I just got a Matrix x-spdif 2 and hooked up all the cables but it is not working. I get a green light on the matrix so it is working but a red light on the Directstream i2s display so the two devices are not connecting. I have tried 3 different hdmi cables and 2 usb cables with no success. I have also tried turning off the dac and powering up again with no change.
Is there something else that I should try?
I tried them in different settings but no luck.
If you have a DS Sr. Have you tried the other I2S input? Contacting PS Audio support might be the next thing to try.
I have the DS Sr and tried both inputs.
An out there random guess. If your Matrix is powered off of a power supply, as an experiment, try having that power supply and the DS plugged into the same outlet/circuit. If the Matrix is running off of USB power, if possible, try having the USB plugged into the same circuit as the DS.
The matrix is running off of USB power from my laptop. Both the laptop and DS are plugged into the same outlet.
I contacted PS service and the only suggestion was to try a different version of Sunlight. They sent me the files but this version didn’t solve my problems.
I just discovered another issue, if I disconnect the Matrix and reconnect it results in my DS screen freezing and the front power button does not work.
I have partial success. I tried my 5th different hdmi cable and I now have a green light on my dac screen.
I guess that the Matrix/DS didn’t like the other 4 cables.
I only have partial success as while everything looks good I am not getting any sound. I am running Jplay to play the music files on my laptop and also tried Foobar2000 but no sound.
Did you try powering the laptop off and back on again?
I did that and I tried reinstalling Jplay.
Is the Matrix driver installed on your computer? The light is not always an indicator of music streaming through the Matrix. I would cross check the sound from Matrix using SPDIF coax into your DAC?
The Matrix driver is installed and the Jplay settings menu shows a spdif connection.
Excellent. So, does the coaxial output of the Matrix deliver any signal to your DAC at all? You can use any RCA cable for testing.
I tried the coaxial output but it does not work, I get a red light. In addition, I disconnected the i2s and am still getting a green light on the DS.
I turned the power off and restarted but the coaxial input still shows red and the green light for the i2s is now red. I am thinking that I have a defective Matrix unit.
Extra electronics in the signal path just add extra extra trouble, expensive cables, an extra power supply, 2 extra power cables to worry about, cluttering space, while it is questionable if the matrix really adds to the sound quality or to the noise level.
Why all this stress, the cable cluttering and waste of space for a fraction of sound improvement?
I’d save all the Matrix, power supply and cable money for a proper I2S Octave Server / Streamer. You will have enough time to save for the extra money and till then enjoy your music via a single USB cable. It isn’t bad at all, I know because I did it from my iMac with a 5 m USB cable into a Stellar Gain Cell DAC and had no issue with the sound quality whatsoever.
in foobar, what output did you choose? Did you try with the ASIO component?
