[project86]

Matrix Audio has released a good number of products over the years, and nearly every one I've tried has been quite competitive in its price range. But the one thing they had yet to offer - despite me telling them they should, over and over again - was a dedicated transport. They even added streaming audio playback functionality to all their DACs, some of which also had pre-amp capabilities and/or headphone outputs, but still never gave us a device to handle that function on its own.

Finally, the team at Matrix offers just that, in the new Element S music streamer.

The Matrix Element S is a dedicated transport with Ethernet and built-in WiFi capabilities. It does Roon, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, DLNA/UPnP, and a bunch of other options for playback. The front panel display is a touch screen and shows album art, sample rate, and track information. Pricing is $1499. Basically if you've ever seen or used one of the more recent Element products, this is similar but just dedicated to providing clean digital outputs rather than having integrated D/A conversion.

I'm also told this has a lot in common with the recent Matrix X-SPDIF 3. Basically take one of those, put it in the enclosure from the Element series, with the usual streaming/touchscreen/etc, then add a high quality PSU and you've got yourself the Element S. That should give us extremely clean digital outputs in USB, AES, optical, coaxial, or I2S which is configurable in software to work with various DACs.

You can also feed the Element S via USB, which initially seems weird because why not just get an X-SPDIF 3 if we aren't using the integrated transport features, right? But Matrix points out that the Element S works well using a USB output from phones and tablets, which I suppose could come in handy from time to time. Still, my primary use case would mostly be streaming, using Roon for the files stored on my NAS as well as Tidal and Qobuz. I have also had good results using the Matrix MA Remote app on previous models, so Roon isn't the only game in town (though it is my preferred player of choice).

I've got one of these on the way for evaluation and will post impressions when I can. I think Matrix nailed the look and functionality but it will all come down to how good the SQ is - the key trait on a device like this imho. More thoughts and some real pictures as soon as I have them.



UPDATE - at long last my full review is complete. CLICK HERE to read it.

 

[Lockis]

Have you tried the new

Matrix Element X2 Pure​

and maby compared it with the very interesting Ec.Gen Deluxe
best regards
Bengt

 

[project86]

I have not tried the new Element X2 Pure. It looks like a really nice option in that price range, but I don't think I'll have a chance (or enough time) to try it out At least not for a while.

As for the Element S, I got it up and running in my system and am loving the sound so far. I hear a worthwhile improvement compared to the X-SPDIF 2 powered by the Keces P8 linear PSU (which together cost about the same as the Element S but obviously doesn't have integrated streaming). This makes sense as the Element S basically has an X-SPDIF 3 inside, but whatever they are doing for a PSU inside the chassis also seems to be quite well done.

The Element S is still pending Roon verification, so I've just been using it with Tidal and Qobuz directly. Despite the other Element models already having Roon certification, the folks at Roon always want to check things for themselves on every individual model. Hopefully that goes quickly.

One thing I had not noticed is that the Element S accepts USB storage, but only has a USB C connection for that. All my flash drives use the regular USB A connection and I can't seem to find the right cable or adapter. Meanwhile I've pointed the Element S to my NAS but that's over 5TB of music so it will take a long time to index everything.

 

[Lockis]

Tanxxx for your replay and also thank you for your very intresting test about Ec. Gen deluxe
that is exactly what many people wants to read
all the best
Bengt

 

[Haidar]

Is the Ec. Gen deluxe a streamer too?

 

[Lockis]

No its a Dac

 

[Haidar]

Any update on the sound quality of this streamer @project86 ?

 

[project86]

Any update on the sound quality of this streamer @project86 ?

Sorry for the delay, I've had less time than I anticipated due to other commitments (of the non audio variety).

So far so good though, the Element S sounds exceptional and easily on par with my Stack Audio Link II network bridge with the VOLT PSU option. Which is really high praise, that combo has been a favorite of mine for a while now. I love that the Element S gives me coaxial, AES, and I2S outs along with the USB (the Link bridge is USB only). The Element S is currently paired with a Cayin CS-100DAC and the Cen.Grand Silver Fox, driving a ZMF Caldera with wonderfully organic, inviting tonality and superb detail retrieval.

As I mentioned, still waiting on Roon certification, which I hope comes soon. I'm so used to Roon I feel a bit lost without it. But the MA Remote integration of Qobuz and Tidal is pretty nice so I can't complain too much. I haven't had a chance to integrate my NAS library or use a flash drive for local storage. My NAS has over 5TB of music which can be something of a challenge for most servers to properly index, so we'll see how that goes.

I do find it somewhat inconvenient that they only give a USB C connection where most flash drives are USB A. I'll need to pick up a new drive to try it out, but if they had used USB A then I already have a bunch of options laying around.

 

[Haidar]

Thanks for the update. You could find a USB-C to USB-A adapter to connect your existing drive to the Element S

 

[project86]

Yes I didn't even think of that, ordered one this morning.

 

[project86]

A few real pics of the actual device in my setup. I was switching back and forth between ZMF Caldera and the Focal Elex, though only Elex is captured in these pics.

I2S initially had static playing DSD tracks, but since Matrix thankfully gives us 4 different software selectable I2S modes to choose from, I was able to get it working with my Cayin DAC doing native DSD.

I turned on MinimServer on my Asustor NAS and the Element S is able to see the entire library. Browsing is clunky though, at least with a huge library like this, since you can't quickly jump to a letter. So if I wanted to play Zoe Keating, I would have to scroll all the way to the end of my list, which would take forever. Or maybe I'm just dumb and not doing it right. I still haven't tried the SMB method so maybe that goes more smoothly.

 

[Haidar]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...ith-usb-dac-outputs-now-on-apos-audio.967847/

 

[project86]

Thanks, I did not see that thread before starting my own.

Still waiting on that Roon certification which is hopefully coming soon. I suspect it's a process where Roon constantly has a big pile of gear to test, and they can only go so fast to get through the backlog. Even though the Element S uses the same networking hardware as the other Element models (which are already certified), Roon is very thorough in testing each individual new model to make sure there aren't issues unique to that design for whatever reason. Which makes sense, as they really need to be sure that things "just work" when they claim they are Roon Ready. There have been some products with major issues in the past (Bluesound...) and when that happens it depreciates Roon's reputation, so it makes sense for them to demand more control of the process before they sign off on something.

Anyway, as far as the Element S goes, the Matrix app is pretty decent and gets the job done well enough. It's no Roon but still quite usable, particularly with streaming services like Tidal and Qobuz. Local storage or files on a NAS work too but probably best to limit the library size - it becomes troublesome when browsing a huge multi-TB library.

Sound is superb though. Absolutely love having all the output options. I2S working great with Cayin CS100DAC and Wyred4Sound Anniversary DAC. More to come as I log more hours with it.

 

[Musikfan]

Hi, I just bought an element S. I'm disappointed that Roon certification is taking so long. For the time being i tried streaming from Qobuz via the android remote app, but I'm unable to play any files, and keep getting error messages. My Element X plays fine via qobuz and the remote app. Is anyone else experiencing problems streaming music through Qobuz using the Matrix app and the element S? Thanks!

 

[project86]

I too was expecting a quicker process for certification. BUT I have heard from other companies that once they submit the device, it is up to the Roon folks and their timing to get it done. So theoretically Matrix may have done so months ago and the backlog is just really large. Would not surprise me at all.

I have encountered a few bugs with the app, specifically with getting logged in to Qobuz. Like it accepts my credentials but then hangs up or something (I don't recall the specifics right now). Is that what you've experienced? Or do you mean issues playing files, as in USB drive or NAS?