The Element S takes its design cues from the rest of the Element series 2 lineup of music streamers. A simplistic and minimalist aluminum silver box - it's sleek and modern-looking, while the contrasting black fins on the sides act as a juxtaposed texture but more importantly, heat sinks, with effective heat dissipation given the design. The front of the Element S sports the great new touchscreen featured on the series 2. The Element S skips all the other knobs and buttons on the front like on the flagship Element X2 (which has a volume control knob, power button, and headphone output jacks). It's just the long touchscreen on the front with a pressure-sensitive power button integrated into the black glass panel on the left, and the play/pause, track skip, and settings buttons to the right of the screen. It's incredibly sexy looking and I really like the aesthetic that the Element series players provide.

On the top, you'll find the mirrored MA logo in the lower left-hand corner. That's it as far as branding and any stylings you'll find on the Element S. The really important stuff is on the back, with the inputs and outputs. From left to right you'll find:

There are four large feet on the bottom of the device which minimizes sliding or external vibrations. It's not a particularly exciting device to look at, but it is one that looks great in just about every system. It's a universal design that is meant to blend in with whatever gear you already have, and the Element S is just as unassuming on the outside to get away with it. You won’t find some of the other bells and whistles on the Element S that you’ll find in others in the lineup like Bluetooth connectivity. The Element S is to be used exclusively with its digital output options. The real fun however is what's inside, so let's take a look at what's under the hood and just how the Element S sounds with the right configuration.

For our testing setup of the Matrix Audio Element S, we connected the music streamer to the Chord Hugo TT2 with Silver Dragon Digital Cables. I like that the TT2 is roughly the same size and dimensions as the Element S, though that is hardly why I chose to pair the two. The Chord TT2 is one of the best desktop DACs on the market, and for those who love a hyper-detailed and resolute listening experience, it's hard to recommend anything else at this price point ($6,725).

Connected to the Chord Hugo TT2 I paired the HIFIMAN HE1000 V2 Stealth Magnets and a Black Dragon Premium Cable.

"I would not say the Hugo TT 2 has the warmth of any tube-based product, but for a solid-state design, it is on the warmer side. I also found it warmer than the Hugo 2 but with much more transparency. It reminds me of when the Chord Mojo first came out in 2015. See my Chord Mojo blog post here. I found it too to be warmer than the original Hugo and just using the Hugo TT 2 without the Hugo M Scaler I get a sense of realism in the sound."

-Drew Baird, P.E.

"One of the true highlights of the Matrix Element S streamer is the plethora of digital output options. Everyone at Moon Audio - myself included - is excited about the 'i-squared-S' or 'IIS' digital audio connection. IIS is a native data stream format. It provides a signal without any sort of outside influence. The easiest way to explain this digital stream is to think about a CD player. The data that is pulled off of the CD disk and sent onto the decoding DAC chip is in the format of IIS. There is no conversion or changes made to this data format.

With a CD player that has numerous digital outputs such as AES, SPDIF either Coax or Toslink, all of these formats require a conversion from IIS. This standard was created back in 1986 when CD players became all the rage. But until recently it was only seen as a digital transfer format on the highest-priced CD transports and Dacs. This never made sense to Drew due to the fact no conversion was necessary. However, he also found if the cabling was not correctly done then it could cause serious consequences to the clock vs data stream between the devices. Clocking circuits and cabling have made great strides since the 80s and now utilizing this format is much easier. The connection of choice, thanks in part to PS Audio, has become the HDMI connection. While I2S signals at the start only require 4 data paths, the HDMI connection adds additional connection points to provide for additional circuits to make sure the raw data of I2S is protected and delivered properly. The only negative to I2S is that not all manufacturers have adopted the same pin-out configuration for HDMI connection. And there are no HDMI cable converters to make the switch between brands. We're glad Matrix has chosen the pin-out that PS Audio chose to use when bringing this format back to the mainstream. The I2S format has separate clocks and data and lower jitter and better performance if handled properly.

The AES and SPDIF Coax RCA connections are either converted from I2S to their associated formats or in most applications these are pulled from the DAC chip. The Dac Chip usually offers not just analog output conversion but can also provide digital outputs that have been reclocked and are either in the output impedance format of 110ohms for AES or 75ohms for COAX RCA. The way you convert one of these formats to the other is by the use of a small impedance transformer. If giving either format typically AES is almost always going to sound better especially if it was the format that did not have the transformer in the path.

