Matrix Audio X-SABRE 3 Measurements (DAC & Streamer)

[CosmicDancer]

Good review!

 

[JSmith]

@VintageFlanker your time and effort in conducting these tests is appreciated. It's great of @Audiophonics to send a unit to you for this purpose.

I think we can safely say this DAC/Streamer is;

JSmith

 

[Sokel]

Contrary to previous generations, the circular screen is not monochrome anymore. It seems to be IPS, and is very tiny, while the resolution is good enough to have a proper reading at reasonable distances. Should we expect OLED at this price, in this niche market? I don't know, but overall brightness, contrasts and viewing angle are all decent for an audio product.


​

I would be really surprised if it was OLED after the massive failures OLED's have after some time with static images.
That was smart!
Great review!

 

[noel_fs]

When a product is actually good i dont mind how overpriced it is, especially if it is well built and tested.

Personally i wouldnt buy it even if i could, would rather go with Holo + Topping.

Oh, im loving these e1da cosmos reviews.

 

[AudioSceptic]

What a thorough review! It must have taken a long time and a lot of expertise. Just one quibble: in this section, you say that Optical achieved a SINAD of 119.3 but in the table it's Coaxial that achieved that. Which is correct?

USB versus Coaxial versus Optical

Test	USB	Coaxial	Optical
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB	+0.05, -0.02	+0.05, -0.03	+0.05, -0.03
Noise level, dB(A)	-125.1	-124.8	-124.9
Dynamic range, dB(A)	124.5	124.4	124.5
THD, % (RMAA)	0.00013	0.00013	0.00013
THD + Noise, dB (REW)	-119.0	-119.3	-118.1
IMD + Noise, %	0.00031	0.00034	0.00034
Stereo crosstalk, dB	-122.3	-122.2	-122.3

Extremely consistent results between inputs, as I like to see. There is no typo: optical steal the crown of performance when it comes to raw SINAD, now pushed up to 119.3dB ! One of the reasons for it is that the 50Hz/180Hz hums are now gone when using toslink. The initial "issue" would eventually be related to some kind of ground loop, if we were not talking about balanced signal... My guess here is simply that the USB input itself is noisier than others at low frequencies.

Edit: add bolding.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Just one quibble: in this section, you say that Optical achieved a SINAD of 119.3 but in the table it's Coaxial that achieved that. Which is correct?

Thanks for pointing the typo ! I swapped both REW results: It is indeed 119.3dB for optical and 118.1 for coax! Corrected.

 

[AudioSceptic]

Thanks for pointing the typo ! I swapped both REW results: It is indeed 119.3dB for optical and 118.1 for coax! Corrected.

Did you notice any issue with the labelling of the filters? According to Paul Miller they were all mixed up! <https://hifinews.com/content/matrix-audio-x-sabre-3-network-attached-dac-filter-fiddles>

In this instance, however, MA's menu has the filters rather jumbled up... In sequence, 'Fast Minimum' is 'Apodising'; 'Slow Minimum' is 'Slow Linear'; 'Fast Linear' is 'Brickwall'; 'Slow Linear' is 'Hybrid'; 'Brickwall is 'Fast Minimum'; 'Hybrid' is 'Slow Minimum' and 'Apodising' is 'Fast Linear'

I have to say that this is careless for such an expensive product.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Did you notice any issue with the labelling of the filters?

Hard to tell, as I cannot measure inpulse response to check it. If zooming much deeper in the FRs, they seem to behave as expected from ESS filters, but with way less amplitude than usual in drops. Filters are usually more agressive, even at 44.1kHz. For the instance, the RME ADI-2 DAC (ES9028Q2M):

I have to say that this is careless for such an expensive product.

This HFN review is from May 2022. I believe that at least two firmware updates were released since. My sample was running the latest build: v1.0.1 Build053 (2022.08.22). Maybe it has been fixed... Any thoughts, @MatrixAudio ?

 

[Haruko]

i don't like these "promotional" photos in dual color side lighted setup... it is really hard to make out what the actual device look like

 

[Verloc]

Brilliant review VintageFlanker and I love the tables, especially for the analogue and digital inputs and THD+N vs level.

