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Review and Measurements of Matrix Audio Element X DAC/Streamer/Amp

Tks

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Interesting indeed. Can't wait to see what they pulled off! Pretty sure the distortion will be indiscernibly low

LOL Highest distortion is at most -135dB.

The AP's running out of headroom I'd imagine with some measurement ability. What was that whole thing I heard a while back from someone about getting reliable measurements requires like 10dB of headroom difference, after that, you can only know that the device you're testing is beyond the limits of your measurement device?
 

Inkey31

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I was looking at buying the Matrix X and got the M instead. Now I am wondering if I made a poor choice as I really do not need streaming. It seems I should have ordered the Matrix MQA dac. That DAC does full MQA Decoding, Matrix on their website says, Decoding and Rendering of MQA data.
I have no idea what that means, they are not very transparent when it comes to MQA. Decode does the first unfold, Render does step 2 & 3.

That part that's confusing is, does it fully decode the single? Whats the difference between MQA Decoding + Rendering vs Full MQA decoder?

I only use Tidel so I figured I would by something with MQA support, now I wonder if I sold myself sort. Seems the MQA decoder in the Matrix MQA dac can do full 24/192 unfolding, the M dac I think only does 16/192,

If anyone knows it would be helpful. Thank you for your time.
 

Inkey31

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OK update, I got the Matrix MQA Dac, its a wonderful dac.

Also, MQA is some hype nonsense, I really cannot tell a difference between Qobuz and Tidel. Qobuz allows me to stream 24/192 without having to buy hardware at some expensive cost.

It makes sense now why most great dacs don't offer MQA.
 

Veri

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Also, MQA is some hype nonsense, I really cannot tell a difference between Qobuz and Tidal.

It makes sense now why most great dacs don't offer MQA.

Yep it's actually sad many people want it and manufacturers cave to that, while it's pretty effing useless technology.
 

audiomig

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The Element X is well built, looks good and plays well but unfortunately it's plagued with configuration problems, quirks and errors that in the end are upsetting and hinder usability... to connect to a wifi network it's over complicated and, at least in my case, impossible... just keep getting error messages; the remote lacks power to be of any use.
 

EuropeanSwallow

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The Element X is well built, looks good and plays well but unfortunately it's plagued with configuration problems, quirks and errors that in the end are upsetting and hinder usability... to connect to a wifi network it's over complicated and, at least in my case, impossible... just keep getting error messages; the remote lacks power to be of any use.
No issues here. Hell it was just Roon Certified which is great!
 

Glasvegas

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The Element X is well built, looks good and plays well but unfortunately it's plagued with configuration problems, quirks and errors that in the end are upsetting and hinder usability... to connect to a wifi network it's over complicated and, at least in my case, impossible... just keep getting error messages; the remote lacks power to be of any use.

Are you having problems with the MA Remote App? I would be interested in your opinion of it.

At one time I was considering buying an Element I. However, My concern was that the hardware is great, but the App less than perfect.
 

Arslan

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Its true that Ma Remote app have some little iusses, but i usually use Audirvana with Usb input that sound better than Ma Remote in my opinion.
Overall the Element X is an awesome device, and for me is perfect, both headphones and speakers setup. 10/10.
 

Glasvegas

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Its true that Ma Remote app have some little iusses, but i usually use Audirvana with Usb input that sound better than Ma Remote in my opinion.
Overall the Element X is an awesome device, and for me is perfect, both headphones and speakers setup. 10/10.

In my use case, the MA Remote would be my only way of using the Element. So, little issues might be big issues to me. In that price range, I would be looking for perfection.
 

chi2

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A quick question to fellow Element X owners in this thread: Do you, too, encounter problems with streaming Tidal Master/MQA content to the Element X?
I am getting glitches and dropouts galore which render the Element X useless for this purpose. The (very responsive and friendly) Matrix support suspects the WiFi connection and the internet access bandwidth to be the cause. As I do get at least 100Mbps - mostly 140 to 180 Mbps - of troughput over the repeater (and at least 250 Mbps - mostly 350 to 450 Mbps - directly and still have these problems) and never had any troubles with Tidal hires files on my WiFi linked laptop, ipad, and iphone, I have a somewhat hard time seeing that as the real cause.
Right now I can airplay-stream Tidal content from my tablet and phone to the Element X or attach them by USB without any troubles. Yet it nags me that direct streaming on the Element X doesn't work.
Thanks in advance!
 

raykkho

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Can anyone comment if there is any discernible audio quality difference between the element X and element M from their analogue output?

I plan on using it for a new headphone rig, but I need balanced connection for my cans, so if I get the M which is cheaper, I will need to get a headphone amp such as the Drop THX 789. Wonder which is a better option, and AIO or separate. Thanks a lot.
 

JohnYang1997

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Interesting indeed. Can't wait to see what they pulled off! Pretty sure the distortion will be indiscernibly low

6dxlGmI.png
It looks like 0.000079% and -122db to me.
 

TGB

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A quick question to fellow Element X owners in this thread: Do you, too, encounter problems with streaming Tidal Master/MQA content to the Element X?
I am getting glitches and dropouts galore which render the Element X useless for this purpose. The (very responsive and friendly) Matrix support suspects the WiFi connection and the internet access bandwidth to be the cause. As I do get at least 100Mbps - mostly 140 to 180 Mbps - of troughput over the repeater (and at least 250 Mbps - mostly 350 to 450 Mbps - directly and still have these problems) and never had any troubles with Tidal hires files on my WiFi linked laptop, ipad, and iphone, I have a somewhat hard time seeing that as the real cause.
Right now I can airplay-stream Tidal content from my tablet and phone to the Element X or attach them by USB without any troubles. Yet it nags me that direct streaming on the Element X doesn't work.
Thanks in advance!
I tested one for some days a week back (with latest firmware). No issues with MQA directly from the Tidal App, or via Roon.

You should test with network over cable. Wifi worked fine for me (I have a business class managed Cisco access point that cost too much and it is connected directly to the router with 1.25Gbit/s throughput out in the world - I manage to get stable 700+ Mbit/s over wifi), but there can be issues with your setup containing repeater etc. A lot of weird stuff can happen when streaming audio over poor (read: too complex) wifi.
 

chi2

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Thanks @TGB for sharing your experiences and thoughts. As the dropouts occur, too, when connecting the Element X to the main wifi directly, the repeater doesn't seem to be the (only) cause. Remarkably, I never had a single hickup with MQA files in the Tidal app on smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android), even over the wifi repeater. I don't know if the Tidal Software has better buffering than the Element X. It's just weird and disappointing to have to use a phone attached by USB to the Element X to get the highest available streaming quality. BTW, a wired connection is no option for me but I may try it just to see if/confirm that the wifi part of the Element X is the source of the trouble.
 

TGB

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I would report this to Matrix Audio directly. It might be possible to increase buffer (there is a Linux OS running on the device; so most of the stuff is configurable).
 

raykkho

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Can anyone comment if there is any discernible audio quality difference between the element X and element M from their analogue output?

I plan on using it for a new headphone rig, but I need balanced connection for my cans, so if I get the M which is cheaper, I will need to get a headphone amp such as the Drop THX 789. Wonder which is a better option, and AIO or separate. Thanks a lot.
Hi there, can anyone comment on this? Unfortunately we don't have a local agent here for testing.
 

chi2

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@TGB I have done that but while their support people are very responsive and polite they just see the wifi as the culprit not taking into account the fact that there are no problems whatsoever with other devices.
 
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