LUMIN - Audiophile Network Music Player

[BlueSkyy]

I've always been one that believes the shortest, most direct path be it with audio or "as the crow flies" is the best choice.

 

Of course if you need the preamp for equalization, switching functions, etc. than the preamp is the only way to go.

 

I've got my X1 going via XLR through an XLR switch to the input of the amplifiers so I can enjoy the best of both worlds by going direct when I use the X1 or going through the preamp / processor when I need the home theater setup.

 

But, PLEASE, don't let this sway you in any way into how to spend your money.  Only your decision and no one else's, other than maybe that of your significant other or your banker, should do that.

[BlueSkyy]

I am using the Kramer VS-4X.  It's passive and well-built.  I contacted Manley and they will probably never manufacture an XLR version of their switch and that's too bad.

[BlueSkyy]

14 hours ago, chungjh said:

I agree with you regarding the shortest path. As I mentioned in an earlier post, some albums require  the extra gain from a preamp. I don’t know if it is  just my system, but I am curious how Jonas Starker Bach cello Mercury label sounds direct to the amp. For me, direct just can’t produce the volume. Let me know.

Sorry but I don't know or have access to that piece of music but I personally have had no experiences I can recall from having less than enough system volume going directly from the X1 (XLR) into the front end of the mono amps as attested to by knocks on the door by my neighbors and, on occassion, the local gendarmes and the protestations coming from my significant other two floors above.

 

My amplifier's input sensitivities are rated at 2.45V unbalanced and 4.9V balanced for 1200W (30.8dbW) output.

 

I use the Telarc offerings of "Bolero" and the "1812 Overture" and a version of Ralf Vaughn Williams "The Lark Ascending".  With Bolero, in particular, I have to crank the volume well above normal to properly enjoy the opening stanzas and, unless I ride the gain near the end, that's when the neighbors complain.

[BlueSkyy]

13 minutes ago, kzs70 said:

Have you actually compared it vs Lumin drectly connected to the power amp, if so do you hear any difference in the sound quality?

 

Yes I have done that.  I wasn't able to perceive any difference in S.Q. and, although sometimes I am prone to confirmation bias, I can honestly say I can hear no difference in this lashup.  YMMV.

[BlueSkyy]

On 11/1/2020 at 6:17 AM, vintageaxeman said:

Douk sometimes use the name Nobsound, sometimes they use Noobsound.

 

 

RCA or XLR (two sets available) inputs  to  RCA or XLR (two sets available) outputs.

 

I have one.

 

It works well, but I don't need it anymore if you want to buy it. PM me if so.

That's a nice looking little box.  It says it converts from RCA to XLR, etc.  Unless they use transformers internally, I don't believe that the benefits of a balanced connection such as common mode noise rejection, etc. would be realized but I could be wrong.

[BlueSkyy]

43 minutes ago, Philippe Bill said:

 

about Lumin.. are you planning the Lumin app for Logitech Media server alongside MinimServer?

I use the Lumin app with JRiver Media Center so it probably already works with Logitech although not probably not integrated as well as it is with MinimServer.

[BlueSkyy]

6 hours ago, Roy Boy said:

If I wanted to drive both an amp and subwoofer crossover from my Lumin A1 via the XLR outputs and I am building my own XLR cables, is there any reason I could not or should not build a Y cable  (1 Female XLR to 2 Male XLR)

to drive both devices?

Current wisdom thinking seems to imply no, don't double the load (halve the impedance) on the Lumin output.  Additionally, the interaction between the two paralleled loads is unknown.

 

I've loaded both the XLR and RCA outputs at the same time on my device and could not detect any audible difference.  YMMV but, as you are making your own XLR cables and probably the "Y", why not give it a try and see if you can detect anything amiss?  It won't damage anything physically at the very least.

[BlueSkyy]

31 minutes ago, wklie said:

A very interesting case study is that one user reported his local CD rip files sounding worse than Tidal / Qobuz streaming.  It turns out that his fiber isolation was done at the wrong place (at the router) instead of the correct place at the input to Lumin.

Hello Peter.  I am not sure I understand.  To implement a fiber link to the Lumin, you need an SFP at both the Lumin and at the switch/router that supplies data to and from the Lumin.  In the situation you mentioned, are you implying that the Lumin was connected via copper to the router?

 

Sorry for not completely understanding.

[BlueSkyy]

Got it.  Thanks!

[BlueSkyy]

Vintageaxeman, I think your question was a good one regardless of how you couched it.  For me, the answer could be that providing both interfaces was done for both SQ and "future-proofing" purposes.  I can hear differences in SQ when using copper or fiber although I don't have the verbal skills to actually put the differences into words and the ability to hear the difference is not 100% repeatable on any given day. Suffice it to say that the Lumin sounds sublime when connected both ways.  Also, my wife tells me that sometimes she thinks confirmation bias gets the best of me.

[BlueSkyy]

I always like reading the documentation, release notes, regarding new firmware releases, hopefully before installation, but certainly after installation.

