Home
The Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 4 is an all-in-one desktop powerhouse that serves as a music streamer, high-quality DAC, and balanced headphone amplifier.

Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 4

The Basics:

Matrix Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. is a Chinese Hi-Fi audio company founded in 2009 by three friends who shared a passion for music and audio gear. Seeing that music has evolved beyond physical media, their focus has been on developing streaming products and the software to run them.

Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 4 Angle View

The Rundown:

Though small in stature, the Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 4 is a 2.87 lb. powerhouse that contains an ESS ES9039Q2M DAC chip and a balanced headphone amplifier with two headphone jacks: a 4.4mm balanced and a 6.35mm single-ended. The streamer supports all the popular formats, including internet global radio stations from services like vTuner and Radio Paradise. It is Roon Ready, UPnP, Tidal Connect, MQA, and Qobuz Connect compatible, among other formats. I found listening to Qobuz music files at their highest bit rates a delight. It is also AirPlay 2 compatible. It supports local music playback from USB storage and NAS (Network-Attached Storage).

The fully balanced amplifier is powerful and can easily drive many power-hungry headphones and IEMs from the balanced output. The sound signature is neutral to slightly warm and provides a smooth balance for bright headphones without sacrificing resolution.

Those of us with limited desktop space can have it all: a state-of-the-art streamer and a powerful DAC/amp to run our headphones in a single box with a small footprint.

Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 4 Specifications
CPU:

Quad Cortex-A55 2.0GHz.

DAC chip:

ESS ES9039Q2M.

Digital Input:

Coaxial & optical.

PCM:

16-24 Bit/44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192 kHz.

DSD 2.8Hz (DoP).

HDMI ARC.

USB Audio:

PCM, MQA, DSD.

Line Out:

XLR, RCA.

Headphone output:

4.4mm balanced, 6.35mm single-ended.

Network:

LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps, WLAN: 2.4 GHz/5 GHz.

Weight:

2.87 lbs.

Dimensions:

width 8.80 inches, depth 7.32 inches, Height 2.07 inches.

Product Name:

mini-i Pro 4

Product Type:

Desktop DAC/streamer/headphone amplifier

MSRP:

$999.00

Website:

https://www.matrix-digi.com/product/94/mini-i_Pro_4

Company:

Matrix Audio

The Follow-Up:

The Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 4 joins a growing class of all-in-one desktop devices such as the FiiO K17. Though they provide similar functions, each company has their own approach, and Matrix Audio’s emphasis on developing the software along with the hardware and creating a streamer-focused design has given the end user a wealth of riches unheard of just a few years ago.

Streaming and streamers are new to me, and I look forward to exploring all they have to offer. I have a feeling I may never go back to the before times. Stay tuned to Secrets as I report back from this new world (where did I put my pith helmet?).

See LatestBowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Over-Ear Noise-Canceling Headphones

Previous ArticleDALI Epikore 11 Loudspeaker Preview
Next ArticleMatrix Audio

I was born to love audio. My grandfather was awarded a patent for a “METHOD OF PRODUCING TALKING-MACHINE RECORDS” in 1912. He also sang opera. He passed his passion for music and the early days of recording on to my mother, who then passed it on to my sisters and me. My father, a professor of electrical engineering, was also an amateur jazz guitarist. He loved Heathkit’s home-built electronics, and as a little girl I was his “assistant builder”. He always talked to me about what he was building, and we always had the biggest T.V. and the most advanced HiFi gear. Music was always on in our house, and my folks really listened to and discussed what was playing on the turntable, and later the reel-to-reel deck. I grew up with jazz, the classics, and my father’s goofy and extensive collection of comedy albums and sound effects records. He always made sure I had the latest transistor radios, which were my prized possessions; I could be found late at night, trying to listen in on the faraway stations that magically appeared through the static between my local stations. In the early 70s, I discovered the remarkable world of Japanese audio on my layovers in Japan as a flight attendant. I remember lugging home a huge, very heavy wood-clad Kenwood receiver back from Japan, thanks to a kind captain that made space for my treasure in the cockpit. That receiver powered my two Bose 901s that I had hung from the ceiling in the living room. I also fell in love with the early Sennheiser open-back headphones that had come on the scene in 1968 and which sparked my passion for headphones that continues to this day. After traveling the world as a flight attendant my work led me to the restaurant world of the San Francisco Bay Area, where I spent several years working in a “farm to table” restaurant. I developed a passion for photography while co- writing a cookbook with the chef. My skills as a food and garden photographer grew and I added working as a photojournalist with assignments that usually included the food scene in the Bay Area. A year ago, I joined the San Francisco Audiophile Foundation (https://audiophilefoundation.org), where I discovered my tribe. It was humbling to find out that compared to almost everyone I met, I actually have a long way to go to call myself an audiophile! I was also shocked to find out that out of over 300 members, there were only three women (including me). It was a source of pride, however, to know that the president and a founding member is a woman. Yay, team! You can find me outdoors hiking and photographing landscapes and wildlife and trying my hand at nighttime landscape photography.

Related Posts