Hello All,
I am looking for some feed back on Matrix audio. My company just picked up the line and I have not had a chance to play with it. In my opinion it looks to be a solution piece to upgrade someones speaker selector box with VC's and add independent zones with basic keypads. That being sayed, is it worth it? Are the key pads using the speaker wire reliable? Any other feed back.
Thanks!
Kevin

vwpower posted this recently. We (CE Pro) selected it as a product of the year, and hear nothing but good things.
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I really liked the Matrix Audio Designs Amp/Controller/Keypad system. The fact that it uses speaker wire technology (Using only 4 wires for the keypads) makes this a great retro install. The programming is very simple. The sound quality of the amplifier is amazing. This system sounds better than any Abus, Xantech, or volume controlled system at its price range. The functionality is also great. You can push any of the source buttons and hold it pressed down and it will turn all of the keypads to that source. The only thing I did not like about the product was a 12v trigger out to use to trigger on components that only have toggle power buttons. With this system you must use components that use discrete codes. Also the numerce keypads let you access favorite music stations on you cable box/Sat, or favorite radio stations. Since CEDIA I have installed two of these systems and I am amazed at how easy it is to program up. Granted you cannot do everything that a russound, xantech, or crestron system, but for what it does with you original speaker wires it is pretty amazing.

Mike

I have now installed three of these systems. One S8.6 had a bad output board on zone 5 and 6. Matrix shipped me a new board in a few days, and I was up and running. They have great tech support and it is by far the easiest MRC to program. I am still waiting on the remote controls. Another bummer is that you have to use their remote control, but you can't complain. Especially for what it accomplishes.

Mike

Seems like a good company... we picked it up last year. A good product... have not had or heard any bad experiences with it.

Actually, their main engineer that developed most of their systems left in september. He has now started a new company called NEXUS. It uses the same technology as Matrix Audio. They call it "Phantom Sound". Their keypads have a LCD Readout on them and they have two-way communication with the onboard tuner. The LCD refreshes 45 times per second. Diffenitly worth taking a look at.

http://www.nexusaudiosystems.com/

Mike

The original owner and designer, Victor Barry, is a great guy and their service (matrix) was outstanding. We installed a good number of these and had virtually no problems. The system truly does sound better than other systems too. Only downfall is it won't repeat IR signals through the keypad. Perhaps the new versions can but I'm not aware of it.

Victor Berry now has a new company called Nexus Audio Systems. He sold the old company in order to get rid of some dead weight. You should check out his new product line at www.nexusaudiosystems.com
As Victor was the designer of the original Matrix line, his new model C6 line, requires only speaker wires, and is dubbed "phantom control", and is great for retrofits, as well as new installations. The Nexus C6 also has the same great sound and durability as the (original) MRC-8 series. Also incorporated is video switching, and paging functions, and a built in tuner.