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

[Andreeas1978]

For everyone experiencing the problem of cracking, popping noises on the hpa 2 usb version using its own DAC, after going crazy and trying everything  possible software and drivers related I have discovered that it works perfect on USB 3.0 connection, maybe the 2.0 couldn't`t provide enough power.  It was driving me out of my mind, thinking to even change my MB at one point... Fixed and tested now. I use mine with Sennheiser HD800 and recently upgraded with Burson Audio SS V5 D opamp. Sounds better for sure! How much better cannot tell yet, it`s too soon. First thing to notice was tighter and stronger bass response. 

 

[rikk009]

  I own 2 HPA-1s (both are 2012/2013 rev-2 vintage). Along the way I read many reviews of all HPA iterations. Can't remember all the details at the moment, but I'm almost certain the design changed significantly from HPA-1 to HPA-2, and even more from 2 to 3, losing that warm, euphonic, bass-rich quality I & others find so appealing about the HPA-1. I recall one or more reviews of the HPA-3 describing it as "tonally accurate," a term never used to describe the HPA-1 (I wouldn't own it if that was the case!).
 
The HPA-1 totally suits my taste in sound reproduction--listening to it right now. I use it as a desktop pre-amp/HP amp. I have a better HP amp (Lake People G109A) but the HPA-1 is really good in its own right. It's definitely not a throwaway as a headphone amp. I cranked it up a few nights ago w/my Fidelio X2s and that baby really rocked.
 
Some links are listed below. BTW, if you go looking for HPA-1s, something to keep in mind is this model was revised sometime in 2012, with improvements in power and specs for the HP amp section. Better to look for models with 2012 or 2013 in the SN (1st four #s of SN are the model year).
 

Here's a 2010 review of the HPA-1:
http://www.headfonia.com/matrix-m-stage/
 
Specs on the HPA-1:
https://headphoniaks.com/gb/dac-amplificadores/53-matrix-mstage-headphones-amplifier.html
 
 
An October, 2015 review of the balanced version of the HPA-3:
http://headphone.guru/the-impressive-m-stage-hpa-3b-balanced-headphone-amplifier/
 
More specs on the HPA-3B:
http://www.noisymotel.com/product.asp?ProductID=940

Update: 
So I didn't buy the HPA-1 due to fund crunch but now I have a HD6XX coming along and I definitely need to upgrade my amp. Currently, I am getting a HPA-2 w/DAC and HPA-1 w/DAC at the same price. I like the upgraded BB DAC on HPA-2 but I have now read atleast a couple places about HPA-1 sounding more 'rich' but given the pairing I don't know what will suit well. Can't afford 3U.

 

[Pharmaboy]

  Update: 
So I didn't buy the HPA-1 due to fund crunch but now I have a HD6XX coming along and I definitely need to upgrade my amp. Currently, I am getting a HPA-2 w/DAC and HPA-1 w/DAC at the same price. I like the upgraded BB DAC on HPA-2 but I have now read atleast a couple places about HPA-1 sounding more 'rich' but given the pairing I don't know what will suit well. Can't afford 3U.

 
Wow--some nice new gear is on the way for you. I'll be very interested to hear your opinion of the HPA-2 vs HPA-1.
 
Do you have the HD600 or HD650 on order? Never heard either, but they're said to sound somewhat different (600 being flatter/more detail & 650 being more "musical" & easy to listen to non-critically). Again, I'll be interested to hear how the new HPs sound on these amps.
 
I love that HPA-1!

 

[rikk009]

   
Wow--some nice new gear is on the way for you. I'll be very interested to hear your opinion of the HPA-2 vs HPA-1.
 
Do you have the HD600 or HD650 on order? Never heard either, but they're said to sound somewhat different (600 being flatter/more detail & 650 being more "musical" & easy to listen to non-critically). Again, I'll be interested to hear how the new HPs sound on these amps.
 
I love that HPA-1!

I am in split minds. All the cans said to be a good match with M-Stage are bright cans(HD800/AKG/Beyer) but HD650 is darker, don't think it would pair well. Wish I could hear them before buying. 

 

[Mad Max]

  I am in split minds. All the cans said to be a good match with M-Stage are bright cans(HD800/AKG/Beyer) but HD650 is darker, don't think it would pair well. Wish I could hear them before buying. 

 
HD650 being "darker" is about its lack of treble sparkle, yet its treble clarity and amount of treble are great.  In terms of treble alone, HD650 isn't very far at all from neutral-sounding, in my opinion.  M-Stage will not be a poor match at all unless you prefer a brighter sound, in which case, HD650 may not be for you.

 

[runssical]

The HD650 is nothing more than a music killing wet blanket. I have both, the HD600 and an HD650. Honestly the HD650s are so bad that I want to sell them.

 

[lakiozoon]

   
HD650 being "darker" is about its lack of treble sparkle, yet its treble clarity and amount of treble are great.  In terms of treble alone, HD650 isn't very far at all from neutral-sounding, in my opinion.  M-Stage will not be a poor match at all unless you prefer a brighter sound, in which case, HD650 may not be for you.

