Hello everyone. First off I must thank Eminem, (no, not that one) from Matrix Audio for allowing me the opportunity to review or should I say tinker with this product. Home page of the Classic.

(Rather than do an actual review of this amp I’ve linked here Matrix HPA 2 Classic to what I think is a very good and capable review of this product)

My article deals more with its versatility and use with various dac/daps and cables to show you how and what you need to connect them to the HPA-2 Classic.

The Classic was used with the following products: Music Bee with WASAPI active on a Windows 10 PC, iPad 10.5, Pioneer XDP-300R, Cayin i5, and the Astell & Kern Jr (AKA the Stepchild).

The following cables were used:

USB Type A to B

USB Type B to C

USB Type A (female) to Micro B

RCA stereo audio cables to 3.5 stereo plug

Apple Lighting USB camera adaptor

Special guest iFi Gemini 3.0 USB iFi ‘FINAL’ USB Type A to B


Music Bee link was used as my MP3/Flac player, as you can see it allows you to directly hook up via WASAPI link via USB Type A to B iFi Mercury 3.0 so the Classic signal flows through nice and cleanly!


Figure 1 Music Bee audio player preferences

I used the included USB Type A to B and then ditched them like day old sushi for the absolutely sexy and stunning iFi Gemini 3.0 cable (that gets its own review because this cable made this amp and everything else kick it up several notches!) The last cables you'll ever need!

Figure 2 & 3 iFi Mercury 3.0 iFi “Final” USB-A to B from PC to the Classic




In terms of versatility, the 300R is easily one of the most connection friendly DAPs there is. There is nothing it has not worked with that I have thrown at it. Here it is with the Classic hooked up with a USB Micro B to USB Type A (female) to USB Type A to B. No fuss, recognizes it and you’re ready to rock!






Figure 4, 5, & 6 Pioneer XDP-300R to Classic via USB micro B to USB Type A (female) to USB Type A to B


Talk about a mighty midget! This little thing is my grab and go DAP! It even acts like a DAC! Anyway, As you can see, I am using USB Type B to C cable. As with the 300R, no fuss! Read the Classic right away and was ready to go!



Figure 7 & 8 Shanling M1 to Classic via a USB-B to C cable.



Grrrrrrrrrr! I have a love/hate relationship with this thing. Astell & Kern released this product, issued one update, they blew it off completely. Normally not a problem, but with piss poor Bluetooth, a flawed IU, and various other issues that are conveniently ignored, on the FAQ concerning this product, you can see why I have called it The Stepchild. May you rot in hell Astell & Kern!

Sorry, went off on a rant there. So why do I still keep this discarded and flawed DAP? The damn analog sound! Whatever other problems this thing has, the Wolfson WM8740 DAC chip rocks and almost makes you forget all the other flaws with this product. Almost.

As you can see, you can use a 3.5 analog stereo plug to stereo RCA plugs when hooking it up to the Classic. No, don’t bother asking about using the USB Micro connection on the Stepchild, there’s no digital output from the USB micro connection. I told you, this thing can disappoint like a slutty girlfriend. The aforementioned Wolfson chip makes up for this, though. With the HPA-2 Classic, the music comes out very nice.






Figure 9, 10, & 11 Astell & Kern Stepchild to Classic via 3.5 stereo line out to stereo RCA cables.


While the i5 has digital output, the Classic doesn't have a SPDIF input, so I tried using USB Type B to C but the i5 is very inconsistent being used in this way. Too sensitive and drops the connection too often. So lacking the SPDIF, I went with the line out on the i5. Worked like a champ!






Figure 12, 13, & 14 Cayin i5 to Classic via 3.5 stereo line out to stereo RCA cable.




Apple, being Apple, makes it necessary to get the proprietary Apple Lighting USB camera adaptor to get it to work with DACs. So here it is working with the Classic in conjunction with the USB Type A to B cable. And work it did.






Figure 15, 16, & 17 iPad 10.5 to Classic via the Apple Camera Adapter to USB Type A to B.


There you have it, this puppy can be used with many different items and all you need are cables!




Thank you for reading, take care!




PS

Thank you Pat, Karina, and Vince from iFi for letting me use these Mercury cables and the other items from your company! Good luck getting these cables back! ;-p

Have a lot of gear at work and at home? Worried if the iFi Nano iDSD Black can work with all your gear? Well here’s a post of the Nano Black and all the gear I connected it to.

1) Connectivity (digital and analog)

The Nano BL has built in USB 2.0 type A “OTG” Socket. This means if you wish to connect to either a Micro B OTG, USB C OTG, and or the Apple Camera Connecter you’ll need to purchase these perspective cables accordingly. The Nano BL has the needed cables for PC.

Figure 1

From left to right. USB C OTG, Micro B OTG, Apple Camera Connector, generic Apple Camera Connector, USB A Female to B Female Cable*, USB A Female to B Female Adapter*, and a USB 3.0 A Male to A Female cable*. * These are included with the Nano Black, the rest ARE NOT!

