[fordski]

I've read through this entire thread and I hope there's still some people watching it. I'm on the hunt for a desktop DAC/AMP solution and the Mini-i Pro 3 really appeals to me. I am a Roon lifetime subscriber so that base is covered. I'm currently trying an RME ADI Dac (ESS version) as they're easily available on Amazon in Mexico. I'd appreciate some comments here regarding the performance of the headphone amp on the Mini as the reviews seem to be mixed. I currently have HifiMan Edition XS and Beyerdynamic T1 Gen 2 headphones. While I'm enjoying the RME I'm finding it a little complex to set up and I also like the form factor of the Mini in comparison, especially the streaming option. It's difficult for me to order here just to try it due to customs duties and taxes.

Thanks for your comments!

 

[Powermankw]

I've read through this entire thread and I hope there's still some people watching it. I'm on the hunt for a desktop DAC/AMP solution and the Mini-i Pro 3 really appeals to me. I am a Roon lifetime subscriber so that base is covered. I'm currently trying an RME ADI Dac (ESS version) as they're easily available on Amazon in Mexico. I'd appreciate some comments here regarding the performance of the headphone amp on the Mini as the reviews seem to be mixed. I currently have HifiMan Edition XS and Beyerdynamic T1 Gen 2 headphones. While I'm enjoying the RME I'm finding it a little complex to set up and I also like the form factor of the Mini in comparison, especially the streaming option. It's difficult for me to order here just to try it due to customs duties and taxes.

Thanks for your comments!

What are the inpedance of your headphones?

 

[fordski]

The XS are 18 ohm impedance and 92db sensitivity and the Beyers are 600 ohm and 102 dB. I understand that the high output impedence on the Mini isn't an issue with Planars.

 

[Powermankw]

Yes, mine are 80 ohm so a little marginal. I do not think it mattered do me. The mini has a very good DAC. It was difficult to tell a difference between that and the Pontus I got. The amp section was not as good as GSX mini. The GSX has better bass responce. However, it is surprising how well it does. It has equal resolution as anything I have tried. It is not harsh or edgy, bright at all. As for streaming it is flawless. It is a fantastic all in one. Great preamp. It's a bargain for what it is.

 

[fordski]

Yes, mine are 80 ohm so a little marginal. I do not think it mattered do me. The mini has a very good DAC. It was difficult to tell a difference between that and the Pontus I got. The amp section was not as good as GSX mini. The GSX has better bass responce. However, it is surprising how well it does. It has equal resolution as anything I have tried. It is not harsh or edgy, bright at all. As for streaming it is flawless. It is a fantastic all in one. Great preamp. It's a bargain for what it is.

Thanks for your comments, they're quite helpful. I suspect that many of the reviewers comments re headphone output could be related to the high impedance of the headphone output. Fortunately I have headphones that shouldn't be affected by that as planars area problem and the T1 far exceeds the 8x rule of thumb. I think I'll take the chance and order it.

 

[fordski]

I decided to go ahead with my purchase of the mini-i Pro 3 and I'm quite happy with it so far. It works very well with my HifiMan Edition XS and Beyerdynamic T1 gen 2 headphones and greatly simplifies my desktop headphone setup. The part of the mini I like the best is the Roon integration. It integrates perfectly with Roon allowing volume control through Roon, turn on/off functions and lot's of DSP options in Roon. And the sound is really good both with my headphones and with my KEF speakers through a Sabaj A20 Amp. I can also switch easily (it's automatic) to Airplay on my Mac or iPhone to play other services such as Apple Music, Youtube videos etc.

For anyone here in Mexico I ordered with through Amazon Mexico (seller Power Holdings) and received it shipped directly from China in 6 days. It was a good experience.

Anyone out there who is a Roon user the Matrix mini-i Pro 3 is definitely worthy of consideration.

 

[550591]

I decided to go ahead with my purchase of the mini-i Pro 3 and I'm quite happy with it so far. It works very well with my HifiMan Edition XS and Beyerdynamic T1 gen 2 headphones and greatly simplifies my desktop headphone setup. The part of the mini I like the best is the Roon integration. It integrates perfectly with Roon allowing volume control through Roon, turn on/off functions and lot's of DSP options in Roon. And the sound is really good both with my headphones and with my KEF speakers through a Sabaj A20 Amp. I can also switch easily (it's automatic) to Airplay on my Mac or iPhone to play other services such as Apple Music, Youtube videos etc.

For anyone here in Mexico I ordered with through Amazon Mexico (seller Power Holdings) and received it shipped directly from China in 6 days. It was a good experience.

Anyone out there who is a Roon user the Matrix mini-i Pro 3 is definitely worthy of consideration.

I'm waiting for reviews of the new matrix audio stuff like the element i2

https://magnahifi.com/matrix-element-i2-streamer-headphone-pre-amplifier-sabre-es9028pro-dac/

 

[Ninja Theory]

I decided to go ahead with my purchase of the mini-i Pro 3 and I'm quite happy with it so far. It works very well with my HifiMan Edition XS and Beyerdynamic T1 gen 2 headphones and greatly simplifies my desktop headphone setup. The part of the mini I like the best is the Roon integration. It integrates perfectly with Roon allowing volume control through Roon, turn on/off functions and lot's of DSP options in Roon. And the sound is really good both with my headphones and with my KEF speakers through a Sabaj A20 Amp. I can also switch easily (it's automatic) to Airplay on my Mac or iPhone to play other services such as Apple Music, Youtube videos etc.

