MATRIX Audio Element X

Visual Design

The brand-new element series products has discarded the unnecessary visual elements in design. It well combined the simple lines with CNC anodizing aluminum body. The conspicuous design feature of element series is an exquisite high-light line throughout the whole body to show a delicate visual effect.

Start From The Core

For us, it is an extremely new area, with the efforts and exploration for more than one year, we integrated the quad-core ARM processor( based on Freescale i.MX6 ) into element series products. Meanwhile, we also developed a high-quality audio system which is based on Linux. Being different from other previous products of Matrix, the element X has the function of playing network streaming media and local audio files, it converts from a DAC into a full-function audio source.

MA player

The ARM processor of element series runs a powerful audio playback system, support kinds of general format of audio filies, including 768kHz sampling rate PCM and 22.4MHz DSD audio, play and browse your music library by connecting an external storage device through the USB host port or by an installed NAS storage device.

MA Remote App

We have developed Android APP for element series products, users can browse and play the audio files in the storage devices or NAS through MA Remote APP, as long as the devices are under the same local area network (LAN). In order to bring better experience, we will constantly improve the APP and develop the APP for iOS users in the near future.

AirPlay & DLNA

Nowadays, listening music through network streaming media is plunging into the thick of our life. When element series products connected to wireless or wired network, you can push the music from your smart phone or other mobile devices to element series products via AirPlay & DLNA function whenever and wherever possible, to experience the convenience of wireless streaming media.

MQA Decoding and Rendering

MQA is high-resolution audio coding technique that has high sampling rate but small enough file size. MQA is a trend for enjoying online high-quality music, it is also a main function on element series products. element series products are MQA full decoders and ready for the coming up high-quality streaming media.

ES9038PRO/ES9311/Femtosecond Clock

Being the initial one of this series, element X used the industry leading ESS Company’s D/A solution — ES9038PRO flagship D/A chip collocated with the professional ultra-low noise LDO ES9311 and Crystek CCHD-950 femtosecond clock, combining our years of developing and tuning experience on ESS chips to make it to its fullest potential.

Brand New USB Interface

With the rapid development of high-quality music format, user’s requirements for the processing capacity of hardware are becoming higher than before. element X equipped with the brand-new XU216 XMOS processor, it is easy for handling even decoding and rendering the high standard MQA format.

Hyper-Control

In order to improve the precision of traditional potentiometer volume control and the disadvantage dynamic of digital volume control, we designed hybrid digital volume control for element X which with the relay array and DAC chip internal digital volume unit, combined the analog volume control and digital volume control to keep the features of analog volume control’s good quality and the precision of the digital volume control.

Pre-amplifier

For use with active speakers, there is no need to add a pre-amplifier, element X has a built-in high-quality analog pre-amplifier with +10dB analog gain and is configurable.

Full Balanced Headphone Amplifier

element X is a dual-mode headphone amplifier with LME49600, consisting independent four-channel amplifier units. It can drives a balanced pair of headphone in balanced mode; under single-ended mode, it’s configured as two independent stereo amplifiers that can simultaneously drive two single-ended headphones.

High Performance Power Supply System

Power supply is the foundation of graceful sound performance. We used a customized Noratal toroidal transformer and Nichicon audio capacitor for element X, multiple sets of separation power supply and linear LDO, with the well-designed four-layer PCB, all of above is to reproduced for the original sound.

Double-shell Structure

Since different materials has its own resonant frequency, element X is designed as double-shell structure. The inner shell used the stamping and bending galvanized sheet with multi-strip reinforcing ribs which has terrific strength, while the external shell is made of 4mm aluminium sheet, the cooperation of the two materials changed the fixed resonant frequency and reduced the negative impact of resonance on sound quality.