 

[Dmitri]

Superb review VintageFlanker. Well presented and also shows an enthusiasm for the subject you love. Thank you for your effort, and enjoy the praise…it’s well deserved!
A bit rich for my book…but it’s nice to see that occasionally Uber expensive components aren’t all snake oil nowadays and actually deliver on their promise. Looking forward to future reviews.
As an aside, thank you Amir for “Home Page” promotions!

 

[enricoclaudio]

@VintageFlanker thanks again for another great review!! I have been rocking mine since Sep 2021 and it hasn't disappointed not even once. It had lot of bugs at initial release but @MatrixAudio fixed all of them with a firmware update in less than 10 days after I did the report. BTW, it's worth mentioning that with the latest firmware released back in Sep 2022, the X-SABRE 3 now works with the Matrix Audio RM4 remote which is the one that comes with the Element 2 Series, meaning now you can control you media with the remote (Play, Pause, Next and Previous) and those playback controls also work with Roon.

 

[AudioSceptic]

i don't like these "promotional" photos in dual color side lighted setup... it is really hard to make out what the actual device look like

Yes, who would guess that it's actually black (or silver)?

 

[AudioSceptic]

@VintageFlanker thanks again for another great review!! I have been rocking mine since Sep 2021 and it hasn't disappointed not even once. It had lot of bugs at initial release but @MatrixAudio fixed all of them with a firmware update in less than 10 days after I did the report. BTW, it's worth mentioning that with the latest firmware released back in Sep 2022, the X-SABRE 3 now works with the Matrix Audio RM4 remote which is the one that comes with the Element 2 Series, meaning now you can control you media with the remote (Play, Pause, Next and Previous) and those controls also work with Roon.

View attachment 235801

If you've been rocking yours, is one of the feet missing?

 

[AudioSceptic]

Hard to tell, as I cannot measure inpulse response to check it. If zooming much deeper in the FRs, they seem to behave as expected from ESS filters, but with way less amplitude than usual in drops. Filters are usually more agressive, even at 44.1kHz. For the instance, the RME ADI-2 DAC (ES9028Q2M):View attachment 235771


This HFN review is from May 2022. I believe that at least two firmware updates were released since. My sample was running the latest build: v1.0.1 Build053 (2022.08.22). Maybe it has been fixed... Any thoughts, @MatrixAudio ?

Yes, I think we need to zoom in further and expand the 20-25 kHz range.

 

[enricoclaudio]

If you've been rocking yours, is one of the feet missing?

The X-SABRE 3, same as their previous siblings, comes with 3 feet (2 front, 1 back)

 

[AudioSceptic]

The X-SABRE 3, same as their previous siblings, comes with 3 feet (2 front, 1 back)

View attachment 235803


View attachment 235804

So, only rocks if you push down on either rear corner?

 

[enricoclaudio]

i don't like these "promotional" photos in dual color side lighted setup... it is really hard to make out what the actual device look like

I posted unboxing photos in the X-SABRE 3 thread 1 year ago:

Matrix Audio X-SABRE 3 DAC/Streamer Official Thread

Hi guys, today got delivery of the New Matrix Audio X-SABRE 3 DAC/Streamer which is the updated version of the X-SABRE PRO MQA reviewed by @amirm exactly 2 years and 2 days ago. First let me tell you that I'm a big fan of Matrix Audio products. They are to me the Oppo of streamers. Their...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[MCH]

The X-SABRE 3, same as their previous siblings, comes with 3 feet (2 front, 1 back)

View attachment 235803


View attachment 235804

Users need to compensate the weight of the power cable with the interconects. Audiophile power cord -> audiophile interconnect. No way to cheap out!

 

[enricoclaudio]

Users need to compensate the weight of the power cable with the interconects. Audiophile power cord -> audiophile interconnect. No way to cheap out!

Then call me cheap as I'm using the power cord supplied with the unit and self made Mogami Gold interconnects