Figure 2

Figure 3


PC

USB A Female to B Female Cable, USB A Female to B Female Adapter*, and a USB 3.0 A Male to A Female and special guest the iFi Mercury 3.0.

Figure 4 Figure 5


iFi Nano Black and the Matrix Audio M-Stage HPA-2 Classic

Nano connected to a PC via the iFi Mercury 3.0

Figure 6

iFi Nano Black and the Matrix Audio M-Stage HPA-2 Classic


While not all of these are necessary, they can be used with whatever gear and or wires you may already own. While you can use the Nano directly connecting to the PC, it's best you download the drivers from iFi’s site. I personally recommend the Mercury 3.0 cables. Smooth sound!


Apple

USB C OTG, Apple Camera Connector, generic Apple Camera Connector, and USB 3.0 A Male to A Female.

Figure 7

The USB C OTG and or USB 3.0 A Male to A Female is needed for Macs and or Mac Books. The Apple Camera Connector is to be used for iPads, iPhones, and or iTouch/iPod OS 10 and above. The generic Apple Camera Connector can be used on ALL Apple products OS 9.3 and below. In case you’re wondering why you would do this, the iPods 5th generation and below have Wolfson sound chips. Best you go find one while you still can…

Figure 8 Mini Mac and the Nano Black Figure 9 Mini Mac audio via the Nano Black.

Figure 10
Mac Book and Nano Black

Figure 11

Mac Book Pro audio output control panel

Figure 12 and 13

6th Generation iPod/iTouch connected via Apple Camera Connector to the Nano Black

Figure 14

5th Generation iPod/iTouch connected via Apple camera connector to Nano Black

Figure 15

5th Generation iPod/iTouch connected via generic Apple camera connector to Nano Black



Pioneer XDP-300R


Needed the Micro B OTG on this. Not a problem.

Figure 16 and 17

Pioneer XDP-300R connected via Micro B OTG to the Nano Black



Shanling M2 & M3s


USB C OTG worked like a charm.

Figure 18 and 19

Shanling M3s and the Nano Black via the USB C OTG cable

Figure 20 and 21

Shanling M2 connected via USB C OTG to the Nano Black


Cayin i5

Figure 22 and 23


Cayin i5 connected via USB C OTG



Analog audio output


While the Nano has an audio output, there is no audio input so those of you looking to use it this way, cannot. As for the audio output it can't be used as a preamp, just as a DAC. The audio output is fixed, so your external gear will have handle the sound output.



3.5 to RCA outputs or a 3.5 male to 3.5 male cables are your friend if you wish to go this route.

Figure 24 & 25

Figure 26, 27, & 28

iF Nano Black and the Matrix Audio M-Stage HPA-2 Classic

With this in mind, there isn't ANYTHING I could not connect this amp to. Worked flawlessly with PC’s, Mac Books, Mini Macs, iTouch, (the included cables and or the Apple Camera Connecter) the Shanling M2 & M3s as well as the Cayin i5. (USB-C OTG) Pioneer XDP-300R (Micro B OTG)


So if you have any concerns about this Nano connecting with your gear, don’t worry.





Think of this, if you pardon the play on words, an OTG view of the Nano Black!



Figure 1

The included accessories and cables of the Nano.


Size and weight, hah! This thing is nice and compact. However it is a little bulky (thick). So those of you with large size DAPs, may need to check and see if this won’t be a problem for you. A decent sized bag or space in your backpack should suffice. So while not thin, its size isn’t that overwhelming. Also you will need to consider getting shorter and more compact OTG cables to use. Longer, unyielding ones can be problematic in tight spaces.

Figure 2 Figure 3

Side view comparisons of the

Little Bear B4, Oppo HA-2 SE, Chord Mojo, xDuoo XD-05 and the iFi Nano iDSD Black.


Figure 4 Figure 5

The Nano Black and a Little Bear B4


Figure 6 Figure 7

The Nano Black and an Oppo HA-2 SE


Figure 8 Figure 9

The Chord Mojo and the Nano Black



Figure 10 Figure 11

An xDuoo XD-5 and the Nano Black

The Nano comes with a carry bag, but it is not big enough to carry all the included cables or the OTG ones you may need for your particular gear.

When not being used or in transport I don’t like using just bags, I prefer a solid case. So behold a Lowepro carry case I found on sale in Hong Kong.



Figure 12 Figure 13

Hard case Storage space

So does everything that came with it fit? Yes it does!

So as you can tell, it isn’t that much thicker than both the B4 and the XD-5 and just a tad wider and thicker than the Mojo. So size shouldn't be an issue. Unless, of course, you love the HA-2’s thinner size.

So that concludes the connectivity and portability aspect of this 3 part review. Sound is forth coming. See you all soon!