Sound quality is the essential of a DAC
Upgraded to the latest ES9039Q2M D/A chip from ESS, with carefully tuned audio circuits, high-quality audio components, and optimized circuit layout, it has a very high SNR and extremely low distortion, delivering excellent performance to various types of music.
Full balanced amplifier with dual output port
mini-i Pro 4 features two headphone output ports: a 6.35mm single-ended output and a 4.4mm balanced output, providing flexible connection options to accommodate different types of headphones. With a fully balanced amplifier circuit design, mini-i Pro 4 reduces interference in signal transmission and effectively enhances output power and sound quality, driving various high-impedance headphones effortlessly.
Sounds great, easy to use
With a 3.46-inch LCD touch screen, making the operations easier. The high resolution display enriches the metadata of the playing tracks and device status, while the MA Remote App and RM5 remote control provide a convenient human-computer interaction. You can enjoy a diverse selection of music sources and a more enjoyable music listening experience.
MA Remote App
The MA Remote App is self-developed by 「Matrix Audio」 which is available for iPhone, iPad, or Android phones. With these devices, you can browse and play high resolution online audio from TIDAL, Qobuz, and HIGHRESAUDIO, listen to internet radio stations, adjust every hardware settings, check and install new firmware for your mini-i Pro 4.
MA player
MA player is a high-quality digital audio/streaming playback control system developed by 「Matrix Audio」. With MA player, you can operate and control the mini-i Pro 4 through smartphones or tablets within the local area network. In addition, MA player also integrates Roon Ready (certification undergoing), DLNA/UPnP, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and TIDAL Connect, allows you to experience high-resolution streaming audio in your network.
Sort out your local music, play them effortlessly
The mini-i Pro 4 supports local music playback from USB storage devices and NAS. It indexes the storage and builds a music library based on these storage sources automatically. Music files will be categorized under « Library » in the MA Remote App, allowing you to easily find your desired music based on albums, tracks, artists, genres, composers, performers, ages, labels, etc. Simply browse and play your music collections.
Open the door to the high-res online streaming
mini-i Pro 4 provides a rich selection of online streaming music resources for you. You can login accounts of TIDAL, Qobuz, and HIGHRESAUDIO in MA Remote App, easily browse and play a vast amount of high-quality online streaming music, opening up an endless world of music for you.
Enjoy streaming music right away
mini-i Pro 4 supports various network streaming protocols. In addition to Roon Ready and AirPlay, it also supports DLNA/UPnP, TIDAL Connect, and Spotify Connect. It means you can transmit audio through different devices and platforms. Whether using Roon or wireless streaming through DLNA/UPnP and AirPlay, both you can achieve high-quality audio playback experience.
24×365, enjoy Internet radio programs
mini-i Pro 4 supports Internet radio from vTuner and Radio Paradise. Simply connect the mini-i Pro 4 to the Internet, open the MA Remote App, no matter the pop music, classical music or energetic atmosphere music or talk shows, it can meet your needs and let you fully explore diverse music.
High-quality USB DAC
mini-i Pro 4 features a high-quality USB DAC. It allows you to choose the appropriate USB cable to connect to computers, smartphones or tablets, and supports various audio formats and sampling rate specs up to 768kHz PCM, DSD512 and MQA audio.
Broadly compatible S/PDIF input
mini-i Pro 4 has S/PDIF optical and coaxial input interfaces, which can handle S/PDIF signals within the range of PCM 44.1-192kHz and DSD64 in DoP mode, providing users with a higher-quality audio decoding experience.
Experience TV Hi-Fi
mini-i Pro 4 has added an HDMI ARC input port, which allows the audio signal from the TV or projector to be transmitted to mini-i Pro 4. You can enjoy clearer and more realistic audio while watching videos. The sampling rates are supported up to PCM 24bit/192kHz. The power on/off, volume and playback linkage between mini-i Pro 4 and the display device can be controlled through CEC, which brings a new TV Hi-Fi experience to you.
Jack of all trades
In addition to digital audio input and streaming audio playback, mini-i Pro 4 also has one set of RCA analog input which offers three input gain levels. It allows you to adjust the input gain based on the front-end device and your preferences. Whether you want to connect traditional analog audio devices or enjoy modern high-res digital music, mini-i Pro 4 will provide you with excellent audio performance and convenient operation.
Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi
mini-i Pro 4 is equipped with a Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi connection. The Ethernet connection ensures stability and sufficient transmission speed for audio data. Wi-Fi makes the connection tidy and convenient. Both the wired and wireless connection let the audio files stream to your audio system smoothly and stably. Get ready for a feast of music!
Multiple playback control
The RM5 remote control, specially designed for the mini-i series, combines a sturdy and delicate metal panel with a warm and smooth back cover, providing a better grip and an elegant compact appearance. We redesign the layout and functionality of the buttons. The newly added programmable button allows you to add a shortcut to your frequently used function. Now, control your playback contents easily.
