Matrix Audio SS-1 and SS-1 Pro Audio Grade Network Switch

Matrix Audio SS-1 and SS-1 Pro

Matrix Audio specializes in high-performance music streamers and DACs where the functionality and build quality are just as impressive as the sound. The spearhead of every design is precise isolation of external noise and distortion. The solid chassis, extensive (linear) power supplies and segmented construction are all aimed at the purest possible conversion of digital data to music. Based on the desire to protect music streamers from interference on the network side, Matrix Audio introduces two fantastic new products: the SS-1 and SS-1 Pro Audio Grade Network Switches.

Digital audio is a difficult subject. Ultimately, we are talking about a composition of zeros and ones that are transported from A to B with a predetermined rhythm as a digital polonaise. Once they have arrived at their final destination, the bits must be reconstructed into an analogue signal. What can go wrong? If someone in the polonaise has had one too many, the whole club collapses like a pudding and we are left with nothing – the equivalent of no sound on a digital connection. It either works or it doesn’t, you might think. However, in our battle for the purest reproduction, much more is at stake. Noise and electromagnetic interference can affect the conversion from digital to analogue and thus the sound in various ways. But the analogue part in the DAC is also sensitive to this pollution.

With the network cable as the most common connection to our digital music, we connect our audio equipment to a system of peripherals that potentially not only carries the data of the audio stream but also various ‘pollution’. Matrix Audio SS-1 and SS-1 Pro Audio Grade Network Switches are designed to isolate our audio related network components from the peripherals and environment to block the transfer of that pollution and interference.

Matrix Audio has developed two Audio Grade Network Switches, of which the SS-1 is the smallest. The 28cm wide SS-1 has four RJ45 Ethernet ports with a capacity of 2.5Gigabytes per second, two RJ45 ports with 100Megabytes per second optimized for the audio streamer and two SFP network ports with a capacity of 10Gigabytes per second.

The Matrix Audio SS-1 is a network switch with 8 network connections. However, that is where the comparison with a normal switch ends. Each network port is internally coupled and galvanically isolated with its own 10Gigabyte transformer and enclosed in a metal housing to prevent RF radiation. The internal construction of the SS-1 and SS-1 Pro is more like a High End DAC than a network switch. Everything is optimized to shield the high-speed, high-frequency data from loss and distortion. The internal power supply has much less ripple voltage and radiation than the standard power supplies that we find in other switches. In this way, the SS-1 guarantees a cleaner working environment for the switch and at the same time feeds less pollution back into the mains. Later expansion with an external DC power supply is also possible.

The clock circuit, equipped with Matrix Audio’s Femtosecond Clock, is also constructed for the highest possible accuracy and stability. As the conductor of all digital logic, it synchronizes communication with much greater precision than a standard switch. Lower timing-related distortion is the result, which the connected audio streamer benefits from. All these sensitive circuits are shielded from the outside world by a beautifully designed aluminum housing in the style of the Matrix Audio M-Series. Despite its modest size, the SS-1 weighs a total of 2.3 kilograms, so it remains stable, even when all network ports are equipped with the better and therefore often somewhat heavier network cables.

The Matrix Audio SS-1 has a recommended retail price of €1,649.00

The SS-1 Pro is the SS-1’s superior version, measuring 33 instead of 28cm wide, 1 kilo heavier and with 10 network connections. Two SFP optical network connections with a capacity of 10 gigabytes per second, six RJ45 network connections with a capacity of 2.5 gigabytes and two ‘low-speed’ ports with a capacity of 100 megabytes per second. These ‘low-speed’ ports are optimised for connection to the audio streamer, whereby the lower transmission speed should prevent any minimal bit errors.

The biggest difference, however, is mainly in the power supply and the internal clock. A toroidal transformer wound to specification followed by a Schottky Diode rectifier bridge and 10,000uF (yes) buffer capacitance form the basis of the super-stable, linear power supply. The power supply is then distributed over several separate power supply rails with their own Low Drop Out DC voltage regulators for, among other things, the passively cooled microprocessor and clock circuits. Why? The power supply is the foundation of every subsequent signal. A ripple or other contamination on the supply voltage can thus find its way into the output of the circuit, which can result in smearing and distortion.

The clock circuit itself is controlled by the Femtosecond Clock with the extension of an RF Synthesizer. Together with the Digital Phase-Locked Loop, this circuit provides an even more accurate timing reference for the Microprocessor. The input for a 10Mhz Master Clock also makes it possible to connect an external Clock.

The SS-1 Pro is available immediately and has a suggested retail price of € 2,199.00

Of course, these are all tough specifications. In the end, only one thing counts and that is the sound. That is why the message is actually simple – Matrix Audio builds the most beautiful network switches with the SS-1 and SS-1 Pro that do everything they can to get the very best out of the digital audio stream. Keeping out what doesn’t belong and allowing the original to pass through unhindered and unchanged is the highest goal. And these Audio Grade Network Switches do that like no other.

Would you like to know more about Matrix Audio in general or specifically about the SS-1 or SS-1 Pro? We would like to hear from you by email or by phone +31(0)36-3031880.