 
I completely agree. I had the AKG Q701, and sold em cause I didn't like the overly bright highs.
Now I use Matrix M-stage HPA1 with HD650 and am really happy with both. My experience is that amps and dacs make very little difference (providing they are a decent amplifiers) and that headphones themselves make the biggest difference in sound signature. I tried my HD650 with different amps and dacs, and I couldn't honestly distinguish any of them in a blind test.
 
If you like the design and the features, HPA1 is a safe bet. It is built like a tank with quality parts and has low noise.

 

[Pharmaboy]

  I am in split minds. All the cans said to be a good match with M-Stage are bright cans(HD800/AKG/Beyer) but HD650 is darker, don't think it would pair well. Wish I could hear them before buying. 

 
Here's my experience with the HPA-1 (no DAC in mine--I have an Audio GD NOS 19 for that). I use the HPA-1 ~12 hrs/day as a preamp in my desktop system. Most of my listening is low volume classical via the Swan M200 MkIII powered speakers (excellent). 4-5 tmes/wk I break out headphones and plug into the HPA-1 or Lake People G109A--both of which are active, getting signal from by the NOS 19's dual RCA outputs. I can readily compare the HPA-1 to the very straightforward/competent G109A, a slightly warm/smooth solid state design,
 
In the past 4 months of so, I've listended to 6 headphones through the HPA-1:
 
-- Fidelio X-2's, a distinctly "warm" semi-open design
-- AKG K553's (since sold) which I found to be bass-shy and bright
-- Takstar H6000's (currently F.S.), which U regard as fairly neutral
-- JVC HA-SZ1000's, a renowned basshead headphone that actually is relatively flat w/o heavy equalization
-- Yenona Adapter-Free DJ headphones, a "fun," V-shaped closed design with lots of bass & slightly elevated treble
-- Marantz Pro MPH-2's, a closed design I find quite accurate with a very slightly elevated lower bass
 
6 headphones: 3 considered "warm" (Fidelio X-2's, Yenona's, Marantz') & 1 considered "bright" (K553's).
 
What I found is that the HPA-1, despite its overall (but not excessive) warmth & non-fatiguing treble, did not sound extremely different with any of the headphones vs the G109A amp, with 1 exception: the Yenona's sound slightly "boomy" in the bass/mid-bass on the HPA-1, somewhat less than on the G109A. But the Yenona's are borderline "too-much-bass" to begin with.
 
I have concluded that the HPA-1, while having a sound signature that's perfect for me, doesn't really alter the sound of  headphones to any great degree. It doesn't really make bright ones remarkably un-bright, or pump up the bass in any garish way. It also isn't as powerful as several of my other amps (the G109A & Burson Soloist have 2-4X its power), but this hasn't mattered at all with the headphones I've used.
 
All to say I really had to work to find headphones that didn't sound terrific on the HPA-1. And BTW, given the HPA-1's  convenient gain adjustments, you could slightly change its sound by upping the gain. I never bothered, leaving mine at minimum gain setting because it matches so well to my other gear.
 
I'll bet the HD650s sound pretty good on an HPA-1...

 

[rikk009]

   
HD650 being "darker" is about its lack of treble sparkle, yet its treble clarity and amount of treble are great.  In terms of treble alone, HD650 isn't very far at all from neutral-sounding, in my opinion.  M-Stage will not be a poor match at all unless you prefer a brighter sound, in which case, HD650 may not be for you.

Thanks. 

 

[rikk009]

   
Here's my experience with the HPA-1 (no DAC in mine--I have an Audio GD NOS 19 for that). I use the HPA-1 ~12 hrs/day as a preamp in my desktop system. Most of my listening is low volume classical via the Swan M200 MkIII powered speakers (excellent). 4-5 tmes/wk I break out headphones and plug into the HPA-1 or Lake People G109A--both of which are active, getting signal from by the NOS 19's dual RCA outputs. I can readily compare the HPA-1 to the very straightforward/competent G109A, a slightly warm/smooth solid state design,
 
In the past 4 months of so, I've listended to 6 headphones through the HPA-1:
 
-- Fidelio X-2's, a distinctly "warm" semi-open design
-- AKG K553's (since sold) which I found to be bass-shy and bright
-- Takstar H6000's (currently F.S.), which U regard as fairly neutral
-- JVC HA-SZ1000's, a renowned basshead headphone that actually is relatively flat w/o heavy equalization
-- Yenona Adapter-Free DJ headphones, a "fun," V-shaped closed design with lots of bass & slightly elevated treble
-- Marantz Pro MPH-2's, a closed design I find quite accurate with a very slightly elevated lower bass
 
6 headphones: 3 considered "warm" (Fidelio X-2's, Yenona's, Marantz') & 1 considered "bright" (K553's).
 
