Matrix Audio MS-1 Network-attached DAC/streamer
When a manufacturer announces a new model, it’s tempting to compare it to what’s come before, looking for where upgrades have been made. And, yes, the MS-1 from China’s Matrix Audio does carry on technology and design features from the company’s earlier network players, including the Element X2 and X2 Pure [HFN Oct ’22 and Dec ’23] and entry-level X-Sabre 3[HFN Apr ’22]. That said, you only need lay eyes on the MS-1, with its full-width chassis, large, colourful front-panel display and £9600 price tag, to realise it’s also something different.
What we have here is one of three new flagship components from Matrix Audio. A networked streamer/DAC, the MS-1 has launched alongside the MA-1 (£8000), a Class AB stereo power amplifier promising 2x250W/8ohm, and configurable as a monoblock if desired, and the MP-1 preamplifier (£6700), a fully-balanced ‘pure Class A’ design. These high-end pre/power separates herald a new direction for Matrix Audio, towards ‘traditional hi-fi systems’, while the top-of-the-range streamer introduces new tricks of its own.
Storage smarts
How so? Well, in addition to being the manufacturer’s first ‘full-size’ music streamer (and therefore a visual match for its MA-1 and MP-1 siblings), the MS-1 is also Matrix Audio’s first unit to support onboard storage. A recess in the base plate accepts slot-in M.2 NVMe solid state drives (expect to pay between £80 and £100 for 1TB), onto which music files can be loaded from a USB stick or over the network. The MS-1 also features a new DPLL clock circuit, plus a 10MHz external clock input, and runs a new generation of the manufacturer’s custom, Linux-based MA Player operating system, its features managed by the MA Remote 4.0 app [see boxout].
More notably, this streamer uses AKM’s flagship AK4191/AK4499 dual-chip solution rather than the ESS-based DAC stages of the Element and X-Sabre series. Two pairs of this upsampler/DAC combination [see PM's Lab Report] are employed – one pair per channel – in a dual mono configuration, allied to coupling capacitors from Mundorf. Capacitors from the German supplier also feature in the MS-1’s power supply stage, which uses separate toroidal transformers for its digital and analogue sections, each wound with square, rather than round, copper wire – Matrix Audio says the result of this is a ‘larger conductor surface, higher current capacity, and lower resistance’.
Like the Element X2 Pure, the MS-1 DAC handles network/locally stored music, plus digital streams from external sources over USB-B, S/PDIF and I2S /HDMI (the last of these could be used with the brand’s ‘X-SPDIF3 USB’ digital audio interface).
Sonic spice
Depending on the input, sample rates up to 768kHz/32-bit and DSD1024 are accepted, which should cover even the most ardent hi-res enthusiast. For ‘sound seasoning’, the AKM chipset, including an AK4137 sample-rate converter, is leveraged to offer asynchronous PCM upsampling, DSD resampling and six PCM digital filters, all accessible via the front display and MA App.
Furthermore, in addition to the MS-1’s balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA line-level outputs, there’s a bank of analogue inputs on its well-stocked rear panel. Signals from the MS-1’s stereo XLR and RCA line in connections, plus its RCA phono inputs – configurable for MM and MC pick-ups – are passed through a ‘high precision ADC’ and then into the unit’s DSP and PCM filter sections. As with native digital streams, these can be output over a second I2S port to an external DAC if desired.
Chassis chic
If this makes the MS-1 something of an outlier in the DAC/streamer market – although models such as NAD’s M66 [HFN Jul ’24] offer similar functionality – then so does the fact it comes in two different iterations. The base-level is the one auditioned here, while the costlier MS-1 Pre, at £11,000, builds in preamp functionality via a resistor-ladder volume control and balanced/unbalanced outputs.
Aside from those extra connections, both the MS-1 and MS-1 Pre look identical and showcase a new design (with gold-coloured logo) that Matrix Audio says is a ‘precursor to the future evolution’ of its products. This streamer/DAC is a stunner too – surprisingly hefty at 14.6kg and beautifully built. Inside the all-metal chassis, an H-frame construction is used for rigidity, in conjunction with two 20mm aluminium plates to which PCBs and components are mounted. Meanwhile, the top and sides are perforated for heat dissipation, the numerous holes – says Matrix Audio – ‘resembling rhythmic beats dancing and emerging on the surface’.
The full width of the MS-1’s fascia is taken up by a black plastic sheet, but once powered up this reveals a full colour touchscreen panel that occupies a little less real estate. It’s still a big display in the scheme of things (220mm across) and an absolute joy to use. It offers a great deal of information with extensive configuration options and is always snappily responsive.
