Why Matrix Audio
Matrix Audio has been building high fidelity digital electronics since 2010, and the brand has grown into a genuine digital source and streaming specialist. If you love the convenience of streaming but refuse to give up serious sound quality, Matrix Audio gives you a clear, modular path. You can start with a single capable box and grow toward a full separates system over time, and every step along the way is designed to work together.
This guide walks you through the pieces, explains how they combine, and helps you choose based on how you actually listen. As an authorized dealer, AEA is happy to help you map the right starting point.
Start With How You Listen
Before choosing models, it helps to picture your listening life. Three common paths cover most people.
The all in one path
You want one box that streams, converts, and drives your speakers. A streaming integrated amplifier is your friend here.
The streamer plus amplifier path
You have a favorite amplifier already, or you want to choose amplification separately. A network streamer and DAC, sometimes with a built in preamp stage, feeds your amp.
The separates path
You want each function in its own dedicated chassis for the highest performance ceiling. Here you combine a source, a preamplifier, and a power amplifier, and you can refine the digital front end with a switch or a clock.
Streaming Integrated Amplifiers: One Box, Speakers Out
If you want the simplest route to great sound, a streaming integrated amplifier combines the streamer, the DAC, and the amplification in a single chassis. The Matrix Audio MD-1 and the Matrix Audio MD-1P are built exactly for this. They stream over the network and drive your speakers directly, so you connect a pair of speakers and you are listening. They support Roon Ready operation along with TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify, DLNA and AirPlay, and they are controlled through the MA app. They handle high resolution material including MQA, DSD and high rate PCM.
The Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 4 is a compact streaming amplifier that packs the same streaming platform into a smaller footprint, making it a natural fit for a desktop, a study, or a second room. It too offers Roon Ready, TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify, DLNA, AirPlay and MA app control, with MQA, DSD and high rate PCM support.
Network Streamers and DACs: The Heart of the System
If you want to choose your amplification separately, or you already own an amp you love, start with a streamer and DAC. This is the core of the modern digital system.
The Matrix Audio MS-1 and the Matrix Audio MS-1c are network streamers and DACs that bring the full Matrix streaming experience into your chain, with Roon Ready, TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify, DLNA and AirPlay, MA app control, and support for MQA, DSD and high rate PCM. The Matrix Audio MS-1 Pre adds a preamplifier stage, which means it can drive a power amplifier directly. That is a clean, elegant way to build a system: an MS-1 Pre feeding a power amp, with no separate preamp box required.
The Matrix Audio TS-1 is another network streamer in the family, again built on the same streaming platform with the MA app, Roon Ready and the major services. Choosing among these comes down to the features and form you need and how you plan to grow. AEA can help you match the right one to your room and your amplification.
When you already have a source
If you have a transport or a computer and simply need conversion, the Matrix Audio ND-1 is a dedicated DAC. It slots in as the digital to analog stage of your system and feeds a preamp or an integrated amplifier.
Digital Transports: A Pure Source
Some listeners prefer to keep the transport and the DAC in separate chassis. The Matrix Audio TT-1 and the Matrix Audio NT-1 are streaming transports. Their job is to deliver the digital signal cleanly to a DAC. A transport plus a DAC is a classic pairing: connect a TT-1 or NT-1 to the ND-1, and you have a two box digital source where each stage is dedicated to a single task.
The Separates System: MP-1 and MA-1
For the highest performance ceiling, Matrix Audio offers dedicated amplification. The Matrix Audio MP-1 is a Class A preamplifier, and the Matrix Audio MA-1 is a Class AB power amplifier. Together they form the reference amplification core of a Matrix system.
A full separates stack might look like this: a streamer or DAC feeding the MP-1 preamplifier, the MP-1 driving the MA-1 power amplifier, and the MA-1 driving your speakers. If you want to simplify, remember that the MS-1 Pre includes a preamp stage and can drive the MA-1 directly. Both are valid designs. The MP-1 and MA-1 route gives you a dedicated Class A preamp and a dedicated Class AB power amp in their own chassis, while the MS-1 Pre plus MA-1 route trims a box from the chain. AEA can help you decide which fits your goals.
The Digital Front End: Switches and a Clock
Here is an important point to keep in mind. A network switch, an isolator, or a clock does not make sound on its own. These pieces serve the digital chain. They clean and tighten what your streamer and DAC receive, and their benefit shows up through the source that follows them.
Audio grade network switches and isolator
The Matrix Audio SS-1, the Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro and the Matrix Audio SI-1 are audio grade, galvanically isolated network products. They sit between your home network and your streamer to reduce noise entering the digital front end. Within the Matrix range, the SS-1 Pro is the more comprehensive switch. The SI-1 serves as an isolator in the chain. If your streamer lives on a busy home network, these are a sensible refinement once your core system is in place.
The reference master clock
The Matrix Audio SC-1 is a reference master clock built around a femtosecond master clock, and it provides a clock input based system for compatible components. A precise clock reduces timing jitter in the digital chain, which is why it is a front end refinement rather than a starting point. Add it when you are chasing the last measure of performance from a resolving system.
Headphone Listening: The NA-1
If headphones are part of your world, the Matrix Audio NA-1 is a dedicated headphone amplifier. Pair it with a streamer or DAC such as the ND-1 to build a focused personal listening setup, or run it alongside your main system for late night sessions.
Putting It Together: Three Example Systems
Simple and complete
Choose a streaming integrated amplifier such as the MD-1 or the mini-i Pro 4, add speakers, and you are streaming. This is the friendliest place to start.
Streamer plus amplification
Pair the MS-1 Pre with the MA-1 power amplifier. The preamp stage in the MS-1 Pre drives the MA-1 directly, giving you a clean, high performance two box system.
Full separates and refined front end
Build a source with a transport and the ND-1 DAC, run into the MP-1 Class A preamplifier and the MA-1 Class AB power amplifier, then refine the digital front end with the SS-1 Pro switch and the SC-1 reference clock. This is the fullest expression of a Matrix Audio system.
Let Us Help You Listen
AEA is an authorized Matrix Audio dealer with a showroom in Timonium, Maryland. Demo units rotate and not every model is always set up, so we invite you to contact AEA to arrange a listen and to plan a system that fits how you love to listen.