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Matrix Element i

Matias

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It is. And the Element i is 1/3 of the price of the Element X (990 x 2,999 usd), I would say this is a steal, considering it also has streamer, DAC, headphone amp, preamp, in an all-in-one small and beautiful chassis.

i.jpg


o_O
 
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Darkweb

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Pretty kickass little unit for $1k. Matrix is really hitting it out of the park with their Element line. Good job guys.
 

Cortes

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It is. And the Element i is 1/3 of the price of the Element X (990 x 2,999 usd), I would say this is a steal, considering it also has streamer, DAC, headphone amp, preamp, in an all-in-one small and beautiful chassis.

View attachment 42224

o_O
yes, really beautiful. Now we want amazing measurements in sexy enclosures !.
 

MPA1

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Looks good!

love it that matrix is on so many levels on top of their game.
I bought an XSP MQA last Tuesday and it’s one of the best dac’s I’ve ever heard to date.
It blows my Mytek out of the water To another planet for almost the same introduction price.
 

Matias

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Spocko

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This is actually pretty impressive considering it can be used as a direct preamp to amp one box solution - as clean and simple as it gets! And if you have active speakers... the future of simplicity
 
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What about the headphone output? can it drive Planars (LCD Series) and 600 Ohm Beyers? Is it a step up from the ifi idsd micro in terms of sound quality?
 

VintageFlanker

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What about the headphone output?
The review gives you all the datas to know:
Headphone Amplifier Audio Measurements
Let's start with power into 300 ohms:
index.php


I like to see 100 milliwatts into this load. Element i sails past this delivering 247 milliwatts. This should enable it to drive just about any high impedance headphone.

Noise is initially higher than reference Topping DX3 Pro due to lack of low gain setting. As demands of power increases, the Element i has lower distortion than Topping DX3 Pro and as a result, beats it on both power and distortion.

Going the other extreme with 33 ohm load we get:
index.php
can it drive Planars (LCD Series) and 600 Ohm Beyers
Yes.
Is it a step up from the ifi idsd micro in terms of sound quality?
It is, definitely, in terms of measured performance. Power is about the same, but no channel mismatch and flatter FR with the Element.
 
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hmmm. Sounds good but there are a few things that are holding me back. No low gain, no dsd256 with roon, no digital out. The Auralic and Mytek streamers are much more expansive and therefore they are out of my consideration. Any other streamers on the market or is it there a better/equal combo with digital transport (sotm for example) + dac in that price range? Devices with high headphone output impedence are not feasible (for example the Topping dac/headphone combos)
 

Matias

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I would love to see a dedicated streamer from Matrix, network in digital outs, to be used with other DACs. @MatrixAudio would that be possible?
 
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why is matrix missing here (roon ready partner list)? matrix advertises roon ready on there units displays shown on their website but still no official roon ready device.

Unbenannt.PNG
 

MPA1

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@MatrixAudio what about software volume control for the X Sabre Pro MQA? Example: control volume via Roon volume control
 

MatrixAudio

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@MatrixAudio what about software volume control for the X Sabre Pro MQA? Example: control volume via Roon volume control
The volume control of X-SABRE Pro MQA and ROON volume control are separated, each of them can adjust volume indipendently.
Only when the device is ROON Ready, ROON software can control the hardware volume.
Hope this information is useful. Thank you!
 

MPA1

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The volume control of X-SABRE Pro MQA and ROON volume control are separated, each of them can adjust volume indipendently.
Only when the device is ROON Ready, ROON software can control the hardware volume.
Hope this information is useful. Thank you!

very useful, thank you! I realise I’m in the wrong thread but last question to make it more relevant: what is the status of Roon testing the Element series and X Sabre Pro to become Roon ready?
 

MatrixAudio

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very useful, thank you! I realise I’m in the wrong thread but last question to make it more relevant: what is the status of Roon testing the Element series and X Sabre Pro to become Roon ready?
sorry X-SABRE Pro cannot be ROON Ready, it's just a DAC. the element series is still testing, I have no exact schedule of get the certification from ROON.
 
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