Bass unbound
Just from the first track played, it becomes clear that the MS-1 is a superb digital source/DAC, deftly delivering your music with an addictive blend of detail, space and musical ‘flow’. There’s no impression that Matrix Audio’s hardware is adding anything itself, nor dropping the ball as it juggles all those 1s and 0s, and this subjectively clean and clear performance allows you to dig into the subtleties in the production of tracks, or the voicing of partnering amp and speakers. Used with Primare’s PRE32/A35.2 pre/power amps [HFN Dec ’19] and Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3 Signature speakers [HFN Aug ’24], the sound sparkled with crisp enunciation and a driving bass. However, it was only when put at the head of the Constellation Audio/Wilson Audio Alexx VFX system in HFN’s reference listening room that the sheer depth and weight of this bass was revealed.
Streamed via Tidal through Matrix Audio’s Remote app, ‘Fend You Off’, from Swiss/American avant-garde metal band Zeal & Ardor’s new GREIF album [self-released, CD resolution download], was given a level of refinement I wasn’t expecting. The glockenspiel notes that dance between the loudspeakers during the song’s intro sounded precise and delicate, but free of artifice and sterility, while the overdriven guitar lines that follow were forceful but not grating. Meanwhile, the anguished emotion in Manuel Gagneux’s vocal was fully on show, thanks to the MS-1’s astonishing clarity.
The ability of Matrix Audio’s DAC to unravel Zeal & Ardor’s dense, often distorted soundscapes, without them losing any of their snarl and drive, made me see this album in a new light. And it was a similar story with the title track from Entombed’s Wolverine Blues [Earache Records MOSH082FDR; CD res], which is more low-fi than hi-fi, but was rendered with excellent definition and rhythmic swagger by the MS-1. Nicke Andersson’s drumming, in particular, sounded largescale and weighty, easily cutting through the fuzz-laden, mid-tempo riffs.
Micro moments
Naturally, the full breadth of this unit’s charms came to light with higher-quality recordings. Listening to ‘The Sweetest Sounds’, from the jazz trio of Angelo Verploegen, Ed Verhoeff and Eric van der Westen [The Sweetest Sound; Just Listen Records; DSD64 download], was almost a case of sensory overload, thanks to the microdetails to be heard – from Verhoeff’s fingers sliding up and down his guitar strings to the breathy pauses in Verploegen’s flugelhorn playing.
When the walking bassline arrived, it sounded warm, textured and authentic, just as Anna Fedora’s piano on her recital of Rachmaninov’s third piano concerto [Channel Classics CC45023] offered a feeling of in-the-room realism. The MS-1’s presentation ensured every key press and pedal push were easy to discern, and the size and feel of the instrument in the venue shone through. Here was a sound of excellent dynamics and resonance, utterly captivating, just as the performer and label intended.
The easy operation of the MS-1’s display (plus the MA Remote app) might persuade listeners to experiment with its PCM filter, upsampling and resampling settings, rather than simply stick to the default options – Matrix Audio has made it very easy to get stuck in here. As is often the case, particularly with ‘off-the-shelf’ filters, I wasn’t able to alight on any preference, but did find the effect of the MS-1’s PCM-to-DSD conversion more discernible. Set to work with the title track from Prince and The Revolution’s album Purple Rain [Warner Records; CD resolution download], which has a thin production not up to par with the musicianship on show, it yielded a slightly fuller, softer sound.
Blues bliss
Really, though, the MS-1’s ‘out-of-the-box’ performance is rewarding enough in itself, and I can’t imagine anyone not being beguiled by its music making. A case in point: the fine balance it brought to Gary Moore’s Still Got The Blues set [Virgin Records 260 558], where the title track featured rich, plump bass guitar and velvety, smooth-as-you-like keyboards, next to the wailing, piercing highs of the artist’s 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard. This is an album rightly famed for Moore’s guitar tone, and the MS-1’s performance showed exactly why. I found the mix of attack and fluidity in his solo on ‘King Of The Blues’ literally spine-tingling.
Hi-Fi News Verdict
With its digital, phono and line inputs, there’s a whiff of overkill about the MS-1 – but then why skimp on features when crafting a new flagship? An absolute pleasure to use, Matrix Audio’s smart MS-1 streamer/DAC will thrill digital audiophiles with an enticing, revealing (and customisable) sound that’ll get the best from partnering gear. Want to simplify your system? Go for the MS-1 Pre version instead.
Sound Quality: 87%
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