The Rme has an Eq and soundness function and a powerful integrated amplifier.
Relatively much playfulness.
The Matrix will certainly not have that, which is also more focused on function than the Rme.
Ultimately, you have to judge for yourself whether the integrated amp from the Matrix is enough.
I can not except that he was quite weak in the 2s for larger listeners but perfect for Iem’s.
And that he will shine on the hi-fi system you in a new light.
I think that will be the same for the 3 Matrix.
I’m not very familiar with this reviewer (soundnews) but the review he made for this product was extensive, and he was very impressed by its abilities. He even notes that it will drive HifiMan Arya and Audeze LCD-4 single-ended at -1 or 0 dB for loud volumes, as he did not have a 4.4mm cable to test the balanced output. This indicates to me that it will have the power to drive them, but may not have the power to really push everything they have. I will update this thread when I get my hands on the new gear and get some impressions.
The review on soundnews was quite helpful, thanks.
I also read some comments on ASR but it seems there are some units that are quite buggy, which has me worried. I assume it’ll get better early 2021 because it was just released a couple months ago, guess I’ll keep an eye on this and the ADI-2 for now (leaning towards the ADI-2 for versatility though).
I just recieved mine a few days ago. I love it so far, no issues (after i remembered to switch it from 220 to 110v ). The sound is excellent. I’m kind of a minimalist so i prefer combos for simplicity, and this was a noticeable step up from my M500. That said however; I just recently found out about the 22ohm impedance on the bal output though, not sure if thats something to worry about… all my headphones are <150ohm so well inside of the “8x output impedance” zone but they sound fine so far.
Hello
The data sheet says 300 ohm 950 mw, if you are at 150 ohm you can safely add a quarter of that minimum.
Roughly speaking, you would then be at 1200-1400 mw.
Shouldn’t be a problem to drive your headphones.
For planar headphones it might be slightly difficult.
A Lcd 2c with 70 ohm would also be roughly at the limit.
But in the end you have to decide how it is for you.
I have the predecessor and it is actually only suitable for use with Iem, but unfortunately not for anything else.
I connected another headphone amplifier to it but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
A bit too cool for headphones, but I haven’t heard anything better on the hi-fi system so far when I stream with my tablet via Bluetooth. Watch out, it’s a lot of fun.
I’ve heard and seen some explanation that if your headphones impedance is less than 8x the amps output impedance the freq response can be effected. I believe this is where the “planars don’t like tubes” mantra comes from.
But the actual effects seem to be very hit or miss, some folks say the bass takes a big hit, some say theres no audible difference. Wasn’t sure if anyone with more technical savvy had tested the mini 3 with some lower impedance headphones.
That has more to do with the fact tubes don’t allow for much current to flow, which is fine as there is loads of voltage.
I always wonder where blanket statements like this come from. Because to say anything about how an amp on some headphone behaves, you either need to have heared that combo, or take an in depth look at the circuit.
That has more to do with the fact tubes don’t allow for much current to flow, which is fine as there is loads of voltage.
Ahhh, ok.
I always wonder where blanket statements like this come from.
No idea, i guess its a kind of “appeal to authority” to see a bunch of forum people or random bloggers talk about it long enough. Might be a non-issue i guess, from my (admittedly not exactly professional) ear, i can’t hear anything.
Is this unit good enough for higher end headphones? I’m upgrading from an old Audioengine D1 because i recently ordered a hifiman arya as my first “nice” headphone. But i’ve heard those are hard to drive so im looking at other amps/dacs. It seems like it has enough power, but maybe theres something i’m missing?
