Matrix M-Stage amp review: simple, cheap, and excellent.

[kazaakas]

Quote:

Yeah i know what u mean..for my headphone cable dutch customs let me pay 120 euro extra.. I think it has to to with importing from usa..as i got thingies from china and i didnt pay a cent..

 
Funny thing is it was from china...
But dude, 120 euro's extra for a cable? I would barely pay such an amount for a cable alone. You must've been pissed!

 

[hifimanrookie]

Funny thing is it was from china...
But dude, 120 euro's extra for a cable? I would barely pay such an amount for the cable alone. You must've been pissed!

I was out of my mind! And i had to pay it when they delivered...and the sender did put a very low value on the invoice!

 

[Mad Max]

Quote:

Did u try that out urself..or u just say that by hearsay?

 
Hearsay, of course.

 

[Apo0th3karY]

Shot in the dark here. To the OP. You mentioned you used this amp to pre-amp your tower speakers?
 
I've never used an amp before, and I'm one for my loudspeaker home set up rather than heaphones at home. However, I'm not satisfied with my current sound from my little basement DJ set up I got going on here:

Acer laptop > Traktor 2.6 (DJ software) playing FLAC/wav/320CBR > Traktor S4 (DJ controller w/ built in soundcard) > Fostex pm0.4 monitors/Fostex pmSubn

Would this amp bypass the soundcard in my Traktor S4, or enhance the signature that's already coming from it? (it's pretty coloured along the mid bass, i find)

 

[George_63]

Quote:

Did u try that out urself..or u just say that by hearsay?

If you are asking about the RCAs then yes I have tried it myself.In fact I still have both connected to the matrix as input 1 and 2.Switching between the one that came with my STX and a more expensive one, made no difference, at least nothing worth the extra $50.Don't know if that applies for >200$ cables but I think ,and please correct me if I'm wrong, substantial differences become apparent when you deal with much more expensive hi-end gear and not a $250 head-amp.Besides,if you read the reviews of the XONAR family cards you will find out that RMAA tests surprisingly peformed ,if not better,equally good with the supplied ''low-end'' cables something wich I think supports my listening impressions concerning the ASUS cards.My comments regarded the specific XONAR-MATRIX setup and nothing further than that.

 

[George_63]

Quote:

 
Hearsay, of course.

Irony suits you...Mr ''off course''...

 

[svoboda123]

Can someone please confirm for me that the pre-outs are not muted when headphones are inserted?  Isn't this a problem for anyone who wants to use it as both?  I mean, speaker sound reaching (often open) headphones and no ability to quiet speakers, such as in an office or late at night?

 

[Viciel]

at last i buy my rca adapter! but something weird happen... how come the volume is louder without the m-stage? did i do something wrong? +.+

 

[Mad Max]

Quote:

Can someone please confirm for me that the pre-outs are not muted when headphones are inserted?  Isn't this a problem for anyone who wants to use it as both?  I mean, speaker sound reaching (often open) headphones and no ability to quiet speakers, such as in an office or late at night?

 
The preamp output is never muted on the m-stage.
You will have to unplug your headphones or turn off your speakers to use one or the other at a time.

 

[svoboda123]

Thanks.  A shame- with phones and desktop powered speakers/sub (seemingly a common use) this was a really poor design choice.  Off the consideration list for me as way too inconvenient to either unplug or power-off (switches at backs) at every transition between phones/speakers.

 

[kazaakas]

Quote:

 
The preamp output is never muted on the m-stage.
You will have to unplug your headphones or turn off your speakers to use one or the other at a time.

Allright that's it, my M-Stage pre-amp outs are connected to some ****ty $50 speakers and tommorow I'll be recording how these get muted instantly when I plug something into the headphone out with a super ****ty kodak camera with a super ****ty mic so you guys will finally believe me...

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Allright that's it, my M-Stage pre-amp outs are connected to some ****ty $50 speakers and tommorow I'll be recording how these get muted instantly when I plug something into the headphone out with a super ****ty kodak camera with a super ****ty mic so you guys will finally believe me...

 
The ****ier the better.

 

[JosephsART]

Quote:

The preamp output is never muted on the m-stage.
You will have to unplug your headphones or turn off your speakers to use one or the other at a time.

 
If headphones are plugged in, the preamp output can not be heard.
 
If headphones are not plugged in, the preamp output can be heard.
 
This is what my M-Stage does anyway.

 

[Chris J]

Allright that's it, my M-Stage pre-amp outs are connected to some ****ty $50 speakers and tommorow I'll be recording how these get muted instantly when I plug something into the headphone out with a super ****ty kodak camera with a super ****ty mic so you guys will finally believe me...

Sorry, I can't think of a good &$@%ing response! LOL!

 

[thecansmancan]

Quote:

 
The Matrix M-Stage pairs well with my HD580/600 and should have way more than enough power for it. I have it on the +10dB gain switch and I never need to push the volume past half-way.

sounds great. I assume it make for one insanely balanced set up. Mind if i ask what dac you paired it with?