(1) Jack 6.35mm headphone output (2) Jack 4.4mm balanced headphone output (3) 3.46″ high-resolution touch screen (4) IEC Power supply (5) LAN connector RJ45 (6) USB-C input (5V 1A) (7) USB-B input (8) HDMI ARC input (9) Toslink optical input (10) Toslink optical input (11) RCA analog input (12) Stereo RCA output (12) Balanced stereo XLR ouput
Hardware Platform
| CPU | Quad Cortex-A55 2.0GHz |
| D/A Chip | ES9039Q2M |
Digital Input
| COAXIAL & OPTICAL | PCM 16-24Bit /44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz DSD 2.8MHz (DoP) |
| HDMI ARC | PCM 16-24Bit /44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz |
| USB Audio | PCM 16-24Bit /44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 352.8kHz, 384kHz, 705.6kHz, 768kHz MQA 16-24Bit /44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 352.8kHz, 384kHz MQA or MQA Studio stream DSD 2.8MHz, 5.6MHz, 11.2MHz (DoP) DSD 2.8MHz, 5.6MHz, 11.2MHz, 22.4MHz (Native) |
Line Output
| XLR | SNR: 127dB A-weighting THD+N:<0.00008%@1k, <0.00010%@20Hz-20kHz Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz ±0.1 -3dB@90kHz Channel Crosstalk: >-146dB Output Level: 4.4VRMS@0dB |
| RCA | SNR: 121dB A-weighting THD+N:<0.00015%@1k, <0.00020%@20Hz-20kHz Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz ±0.1 -3dB@90kHz Channel Crosstalk: >-133dB Output Level: 2.2VRMS@0dB |
Headphone Output
| 4.4 mm balanced | SNR: 117dB A-weighting |
| THD+N:<0.0004%@20Hz-20kHz 4VRMS | |
| Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz ±0.1 -3dB@90kHz | |
| Output Impedance:<22Ω | |
| Output Power: 2200mw@33Ω, 950mw@300Ω, 500mw@600Ω, 1%THD | |
| Gain: +14dB | |
| 6.35mm unbalanced | SNR: 116dB A-weighting |
| THD+N:<0.0005%@20Hz-20kHz 2VRMS | |
| Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz ±0.1 -3dB@90kHz | |
| Output Impedance:<11Ω | |
| Output Power: 1200mW@33Ω, 260mW@300Ω, 130mW@600Ω, 1%THD | |
| Gain: +14dB |
Aux Input
| SNR | 100dB A-weighting |
| THD+N | <0.0035%@1k, <0.0035%@20Hz-20kHz |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz-20kHz ±0.1 -3dB@46kHz |
| Channel Crosstalk | >-105dB |
| Input Level | 2.1VRMS Maximum |
Network
| LAN | 10/100/1000 Mbps |
| WLAN | 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz |
USB Type C
| The USB Type C port provides a maximum power of 5V/1.5A. The USB port works with devices which conform to the USB mass storage standard and supports FAT, FAT32, exFAT and NTFS file formats, but is not guaranteed to be compatible with all storage devices. |
MA player
| Controller app： | MA Remote App |
| Local Playback | |
| Format Supported： | MP3 , WMA , WAV , AIF, AIFC, AIFF, AAC, FLAC, OGG, APE, ALAC, M4A, DSF, DFF, CUE
|
| PCM Sampling Rate: | PCM 16-24Bit 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 352.8kHz, 384kHz, 705.6kHz, 768kHz |
| MQA 16-24Bit /44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 352.8kHz, 384kHz MQA or MQA Studio stream
| |
| DSD Sampling Rate: | 2.8MHz, 5.6MHz, 11.2MHz, 22.4MHz |
| Roon Ready | (Under certification test ) |
| PCM Sampling Rate: | PCM 16-24 Bit /44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 352.8kHz, 384kHz, 705.6kHz, 768kHz |
| MQA 16-24 Bit /44.1 kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 352.8kHz, 384kHz MQA or MQA Studio stream | |
| DSD Sampling Rate: | DSD 2.8MHz, 5.6MHz, 11.2MHz, 22.4MHz |
| AirPlay 2 | The audio specs depend on the service provider |
| DLNA/UPnP | The audio specs depend on the service provider |
| TIDAL Connect | The audio specs depend on the service provider |
| Spotify Connect | The audio specs depend on the service provider |
| vTuner | The audio specs depend on the service provider |
| Radio Paradise | The audio specs depend on the service provider |
| HIGHRESAUDIO | The audio specs depend on the service provider |
Power Specs
| Power Voltage | AC 100V-240V 50/60Hz |
| Standby Power Consumption | < 5W |
| Maximum Power Consumption | < 30W |
Weight & Size
| Weight | 1.3 kg (2.87 pounds) |
| Size | Width: 224 mm (8.80 inches) |
| Depth: 186 mm (7.32 inches) | |
| Height: 53 mm (2.07 inches) |
Accessory
| RM5 remote control | x1 |
| Power cable | x1 |
| Quick start guide | x1 |
| Warranty card | x1 |
matrix-audio-mini_i_pro_4_Manual_EN
Adrian –
So connecting was a piece of cake.
I compared the sound of CD copies (FLAC) via SSD with the results of Quad CD67. Sound image via MA-i4 is very similar and neutral in character. In short: good DAC!
Direct streaming and connection via HDMI also provide sufficiently good results.
Overall, I’m quite pleased with this little addition to my system.