings Inc. storefront on Amazon.com is your official vendor? Thank you.
 

gags11

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Wow, just wow!!!
I did kind of expect these results given how Element X measured, and the published specs for this DAC were better.

Having personally experienced this product, I can say the build quality is top notch. As some may have read my comparison thread to Mytek, I couldn’t tell the difference between them. But my ears are not as sensitive as Amir’s analyzer, lol.

Few things I have not mentioned in my comparison thread, and if anyone from Matrix reads this, I hope they have an answer.

Matrix is recognized by Roon and plays fine, but the volume cannot be adjusted through the Roon app. Did I miss something or is this because it is not Roon certified? I also had a glitch with few dsd 64 files, it would play static noise instead of music.
 

maty

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BIG picture from: https://www.suono.it/Hi-Fi/Articoli/Matrix-Audio-X-Sabre-Pro

Optimized

Matrix-Audio-X-SABRE-Pro-MQA-inside.jpg


More: https://www.matrix-digi.com/en/products/319.html

Built-in Pre-AMP

The line output of X-SABRE Pro can be configured with a +18dB digital gain. It's not necessary to add an additional pre-amplifier for low-gain active speakers. X-SABRE Pro also can work with power amplifier more conveniently and flexibly.
 
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Bamyasi

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My main concern at this point is that my Allo USBridge file transport won't recognize X-Sabre Pro since the chip Matrix has chosen to use for this particular model's USB interface is not very common. But we will see soon.
 

Willem

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I looked at the manual: unless it is incomplete, there are no controls for balance, tone, loudness, or parametric filtering. So even though I admire the measured results, at least for me the ADI-2 remains the practical winner, and in my country for a third of the price. After all, it too measures very well, and way beyond human hearing acuity. At that elevated level, response shaping controls are far more relevant. I am using each and every one of them, with measurable and audible results.
 
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maty

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Yes, if you live in the EU the best option is the RME ADI-2 DAC, € 948 (now € 989 :( ) at Spanish home from Thomann. I LOVE the very good RME ADCs to make vinyl rips from many years! And the technical service is incredible good too.
 

filo97s

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Would be interesting to see if the multi dac architecture from Esoteric or the fpga/discrete dac from dCS are on the same level...
Still, I definitely LOVE the design of the element series. For sure they are the best dacs from a technical and aesthetical point of view.
 
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