A Toslink SPDIF connection is going to require a conversion from an electrical signal to a light signal stream. The best thing about Toslink is that it totally truncates the electrical connection between devices, therefore, taking any sort of potential noise 100% out of the equation. The negative to Toslink is there have been no strides in chip technology to really make them sound good and of the 4 formats talked about so far it is our least favorite in terms of performance.

The last digital connection is USB. Of the other 4 connections, the USB connection is the most flexible. Whether you want to pass PCM or DSD, Native DSD or DOP DSD and just about every bit of depth and resolution, the USB connection can do them all. However, whether the USB connection sounds as good or worse than any of the other formats we talked about really comes down to the USB conversion circuit and path utilized in the upstream and downstream devices. There is so much more that can go wrong here in terms of sound quality that it takes a little more A-B testing on your part to determine whether this format sounds better to your ears. We can assure you that the USB digital output on the Element S is first rate and you will be happy with it but our recommendation is to utilize the I2S connection if you have a Dac that will support it for optimal sound quality." - Drew Baird, P.E.

Screen: The Element S features a striking 3.46-inch touchscreen on the front face of the streamer. It presents a featured UI and interaction from Matrix Audio, allowing you to easily operate the device and accurately understand the device status. When the streaming music is playing, the metadata including album art, album name, track title, artist, etc., will also be displayed. It enables you to more comprehensively master music information and enjoy a better music-listening experience.

USB DAC: The USB DAC interface is a digital audio interface that surpasses traditional ports such as optical and coaxial, it feeds high-resolution PCM or DSD audio data to audio devices bit-perfectly. With this interface, DACs with USB input can be connected to element S, simply and quickly enabling online and local streaming audio for your existing audio system. The USB DAC interface has a 5V/1A ultra-low noise power output. The power supply is processed by a multi-stage ultra-low noise linear regulator and a power filter circuit before feeding to the USB device, to ensure a better performance of the device.

MA Player: MA player is a high-quality digital audio/streaming audio playback control system that is independently developed by Matrix Audio for its music streamers. With MA player, users can control audio devices in the network through mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, and browse and play music from network drives or USB storage devices. In addition, MA player has integrated streaming technologies such as Roon Ready(Under certification test ), DLNA/UPnP, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and TIDAL Connect, allowing you to experience high-resolution streaming audio on the local area network.

Using the Remote Interface
The real workings of the Element S shine when using the companion control application for the streamer, allowing you access to limitless music (if you have the streaming services for it). The box allows you to connect an external storage device for local music storage that you can also access from the remote app, and in conjunction with paid streaming services, you literally have everything available to you at your fingertips. The Remote App is available for both Android and iOS, so no matter what platform or device you prefer, you can control your Element S from your favorite mobile device as well.

Setting Up Your Element S & Configuration
If setting up your device for a wireless connection, place your Element S in an open area of your home or in a location where the device will not receive interference from alternative wireless sources. For the most stable connection, we recommend setting up your Element S via a wired connection (LAN). If you are setting up and WLAN connection, please install the antenna on the back of the Ethernet console in an upright position. If setting up a LAN connection, place an Ethernet cable into the jack located in the rear, right-hand corner of the Element console. Connect the Element S to your ISP device.

Reference the following video on how to set up your Element S to either a wired or wireless network: https://youtu.be/zOsoZR0Da8c

Regardless of the connection configuration, download the Matrix Audio Remote application to control your Element S. Download Matrix Audio Remote HERE. 

Once the Matrix Audio Remote is downloaded, plug in your Element S into the power supply, power it on, and wait for it to be recognized by the Matrix Audio Remote application. There are three ways to connect and configure your device in the MA remote application: WLAN, Automatic, and Manual.

Select WLAN configuration, if you want to connect your Element S streamer to a wireless network: https://youtu.be/FKh6Yz1QMjo Select the Automatic connection, if your Element S has been connected to a LAN and you wish to add and search for devices automatically: https://youtu.be/rkXX9O0uxGk Select the Manual connection, if your device is already connected and you’d like to manually enter the device’s IP address: https://youtu.be/cxW9sSGTTRg

Be sure to check out our Element Series setup guides for more information on how to set up your Element S Music Streamer. LINKS HERE: https://www.moon-audio.com/how-to-setup-your-matrix-audio-element-x

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Why Dragon Cables?
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