What the Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro Is
The Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro is an audio grade network switch and isolator designed to sit in the digital chain ahead of a streamer. It is not a source, a preamplifier, or an amplifier, and it does not make sound on its own. Instead it addresses the quality of the network signal reaching your streaming components, which is one of the least glamorous but most overlooked parts of a modern high fidelity system.
Matrix Audio has built its reputation since 2010 as a digital source and streaming specialist, and the SS-1 Pro reflects that focus. It exists to serve the digital chain, cleaning up what arrives at the network input of your streamer so that the source components downstream can do their job with less to fight against.
Design and Technology
The SS-1 Pro is a Gigabit RJ45 Ethernet switch housed in an aluminum enclosure. Three design choices define its character.
Galvanic Isolation on the Network Path
The SS-1 Pro provides galvanic isolation on the network path. This breaks the direct electrical connection that would otherwise let noise and ground contamination from your router, modem, and the wider home network flow straight into your listening system. Isolation is one of the core reasons an audio grade switch differs from an ordinary consumer switch.
High Precision Internal Clock
A high precision internal clock manages the network timing inside the SS-1 Pro. Reclocking the network signal ahead of your streamer helps present a cleaner, better timed stream to the downstream digital stage. Remember that this clock serves the network path within the switch and works in concert with the clocking already inside your DAC or streamer.
Filtered Low Noise Power Supply
The unit uses a filtered supply engineered for low noise operation. Since the whole point of an audio grade switch is reducing noise in the digital chain, a quiet power supply is essential to the design goal rather than an afterthought.
Performance Character
Because the SS-1 Pro produces no sound of its own, its contribution is heard through the streamer and DAC connected after it. Listeners who add an isolating and reclocking switch to a resolving system typically describe a lower noise floor and a more settled, composed presentation. The value it offers scales with the transparency of the components it feeds. In a highly resolving setup the effort you put into the network path is more likely to be audible.
Where It Sits in the Matrix Audio Range
Within the Matrix Audio network family there are a few ways to approach the digital front end. The Matrix Audio SI-1 and the Matrix Audio SS-1 address the same broad goal of cleaning and isolating the network path. The SS-1 Pro is the stepped up expression of the SS-1 switch concept, bringing its galvanic isolation, high precision internal clock, and filtered supply together in one aluminum chassis. If you want to compare them side by side to decide how far up this line makes sense for your system, that is a good conversation to have with us.
Ideal System and Use Case
The SS-1 Pro is aimed at the listener who streams and wants to give their streamer the cleanest possible network feed. It belongs in a system where the source and downstream components are resolving enough to reveal the benefit. If your library and services arrive over the network to a Matrix Audio streamer, the SS-1 Pro is designed to sit directly before it.
Pairing Thoughts
The SS-1 Pro pairs naturally with Matrix Audio streaming and transport components. For streamer, DAC, and preamplifier duties in one chassis, the flagship Matrix Audio MS-1 Pre is a natural home for a cleaned up network feed. The Matrix Audio TS-1 adds a headphone stage to its streamer and DAC, while the Matrix Audio MS-1c covers streamer and DAC duties for a more compact front end.
If you run a streaming integrated, the Matrix Audio MD-1 and Matrix Audio MD-1P both benefit from a quieter network path ahead of them. For separate DAC and transport chains, consider the Matrix Audio ND-1 Audio DAC alongside the Matrix Audio TT-1 Digital Audio Transport or the reference level Matrix Audio NT-1.
Considering Other Switches
AEA also carries audiophile network switches from Silent Angel, including the Bonn N8, the Bonn N8 Pro with linear power supply, the Bonn N8C, the Bonn N16 LPS, and the flagship Bonn NX. These represent a different design approach to the same task. The SS-1 Pro will feel especially natural to listeners building an all Matrix Audio front end and wanting the design language and engineering of a single house throughout the digital chain. Which direction suits you comes down to system context and personal preference rather than any claim of one being superior.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro Network Switch?
The Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro is an audio grade network switch and isolator designed to sit in the digital chain ahead of a streamer. It is not a source, a preamplifier, or an amplifier, and it does not make sound on its own. Instead it addresses the quality of the network signal reaching your streaming components, which is one of the least glamorous but most overlooked parts of a modern high fidelity system.
How is the Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro Network Switch designed and built?
The SS-1 Pro is a Gigabit RJ45 Ethernet switch housed in an aluminum enclosure. Three design choices define its character.
How does the Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro Network Switch perform?
Because the SS-1 Pro produces no sound of its own, its contribution is heard through the streamer and DAC connected after it. Listeners who add an isolating and reclocking switch to a resolving system typically describe a lower noise floor and a more settled, composed presentation. The value it offers scales with the transparency of the components it feeds. In a highly resolving setup the effort you put into the network path is more likely to be audible.
Where does the Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro Network Switch sit in the range?
The Matrix Audio SI-1 and the Matrix Audio SS-1 address the same broad goal of cleaning and isolating the network path. The SS-1 Pro is the stepped up expression of the SS-1 switch concept, bringing its galvanic isolation, high precision internal clock, and filtered supply together in one aluminum chassis.
Who is the Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro Network Switch best suited to?
The SS-1 Pro is aimed at the listener who streams and wants to give their streamer the cleanest possible network feed. It belongs in a system where the source and downstream components are resolving enough to reveal the benefit. If your library and services arrive over the network to a Matrix Audio streamer, the SS-1 Pro is designed to sit directly before it.
What should I pair with the Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro Network Switch?
The SS-1 Pro pairs naturally with Matrix Audio streaming and transport components. For streamer, DAC, and preamplifier duties in one chassis, the flagship Matrix Audio MS-1 Pre is a natural home for a cleaned up network feed. The Matrix Audio TS-1 adds a headphone stage to its streamer and DAC, while the Matrix Audio MS-1c covers streamer and DAC duties for a more compact front end.
Come 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 please contact us to arrange a listen and to talk through how the SS-1 Pro fits your streaming system.