Matrix Audio has introduced two network switches tailored for audio equipment applications. The SS-1 and SS-1 Pro are designed with a segmented architecture and incorporate a premium power supply to minimize noise and reduce the risk of interference.
Matrix Audio specializes in network players and DA converters where the functionality and build quality are just as impressive as the sound. The spearhead of every design is a precise isolation of external noise and distortion. The solid chassis, extensive (linear) power supplies and segmented construction are all in function of the purest possible conversion of digital data to music. In order to protect the music streamers from interference on the network side, Matrix Audio introduces two new products: the SS-1 and SS-1 Pro Audio Grade Network Switches.
Digital audio is a difficult subject. Ultimately, it is 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 could go wrong? If someone in the polonaise has had too much to drink, the whole club will collapse like a pudding and nothing will be left. That is the equivalent of no sound on a digital connection. It either works or it doesn’t, you would think. However, in the battle for the purest reproduction, much more is involved. 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 SS-1
Matrix Audio has developed two Audio Grade Network Switches, of which the SS-1 is the smallest. The 28 centimeter wide SS-1 has four RJ45 Ethernet ports with a capacity of 2.5 Gb, two RJ45 ports with 100 Mb per second optimized for the audio streamer and two SFP network ports with a capacity of 10 Gb.
The Matrix Audio SS-1 is a network switch with eight 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 10 Gb transformer and enclosed in a metal housing to prevent RF radiation. The construction of the SS-1 and SS-1 Pro is therefore 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 and radiation than the standard power supplies found 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 will be available from the end of November 2024 and has a recommended retail price of just under 1,600 euros.
Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro
The SS-1 Pro is the SS-1’s best, measuring 33 instead of 28 centimetres wide, 1 kilo heavier and with ten network connections. Two SFP optical network connections with a capacity of 10 Gb, six RJ45 network connections with 2.5 Gb capacity and two ‘low-speed’ ports with a capacity of 100 Mb per second. These ‘low-speed’ ports are optimised for connection to the audio streamer, whereby the lower transmission speed should prevent any minimal bit error.
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 10,000 uF | smoothing 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. After all, 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 10 Mhz Master Clock also makes it possible to connect an external Clock.
The Matrix Audio SS-1 Pro is available immediately and has a suggested retail price of just under $2,200.
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