Matrix X-SPDIF 2

$379.00 US is what I paid for it brand new.

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Hi Guys, recently bought a Direct Stream DAC with USB connection from Innuos Zenith SE, have been reading this thread for a while and still not sure whether the Matrix will make much of a difference to the overall sound quality. Any Innuos owners out there who can put my mind at rest before I go down the upgrade path of Matrix, Wireworld HDMI and LPS!

Not sure the source matters much. For most of us the Matrix was a gateway for the use of the I2S input which seems to be a big leap in SQ over USB. This combo made a dramatic improvement in SQ over USB in my setup…

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To truly appreciate what a Matrix/Wireworld HDMI/LPS combo can do for a system, I think there is something to be said for living with one’s existing USB-based rig for a time. You mentioned that you bought your DS and Innuos “recently.” If you bought the DS new, I would recommend 800-1000 hours of actual playing time to make sure it is fully broken in (I have no idea what the break-in period is for your Innuos, but the DS break-in period is notoriously long, so if the DS is broken in, the Innuos probably is, too).

After the DS and Innuos are fully burned in, I recommend getting used to their combined sound for a least a month or two. After that, get the Matrix and a basic HDMI cable (such as the One Convey) and run the Matrix on USB power for at least a couple of weeks. Then substitute a nice high-end HDMI cable such as a Wireworld Starlight 7/SIlver Starlight/Platinum Starlight. Let the new HDMI cable burn in for 100+ hours while still running the Matrix on USB power. After that, introduce an LPS of your choice (I use and can recommend the UpTone LPS-1.2).

I found that adding the Matrix, high-end HDMI cable and LPS gradually was conducive to appreciating how each component improves the overall sound of the system.

Or just buy the Matrix real soon now cause it’s purdy nice.

Thanks for the replies, I guess depends on what kit you are using. CEO Paul seemed to think that unless you can connect with native 12S not worth the trouble

CEO PS Audio

Jun '18

The benefit of I2S comes from keeping the separated clocks and data in their original form without going through multiple PLLs etc that go from. One form, like S/PDIF or USB to another. So, my advice would be no, unless you can get a source like the DMP that has native I2S then it won’t be worth your time or money.

This feels like a good time for Ted to chime in with his thoughts…

I cannot claim to have studied this entire thread, but I do not recall reading about a USB-based source which did not benefit from a Matrix between it and the DS. YMMV, as they say, but in this particular case, probably not.

I have on this thread. If I haven’t answered a specific question, please ask. People need to remember that there aren’t universal rules for what make a great sounding audio system. I encourage people to try TOSLink via the Matrix if they haven’t. I also suggest that people should run the experiment of hooking all of the various outputs from the Matrix to the DS and use the input select to switch between them. You may be surprised. Still with only one cable connected between the Matrix and the DS at a time my guess as to the probable order of sound quality are TOSLink > I2S > AES > coax, but this still depends on the type and quality of shielding (or lack thereof), etc. of the cables. Arguments based on jitter aren’t nearly as relevant with the DS as with other DACs. I also agree with bootzilla’s comment just above.

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Thanks Ted. At first I was going to reply by saying what you’ve said on this thread before. Been then I didn’t feel qualified to accurately restate your position :smiley:

Interesting. I’d have thought TOSLink would be near the bottom. Does the Toslink cable itself matter?

TOSLink has the advantage of breaking ground loops. With the DS the higher jitter of TOSLink doesn’t matter as much. When people compare other connections to TOSLink they often make the mistake of not unplugging the cable that’s not in use, e.g. they have the ground noise of the other cable and the jitter of the TOSLink. By unplugging all but the TOSLink cable you may find that you like it more than you thought you might.
Too cheap of a TOSLink cable (e.g. one that came with a Blu-ray player) might not pass higher data rates. Nothing’s perfect so I’m sure some people hear differences between various TOSLink cables, but I suspect not differences of the magnitude of various other cables.

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OK…I’m biting. I just ordered a DH Labs Glass Master Toslink to compare to my Wireworld Silver Starlight 7 HDMI. We’ll see how this shakes out.

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@Tedsmith,
I am getting a SoTM USB card + external SoTM superclock card for my music server. Each will be powered independently. The USB card will be powered by a SoTM 6-9V battery power supply designed for that card. The Superclock will be powered by a 9V SBooster LPS. If this USB card is receiving its power from an independent power supply, battery power, will this mitigate the ground loop issue with regard to connecting the server directly to the DirectStream?

Battery power on the USB host (or last hub) can lower the source generated USB noise. It doesn’t eliminate groundloops unless that card explicitly has isolated inputs and outputs (hard to do with USB audio, but not impossible: most USB isolators either don’t support more the 24/96 or use isolators designed for industrial environments and generate a lot of their own noise.)

Me too. I just ordered the same cable. Compared to most hifi cables this is cheap.

Yeah, I thought so too. It’s about half what I paid for my Silver Starlight HDMI and if it doesn’t work out we can blame it all on Ted :^ )

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Makes sense. Thanks for your input Ted. I will have the ability to test the setup I detailed above with and without the Matrix in the chain. It will be interesting to compare.

Haha! That a boy! Looking forward to your impressions.

Interested to hear the results, I’ve tried a couple of aq optical cables and have been VERY unimpressed. I’m sticking with aq mocha i2s for now.