Both are desktop DAC/amps, $2050 against $2999. This page puts them side by side on the only three things a maker can be held to — power, output impedance and noise — and then asks the question that actually matters: which headphones do they treat differently?
The Matrix element M2 reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the Ferrum ERCO on 566.
| Specification | Ferrum ERCO | Matrix element M2 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 1.1 W | 1.2 W |
| Power into 150Ω | 580 mW | 380 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 300 mW | 280 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 150 mW | 140 mW |
| Output impedance | 0.3 Ω | 11 Ω |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $2050 | $2999 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 566 | 567 |
A figure marked not published is missing from the maker’s own material, which is not the same as being good or bad. Where one of these two publishes a number and the other does not, the comparison on that axis cannot be made at all — and saying so is more useful than guessing.
1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the Matrix element M2 but not on the Ferrum ERCO — Symphonium Titan.
520 headphones are left alone by the Ferrum ERCO under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Matrix element M2 (64 Audio Aspire 1, 64 Audio Fourte, 64 Audio Nio, 517 more).
566 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both. That is a power count and nothing more; whether either source suits a given headphone also depends on the two lines above.
Each has a page of its own with every power figure traced to what the maker published and a full headphone list: Ferrum ERCO and Matrix element M2. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.