Listen and I suspect you’ll recognise what the ZeroPoints are doing just as quickly as I did. In the same way that live music is instantly recognisable, no matter the situation, what the Matrix 1s deliver is fundamentally more recognisable, more engaging and more musical. The scale, clarity, focussed energy and resolution, but above all, the clarity they bring to rhythm and timing, make your recordings sound more ‘there’ – more like real people, more like real instruments in a real space. If you don’t get that when you hook them up, just give them back to your dealer – but I suspect the return rate is going to be vanishingly low. The ZeroPoints’ impact is neither subtle nor insignificant, delivering musical qualities that are not only hard to achieve in other ways – those ways are likely to prove difficult to realise and far more expensive.
Almost a year ago, I reviewed a nominally similar product, the SoundStrip BlackHole. The sub-heading on that review was “Hard to explain – harder to ignore…” reflecting the manufacturer’s unwillingness to discuss how the product made the sonic and musical difference it so demonstrably did. Pushed, he volunteered (or at least agreed) that it was sinking vibrational energy – in much the same way as the Vertex AQ products – but, short of opening up the sealed MDF box, it’s impossible to be sure.
ZeroPoint are refreshingly clear on the operational principles behind the Matrix 1, what’s in the box and why it is built the way it is. It is more presentable, offers interchangeable leads and it’s considerably cheaper than the BlackHole. It’s also significantly superior in performance. Better looking, better sounding and lower cost, that’s all heading in the right direction. At £1,500 a pair (extra if you want to colour match your speakers) the ZeroPoint Matrix 1s are the single most cost-effective – and most easily assessed – system upgrade I’ve come across. Once tried, there’s really no going back…
Price and availability:
ZeroPoint Matrix 1 (black or silver) – £1,500/pr (inc. tax)
Custom RAL colours to order – £300/pr
Manufacturer
ZeroPoint
www.zeropointmatrix.com