So I actually have this and the Arya and I think it sounds great on this thing. I’ve been A/B testing the amp in this against my V280 and with the Arya I really can’t tell much of a difference on a lot of my music. Other headphones, like HD600, I can immediately tell if I’m using the V280 or the mini because the bass hits are a bit meatier and the soundstage is noticeably improved with slightly better imaging. But with the Arya I’ve been trying to find those same differences and they just aren’t apparent to me on the majority of the music I’ve tried. I actually just tried my HE6se with the mini-i 3 pro tonight and I like it much better than on the V280, surprisingly. Almost as much as I liked it with my Marantz MM7025 power amp…
I really like this dac/amp/streamer, I think it’s pretty amazing.
Yeah I would imagine so. I’m driving 5XX (a bit more eff. than the Aryas at 93dB compared to their 90) off the 4.4mm balanced output. Listening at my “normal” volume i’m at about -12dB, and -7.5 if i’m really blasting it.
I ordered a pair of LCD 2Cs to try on it, so we’ll see how it does with higher impedance planars (70ohm), but the efficiency is higher on those (104 i think) so i’m figuring it will power those fine.
I noticed that many people mention purchasing the Mini i3 from Apos or ShenzhenAudio, but I don’t see much about purchasing directly from Matrix Audio. Any reason for this?
I believe Apos provides free shipping within the US and ShenzhenAudio and Matrix Audio provide free worldwide shipping, both the Pro and non-Pro units have the same price across each site.
I currently reside in Japan so I was going to purchase directly from Matrix Audio but curious if I am missing something…possibly the reward points from Shenzhen?
Not sure, I got mine from Apos because I’m in the US and i’d bought from them before, so I knew about what to expect for shipping time, customer support, etc. To be honest I can’t imagine it makes a ton of difference.
I have this unit and the matrix element M also.
Both happily drive the HiFiman Ananda.
On the pro 3 i have the volume pot at - 10 bB on SE and around - 16 dB on balanced.
On the element M i run them at around - 20 dB. No balanced on that unit.
No negative changes to sound signature between the 2 units. They sound very good on both, they sound like Ananda.
I was worried about the high Z-out when I got the pro 3 and would be happy to hear other peoples experience of using different cans on the unit, both planar and dynamic drivers.
I watched the Z review and he sounded happy with the performance driving 3 cans with very different specs. Not yet seen a review where anybody else has tested it with different cans.
So people, what cans you pushing from the pro 3 and are you happy?
I’m tried it with a pair of Elex, DT1990s, LCD 2C, campfire cascades, M570, and 5XX. No issues, they all sounded great, clear, detailed, fast. I’m starting to wonder if they’ve over rated the output impedance .
I concur and I’m starting to think the same as you.
I borrowed a pair of Aeon 2 closed. At 13 ohm and 92dB they actually sound OK with the pro 3 driving them. The rule of 8 definitely doesn’t fit the low Impedance of those.
I know there’s a whole debate on Impedance and planar but still think the pro 3 is out of spec on paper v performance.
Yeah at this point i’m kind of waiting for someone with testing equipment to give it a go. Seems wild that the measurement would be off but i’ve seen other units that were way over rated by the manufacturer on output impedance.
I guess the other explanation is simply that i’m no good at hearing all the distortion this thing is chucking out, in which case time to get some money back on all this audio stuff and get some cheapo gear
I saw above you also own a focal clear, how did that pair? This unit looks quite promising but I am also worried about the rule of 8 since I have clear mg (55 ohms).
Awesome, I am kind of holding back because of the rule of 8 and mixing reviews on the amp stage of the mini. Focal elex has 80 ohms while clear MG is only 55 ohm though… But after visiting a boutique the other day I found out I really need to listen to more stuff.
Some of the stuff raved online didn’t sound all that special to me, while some tubes were really good with my clear MGs.
I am going to see if I can listen to the matrix audio somewhere close
). The sound is excellent. I’m kind of a minimalist so i prefer combos for simplicity, and this was a noticeable step up from my M500. That said however; I just recently found out about the 22ohm impedance on the bal output though, not sure if thats something to worry about… all my headphones are <150ohm so well inside of the “8x output impedance” zone but they sound fine so far.
.