For anyone here in Mexico I ordered with through Amazon Mexico (seller Power Holdings) and received it shipped directly from China in 6 days. It was a good experience.

Anyone out there who is a Roon user the Matrix mini-i Pro 3 is definitely worthy of consideration.

Congrats on the purchase. I sold my Mini i-Pro a few months ago to fund a Lumin U1 Mini. It was a reluctant sale and I’d quite like to pick one up again. It was on secondary DAC duties to the R7HE when I had it.

The Mini i-Pro has a surprisingly decent DAC section for the price. Where it comes short against the big boys is not so much in the resolution as it is in stage. This was my impression when moving between the R7HE and the Mini i-Pro. However, with that said, I was constantly drawn to the Mini i-Pro, both as a DAC and as an AIO. There was a grittiness to the sound which I thoroughly enjoyed - but always enjoyable and never harsh. I listened to it mostly with the Empy and the 650 and when I was on my Sus, I had it on DAC duties.

I see why there is some negativity on the headphone amp performance but I found it to be a rather excellent synergy with the Empy and the 650.

Given the price of the Mini i-Pro, and what you get for the money, it is a difficult device to beat without spending a fair bit more.

 

[fordski]

Congrats on the purchase. I sold my Mini i-Pro a few months ago to fund a Lumin U1 Mini. It was a reluctant sale and I’d quite like to pick one up again. It was on secondary DAC duties to the R7HE when I had it.

The Mini i-Pro has a surprisingly decent DAC section for the price. Where it comes short against the big boys is not so much in the resolution as it is in stage. This was my impression when moving between the R7HE and the Mini i-Pro. However, with that said, I was constantly drawn to the Mini i-Pro, both as a DAC and as an AIO. There was a grittiness to the sound which I thoroughly enjoyed - but always enjoyable and never harsh. I listened to it mostly with the Empy and the 650 and when I was on my Sus, I had it on DAC duties.

I see why there is some negativity on the headphone amp performance but I found it to be a rather excellent synergy with the Empy and the 650.

Given the price of the Mini i-Pro, and what you get for the money, it is a difficult device to beat without spending a fair bit more.

Thanks. I agree with your observations. I'm really enjoying the mini-i Pro 3 very much. For Roon users it's a perfect solution. I'm sure there are better solutions out there but as a complete package it's hard to beat for the price as an all in one solution for desktop usage. I have an external amp (Topping A30 pro) and find it does improve the sound somewhat but the internal headphone amp is quite good for my Audeze LCD 2C headphones.

 

[Thoeri]

So I recieved this unit. There's 1 problem, I connected to wifi on a different floor. While it found the internet, it didn't really respond. I then tried it around 1 metre away from the router, and while it connected it said 1 out of 3 connection and when I tried to stream via Roon, it just kept skipping every song while telling me there might be a problem with the connection. I had it updated to latest firmware and Roon was recently installed on that specific PC (meaning I didn't change any settings, but I logged into my older Roon account that I had setup before if that matters). Strange thing is, when I used my phone network instead, it worked as normal when my phone was right beside the unit (2 out of 3 connection). When I moved my phone away just 50cm from the device, the connection changed to 1 out of 3 but was still playing fine (with minor lags at the moment when I moved my phone). I know that the wifi on this unit is not as good as a PC or a phone, but it can't be this bad usually right? Any suggestions?

 

[550591]

So I recieved this unit. There's 1 problem, I connected to wifi on a different floor. While it found the internet, it didn't really respond. I then tried it around 1 metre away from the router, and while it connected it said 1 out of 3 connection and when I tried to stream via Roon, it just kept skipping every song while telling me there might be a problem with the connection. I had it updated to latest firmware and Roon was recently installed on that specific PC (meaning I didn't change any settings, but I logged into my older Roon account that I had setup before if that matters). Strange thing is, when I used my phone network instead, it worked as normal when my phone was right beside the unit (2 out of 3 connection). When I moved my phone away just 50cm from the device, the connection changed to 1 out of 3 but was still playing fine (with minor lags at the moment when I moved my phone). I know that the wifi on this unit is not as good as a PC or a phone, but it can't be this bad usually right? Any suggestions?

Connect the Lan cable to a WiFi repeater. I did the same with my Raspberry Pi 4 and it streams roon flawlessly

 

[Thoeri]

Connect the Lan cable to a WiFi repeater. I did the same with my Raspberry Pi 4 and it streams roon flawlessly

I'm planning to use ethernet cable long term anyways. I'm just trying to see if theres something wrong with my unit so that I can talk to the people that I bought it from. Having the wireless wifi option too would be nice.

Using USB, it will not display song and album cover right?

 

[550591]

I'm planning to use ethernet cable long term anyways. I'm just trying to see if theres something wrong with my unit so that I can talk to the people that I bought it from. Having the wireless wifi option too would be nice.

Using USB, it will not display song and album cover right?

I believe only roon displays covers. Airplay won't.

 

[fordski]

To clarify both Airplay and Roon display album covers etc. when streaming to the Mini-i Pro 3 via ethernet or wifi. When using USB input from a computer the Mini does not display album etc.

 

[zerogun]

hi everyone, just recently received my Matrix and went ahead to check for new firmware. Found new firmware, but then it seems to have froze at around 75% or so. Any recommendations?

after some trial, I actually got it bricked for a moment until I discovered how turning on the unit while holding the settings button in the back boots it into recovery mode. Guess I'll stay away from updating the firmware for a bit until I've enjoyed it a little more