@DJM, the Innuos Phoenix reclocker should sort out any noise/jitter issues on the USB input into your DAC. It’s not cheap, and would allow you to hear the best your DAC can produce. Worth a demo.
Phil
2 Likes
I too was puzzled by the review until I realised it was Jason Kennedy, who surely loves his Townsend Allegri preamp. I did not try that in my auditioning but for my ears and taste in music the Vega comfortably outperformed my 272/XPS. The resistor ladder volume control and Class A output stages are what really sets it apart from the G1. As a bonus it has balanced XLR output which suits my active ATCs.
Critically, it gives me thrills and goosebumps whenever I listen to it. Oh and I’m not the only forumite with that system.
Roger
1 Like
You didn’t say what it was about your set-up you didn’t like, other than it needs a Windows computer for updates. That problem could be fixed with a cheap Windows machine, or finding a friend with one, and even in you had to buy them a take away in return, it’s much cheaper than spending £ks on a new front end!
I didn’t know about the Matrix when I bought my second-hand 272, but had I done so it would have been top of my audition list with the “streaming” front end provided by my server. I suspect your DAC would be up there with the best of those that are being mentioned here.
Perhaps it’s a system matching issue that is the problem and there is a lot to be said for getting components from a single manufacturer (from both a sound and aesthetic point of view).
If you do listen to other options, let us know how they compared with the Matrix.
1 Like
@WeekendWarrior…My music is stored on a SSD inside a Roon Nucleus, which is also my Roon Core.
I am guilty of trying to ‘penny pinch’, rather than buying a decent digital source to complement my 282/300DR/Kudos 606s. I just connected a USB DAC to the Nucleus.
Roon needs an Endpoint and using the Core as an Endpoint is not the best way forward. Yes it works, but it doesn’t do justice to my system.
I am demoing a Auralic G2.1 on Thursday 
I’ll let you know how I get on.
Have you thought about DCS network bridge? To pair with your dac. But perhaps you prefer one box streaming dac?
1 Like
@frenchrooster…I’ve been looking at dcs Bridge for a few days now. But I have made up my mind to get rid of the Matrix DAC. A decent DAC with the dcs bridge, is probably out my price bracket.
Having said that, the Auralic Vega G2.1 which I’m demoing tomorrow, is nearly £6,000! I’ll see how it goes. Yes, no space left in the rack for a sixth box! 
1 Like
What am I missing? I use Spotify due to the significantly broader catalogue (particularly for my non mainstream tastes), but I am aware of quality issues. I know but haven’t used Tidal or Qobuz. I am in the market for a streamer to replace my iphone / ipad / Airport Express / DAC current solution, so may add one of these services.
I was looking at Qobuz and saw some expensive items for purchase. When I look at the details I see CD quality recordings on some. If I flick to Amazon or eBay I can pick up the same CD at a fraction of the price and then rip it myself. Is this just egregious exploitation of the unaware?
I don’t think so.
I am sure that this can work the other way round as well. I have purchased some CD quality downloads from Qobuz at a significantly lower price than available on Amazon. Of course, pre-owned CDs on Ebay may very well be cheaper, but that’s only to be expected.
I don’t personally use Qobuz for it’s streaming service because I find Tidal’s music catalogue to be a bit better for my music tastes. However, Qobuz is my ‘go to’ supplier when I want to purchase hi-res downloads.
2 Likes
Yes I am sure you are correct about it working both ways, however shouldn’t the CD theoretically always be more expensive that a digital file that has zero reproduction, negligible distribution and the same licence cost?
Further if there is nothing to distinguish the Qobuz files from a CD rip, should my first stop be eBay for older releases? I did rip my CDs a long time ago to store on NAS in an Apple lossless format but now rethinking how I approach the digital file formats.
Musicmagpie is a good source of second hand cd’s.
My point was that the Matrix is possibly a very good DAC. I didn’t listen to it but it is rated very highly and the DAC part of it may be as good as that in the Vega 2.1.
I suspect the preamp in the Vega is better than that in the Matrix, but unless you are getting rid of your 282 you won’t be using it. The Vega is aimed at the all-in-one/ reduced box count people which you are not one of.
Interested in the comparison so look forward to hearing from you.
1 Like
@WeekendWarrior…That is a possibility, DAC wise. The Matrix does not have Pre amp, it’s purely a DAC.
My Roon Nucleus is a Server. Yes it does work plugged into a DAC, definitely. But I do think it needs a Roon Endpoint/streamer to get the best out of it, and to do justice to my system.
I’ll let you know how the demo goes…for £6,000 it’s gonna have to be a ‘night and day’ comparison! 
Maybe I am thinking of a different DAC then, I assumed it was the X Sabre Pro as that is the only one I could find via Google.
Good luck
I generally buy cheapest available unless I decide to download hi res: so depending what it is I may check CDs on eBay first, then likes of Amazon, and download cost on Qobuz, HDTracks, Primephonic, Bandcamp etc. Often prices on download sites are very different from one another, without consistency as to which is usually cheapest.
1 Like
I understand, I checked your dac on google, and it may be indeed a limiting factor.
Now, with 6k budget, the Auralic seems a good choice. But why not the Ndx2?
1 Like
@WeekendWarrior…I am so sorry. You are correct, the Matrix does have a pre amp. I have never used it though, not even as a demo against my 282.
@frenchrooster…I hope I don’t get slaughtered for this, but I bought my Naim system about three months before the NDX 2 was released. I was eagerly awaiting it’s release so that I could add it my system. I had two demos at two different dealers. Sadly, I could not hear much difference to the system I had. Then some people had issues with the screen freezing up. I sure all that has been resolved by now and the NDX 2 is a great machine.
Of course the NDX2 is the obvious choice as you have already invested heavily in the Naim sound. However, if you were not that impressed with it then you made the right decision not to buy it.
The Vega 2.1 has quite a sophisticated pre-amp, so if you were to buy that you may be spending 1/3 of the cost on something you would not use. Sounds like you need a dealer that can give you a good range of options, that may including making better use of the DAC you have.
Of course with a set-up like yours, you are faced with the laws of diminishing returns and will have to pay ever increasing amounts of money for ever decreasing improvements.
1 Like
Ah ok, i understand more. However as you have a Naim system, perhaps it’s worth trying an Ndx2 at your home, and compare vs Auralic. To be sure you make no error.
At dealer place it’s not the same, for me at least. I am more relaxed at home, and more able to fully appreciate what a different component can do.
However the Ndx2 will really shine with an Xps dr, or 555 dr. So different budget too.
2 Likes