[BlueSkyy]

I had good luck with my X1.  Took about four (4) minutes.  Have you done anything like power cycle the D2?

[BlueSkyy]

Don't forget to bring it up slowly on a VARIAC to prevent the electrolytics from popping!

[BlueSkyy]

Check for antennas.  He may be an amateur (ham) radio operator.  I've been known to upset some people by transmitting with a signal that was less than perfectly clean.

 

Regarding receivers, some receivers do have oscillators in them that can act as transmitters if the receiver is of poor design or not working properly.  As Liam said, however, it is highly unlikely that a receiver could be putting out enough garbage to interfere with your operation.

[BlueSkyy]

57 minutes ago, Liam said:

Being a Licenced Amateur Radio Operator myself, (not active for some years now) what you say is so,  but it’s fair to also say perfectly legitimate clean radio signals can find their way into domestic equipment, designed or not, to pick up radio signals, but due to measures being inadequate or absent in the design to reject unwanted signals suffer interference. Licenced Radio Amateurs receive education while studying for Licence examinations and engage in further learning in these matters, and will usually want to be helpful to eliminate the issue, so that both can enjoy their pursuits.

Yep, that's why I use low pass filters on my vintage Collins S-line equipment.  Don't let that license lapse.  I was licensed back in 1964 as a novice and just got my Extra Class because I could never get above about 17 wpm in Morse Code.

 

Take care and stay safe!

[BlueSkyy]

8 minutes ago, FIndingit said:

LUMIN app uses 4.66 Gb of memory on my iphone, that’s an awful lot of those small album cover images...

175MB here but I am not sure what's contained in Lumin's "Documents & Data".  I have over 1,200 albums and most have album art at least 1k x 1k resolution imbedded in each of the music files.

 

New firmware at 13.4a.  Oh goodie!

[BlueSkyy]

Flndingit's library must be huge!

[BlueSkyy]

5 minutes ago, Ropet said:

Was this for me?

 

No it was for nobody in particular.  My library is already so big, to me, that much of it I'll never listen to again.  I guess I may be a collector or hoarder of files.

[BlueSkyy]

1 hour ago, FIndingit said:

And while you're at it, turn off the display and the network lights behing the unit.

The blue display's technology on my old McIntosh MX-150 surround sound processor developed "wear" where segments of the display that were never or rarely used were dim in comparison to segments that were used often or were on all the time.

 

I am not sure if the display technology utilized by Lumin is the same as that used by McIntosh but, for that reason, I rarely have the display in my X1 on.

 

Maybe @wklie can tell us if the Lumin display is prone to this phenomenon or not and put my concerns to bed once and for all.

[BlueSkyy]

Thanks for the confirmation and sorry to hear about your experience with the "Network Error" burn-in.  I think the old McIntosh blue display was some sort of dot matrix electro-luminescent technology.  I was so OCD, still am I guess, that I would cycle through all the display settings to energize all the unused segments (or dots) and it would eventually return to uniformity.

 

I will continue to keep the X1's display off and in the rare instances that I do have it on will keep it dim.

[BlueSkyy]

2 hours ago, rodrigaj said:

Fortunately, the Lumin display shows nothing that isn't on the in the Lumin App. If you listen to anything with a longish track title, such as classical music, it is even more annoying. I leave my U1 off all of the time, it's pretty useless to me.

👍

[BlueSkyy]

1 hour ago, FIndingit said:

I firmly believe in “less leds, better sound”. 
 

👍

[BlueSkyy]

4 minutes ago, musicguy said:

Thanks for all  the tips.  As soon as Fed ex finds my lumin and delivery it.  Its been no movment for 4 days now?

That's scary.  The United States Post Office is much worse for local things or so it seems.  I just has a package delivered from Taiwan door to door in under three days.  A package that was mailed to me from about thirty miles away as the crow flies has been en-route for a little over a month now.

 

I hope your Lumin is not lost!

[BlueSkyy]

I’ve had pretty good luck with JRiver MC over the years with files on my local HTPC or a QNAP NAS.  I prefer the tagging capabilities of JRiver but, in all honesty, I haven’t played around too much with Minimserver.  I do not experience any of the anomalies mentioned above and I do not use a streaming service at this time.

 

Maybe I’ll try the paid version and see if that is more to my liking.

[BlueSkyy]

8 hours ago, wklie said:

For new users, they may install the MinimServer 2, as I believe the old version packages can no longer be downloaded from the official site.

 

For existing users running 0.8.x with no issue, please keep using it.  We have not spent much time with MinimServer 2 at this point.

Has Lumin ever considered developing their own, bespoke, server?  I'd hate to see MinimServer change so radically or even go away that it would render your products less than the best that they already are.

 

I guess the fact that they, the Lumin products, do confirm to certain standards would eliminate the potential for them to be rendered unusable.  Of course, if MinimServer eliminated access to use a free version that would be cause for concern too.