What I found is that the HPA-1, despite its overall (but not excessive) warmth & non-fatiguing treble, did not sound extremely different with any of the headphones vs the G109A amp, with 1 exception: the Yenona's sound slightly "boomy" in the bass/mid-bass on the HPA-1, somewhat less than on the G109A. But the Yenona's are borderline "too-much-bass" to begin with.
 
I have concluded that the HPA-1, while having a sound signature that's perfect for me, doesn't really alter the sound of  headphones to any great degree. It doesn't really make bright ones remarkably un-bright, or pump up the bass in any garish way. It also isn't as powerful as several of my other amps (the G109A & Burson Soloist have 2-4X its power), but this hasn't mattered at all with the headphones I've used.
 
All to say I really had to work to find headphones that didn't sound terrific on the HPA-1. And BTW, given the HPA-1's  convenient gain adjustments, you could slightly change its sound by upping the gain. I never bothered, leaving mine at minimum gain setting because it matches so well to my other gear.
 
I'll bet the HD650s sound pretty good on an HPA-1...

Thanks for the in-depth reply. From your previous post I can gather that you like HPA-1 more than HPA-2. 

 

[Pharmaboy]

  Thanks for the in-depth reply. From your previous post I can gather that you like HPA-1 more than HPA-2. 

 
That's sorta true... I do like the HPA-1 (a lot); it's my constant preamp/sometime HP amp. I've read everything I can find on the HPA-2 & HPA-3 because the brand interests me--but haven't actually listened to either model.
 
Many comments highlighted tonal changes ("upgrades," depending on your taste) that Matrix made, going from HPA-1 to HPA-2: less bass-rich, more treble, more "accuracy." Reviews of the HPA-3 routinely describe it as flat, accurate, fast, and so on...terms that don't really describe the HPA-1.
 
I'm averse to elevated upper midrange & treble (that hurts my ears & gives me headaches); also fond of bass/mid-bass, so long as it's kept in check. I've learned to "read between the lines" of reviews/comments, and it's likely I'd be disappointed by the HPA-2 or 3.

 

[Andreeas1978]

Doesn't HPA-1 and 2 have the same AMP section, or I just remember wrong..? Not sure anymore..

 

[Pharmaboy]

I'm not sure either, so I looked around online. Having trouble finding reviews of the HPA-2 (there are many for HPA-1 & HPA-3). I'm finding scattered reviews of the HPA-2 that bundles a DAC, but none of the plain-jane HP amp version.
 
Here's one from Head-Fi in which the author says he couldn't find any differences between amp sections of the 2: http://www.head-fi.org/products/matrix-m-stage-hpa-2-w-usb-dac
 
Here's a separate Head-Fi thread on the HPA-2, but it's confusing as hell...can't tell if they're critiquing the DAC, the HP amp, or what. And several comments effectively trash both the HPA-1 and HPA-2 (everybody's different & so are the opinions): http://www.head-fi.org/t/693278/2014-matrix-mstage-hpa2
 
BTW, I went to the trouble of buying the OPA627 opamp everyone says if the 1st/most logical upgrade for their HPA-1. I installed it, burned it in for a few days, desperately tried to like it--but hated it. Though it improved the soundstaging, it also made the HPA-1 considerably brighter...not a good thing at all, since I really like it's listener-friendly treble.

 

[Andreeas1978]

Yes, the first link got me started! Then I bought it for my HD800. Then I replaced the opamp with Burson V5D. I am very happy with it but I do not have so much experience or finesse to formulate a pertinent opinion. I have the DAC version and I know it uses a Burr-Brown chip, nothing really special. Sometimes I use it only as Amp from an Audiotehnica turntable or from iBasso HDP-R10 which was praised as supreme SQ on its time. I am very happy with it but I am no golden ears guy. I will start studying the second link you posted and see what I can get from it. Thanks!
Maybe you should read about the Burson v5 opamp, it needs the D double version. I find it more refined somehow, do not regret the 70$ investment. It is by no mean more harsh, with HD800 that would have pierce my brain, they are by default so bright! You will find a v5 thread on headfi also, that's how I got to it. Don't push yourself to like something that's not your cup of tea!
But I cannot recommend it to you, different ears different perception, even if the hardware is really good, might not fit your style.. For instance, melodies with high pitch trumpets scratch my ears and brain like crazy no matter how good or expensive the hardware is..I came to the conclusion (medically tested) that I have some kind of ear trauma from work..

 

[Andreeas1978]

Hm... It's not clear if they talk about listening through the DAC section or just AMP, there might be the Sinergy problem between HPA and different headsets and the burn in thing that generates so much argue, and then the human factor, tastes etc. I don't know what to say. I use mine with HD800 and sometimes with JBL S700. I'm totally good with it! I'm no expert but I use only WAV up to 192khz and sometimes I can feel when for instance a track has bad masterization or bad compression. It just sounds screechy or congested. Many times I load the tracks in Adobe CC to see what's going on and you can see if it's compressed and mastered like a big chunk of wood with all freqs up on the same level and then cut like with a knife.