Yesterday, just for giggles I took the Matrix out of the system. I was on my way to my chair (maybe six feet) while a song was playing and I spun around and hooked it back up. Not even 30 seconds and I was missing it. I am powering it with a supply I have been using for 2000 years. My large 6 volt batteries are on their way. Now I am considering a Wolf Audio Systems computer.
I am sad that someone has a DSD SR posted on Audiogon for $3999. It was a display model, selling it as open box with full warranty. It’s been there for a week. In my mind I have bought it three times.
I have and love the Jr. I want the SR but I am thinking I’ll wait for what comes next. (A DSD with built in Matrix?) LOL. Whatever it is I hope they name it Mocha.
Yes, my personal experience with AQ cables, and most of what I’ve read about them, is that they tilt in the laid back smoother direction. I know I found the AQ Colorado XLR’s to be that way.
On another thread here a gentleman found the AQ Coffee hdmi (virtually identical to the Mocha spec wise) to be more laid back than one of the WW Starlight hdmi’s. He preferred the liveliness of the WW.
And given I’m finding the same edginess with the Mocha, cheap toslink, and the Convey, I deduce that the edginess is coming from the Matrix. So I will continue to break it in.
I realize the MBP is an issue. I’m wondering if the galvanic isolation abilities of one of these 24/192 toslink cables will help mitigate some of the noise limitations of the MBP?
Would appreciate feedback on that theory from Ted or anyone else
I know Ted wrote that he always uses toslink for in home demos because it helps with upstream issues. Would that apply to my MBP —> Matrix —> DSJ setup?
How old is your MBP, what is its CPU, and how much RAM does it contain? My understanding and experience is that Roon and HQPlayer are very resource-intensive programs. The noise a MBP generates running Roon and HQPlayer simultaneously seems to me to be a far more likely culprit for the ‘edginess’ you are experiencing.
I hope you find the source of the edginess and are able to eliminate it. Did you try my suggested experiment of playing a high-quality high-res file outside of Roon/HQPlayer? If so, what did you conclude? If the Matrix truly is the source of the edginess then I think you may have received a defective unit, as seemingly virtually everyone else on this thread who has tried a Matrix has concluded that it has a positive impact on sonics.
Yes, I’ve played files every which way. For me, the Matrix absolutely improves sonics in many areas, but at least out of the gate, there is a bit of a brightness or edge that is new. I don’t think the unit is defective and a few others have reported something similar.
There are so many variables in equipment, rooms, software, personal tastes and even physiology that its difficult to do a true apple to apple comparison on a forum like this.
Our systems are an ecosystem. My MBP, unto itself, likely contributes to edginess. I believe my yet to be fully broken in Matrix has added to that edginess, bringing it to a more noticeable level. A better test would be to try a source other than my MacBook Pro, but that’s all I have.
I’ll continue to break in the Matrix and Mocha, then we’ll see where things stand.
As so many already trying to help you getting best out of your Matrix,whats left is to put that switching ps you have ,to your router or closet.Get lps1.2 or similar. Based on my trials,when i tried Matrix without lps1.2 the sound was surely edgy and “digital haze” all around. I didn´t notice that edginess without Matrix,usb straight to dac. Hope you get it solved.
I have less than $100 invested in two 6 volt Batteries and a charger. I do not believe anyone makes a power supply that offers less noise than a battery. The 6 volt batteries were a whopping $15 each. They are probably good for a week of use before a recharge is required. I’ll soon see. (They should arrive soon)
While I am also a fan of battery power, they do inject noise into the line… several LPS manufacturers actually claim less noise than batteries. This may be true as a total measurement, but I think the spectrum of noise is different and to me, batteries tend to sound cleaner. The downside is that batteries have a much higher impedance. Fortunately in a digital adapter (like the Matrix or an optical to Ethernet converter), as long as the conversion is bit perfect (which you can test), the impedance shouldn’t really matter. (In an analog circuit it could limit transient response).
All this said, as in all things audio, it comes down to the listening. In my system batteries are clearly superior to inexpensive to moderately expensive SMPS and LPS. I have yet to compare a reference quality LPS… always another step.
A couple weeks ago I ordered an Audioquest Mocha 1M HDMI from Musicdirect at the $200 sale price. They promptly shipped me an Audioquest Pearl 1M HDMI, which retails for $30. First, they required me to send them photos, presumably to prove that I was not an idiot who couldn’t tell the difference, or a crook trying to rip them off. Then they informed me they would be happy to ship the correct cable, after they received the wrong cable back. (If they were going to wait until they got the wrong cable back before shipping the right one, why require the photos?) It took three days (albeit including a weekend) to generate the return label. Five days after they got the wrong cable back they had still not shipped the Mocha, so I cancelled the order. I’m still waiting for the promised refund.
So next I ordered a 1M Wireworld Silver Starlight 7 HDMI from fatwyre.com. They promptly charged my credit card, and then two days later informed me the cable was unavailable and Wireworld did not intend to make more. I’ve decided to stick with my One Convey for now. Maybe Wireworld will be coming out with a new Series 8 Silver Starlight. Who knows. For now, the cable gods are clearly not with me.
Not every company announces that an item is no longer in production and sells the remaining stock at a discount. Fatwyre is showing the Platinum Starlight and some other cables as series 8. There’s no reason for fatwyre to tell me the cable is no longer available if they could still get it. I’m in no rush so I can wait to see if there is a new cable in the reasonably near future.
But why pay full retail when a new, and perhaps improved, model may be coming out at the same price? (For example, I believe the Platinum 8 is selling for the same price as the Platinum 7, although I could be wrong.) Like I said, I’m not in a hurry.
Edit: And if they don’t release a Series 8 equivalent, I can live with that. There are other fish in the sea.
Looking at the FatWyre website, the title for the cable is Platinum Starlight 8, but the detailed description underneath is for the Platinum Starlight 7. All very confusing…
