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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/13/2018 at 10:03 AM, Roy Boy said:

Has any A1 owner tried the new optional power supply now available (same as X1)?

 

We begin to ship Lumin X1 power supply as an upgrade for existing S1 / A1 / T1 / U1 with a special converter DC cable.

Peter Lie

LUMIN Firmware Lead

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  • 3 weeks later...
11 hours ago, dcas71 said:

So I'm one week in with my Lumin U1 Mini, and it's already sounding great connected to a Qutest DAC. I upgraded from a D1 which didn't quite do it for me as a pure transport (I've found that in my setup Qutest seems a little sensitive to RFI when using the spdif BNC input).

 

Were you using the D1 with an external linear power supply, or the newer D1 with the internal switching power supply?

 

I was all excited about the U1 mini until I read it has an internal switching power supply.

 

I use a D1 powered by an Uptone JS-2 with a Pranawire Vajra power cord and it sounds fabulous as a transport.

 

I don't allow any switching power supply into my audio stream.

Waversa hub > Lumin S1 > Bakoon HPA-21

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I’m debating between the U1 Mini and U1. Current setup has Ethernet going straight to a Devialet D400. It’s hard to find impressions online because the Mini is so new. The SMPS is a bit of a nervosa concern and has kept me jumping on either. The counter argument is that Devialet also has a SMPS and sounds fantastic. 

 

I too have a JS-2 that could power the Mini so that’s a route I can take with a DIY cable. 

 

Another option could be the Sbooster kit here - https://www.sbooster.com/botw-pp-eco-12-13v/lumin-d1-streamer

 

Would love to hear from someone who might have the fortune of hearing both. 

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@nkbg For D2 / U1 MINI that's the wrong link - D2 / U1 MINI physical requirement is different from D1.

 

Those who use 3rd party LPS for D2 / U1 MINI need to be aware that if a Lumin unit needs to be shipped back for repair, it must have the original parts inside unmodified.

Peter Lie

LUMIN Firmware Lead

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6 hours ago, nkbg said:

@wklie Ah I see. The U1 Mini will need the IEC inlet removed and DC cable snaked in with a circuit board connector on end. 

 

I guess the D2 LPS will be a better fit - https://www.sbooster.com/botw-pp-eco-12-13v/lumin-d2-streamer

Ermm. No, I don’t think so. I think what Peter was trying to say, was don’t go modifying the bloody thing internally in the first place, if you want to keep your warranty!

Why would anyone want to dismantle a beautiful unit like the Lumin, and bypass/disable the power supply? Apart from being dangerous, does it really make all that difference?

I would say leave well alone, unless you want to risk your life and/or see your beautiful Lumin go up in smoke.

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11 hours ago, skyline said:

 

Were you using the D1 with an external linear power supply, or the newer D1 with the internal switching power supply?

 

I was all excited about the U1 mini until I read it has an internal switching power supply.

 

I use a D1 powered by an Uptone JS-2 with a Pranawire Vajra power cord and it sounds fabulous as a transport.

 

I don't allow any switching power supply into my audio stream.

 

I was using D1 with an external Plixir LPS (the new one with smps is D2 I think which has a slightly larger case to accommodate). For me the D1 was very good, but as a transport sonically not quite at the same level of dynamics, tonal richness and ease of presentation as the SOTM sms200.

 

Since the authorised dealer here in Singapore also makes highly respected Plixir power components, I took a U1 Mini already converted for LPS which includes the proper DC 4-pin termination replacing the IEC inlet. If it ever needs to go back to Lumin, or if I simply want to revert to the internal SMPS, he will reverse the conversion (I still keep all original PS components for reversal).

 

I see that SBooster are already selling conversion kits for DIYers, not sure if they've posted the instruction sheet yet but the change and the reversal are quite simple, although I prefer to leave that to an experienced professional myself.

 

@kelly200269 I hear what you're saying but for me it's low risk since the authorised dealer converts/reverses. I didn't hear the U1m with the SMPS so I can't comment on the sonic difference, but like many people I prefer to minimise the number of SMPS in my audio chain. I tried the ifi iPower on my Qutest DAC but found the stock PS richer sounding to my ears. I also tried keeping it on the 'dirty' spur of my mains with TV, PS4, AppleTV etc but found the audio sounds better with Qutest PS plugged into my dedicated audio electrical spur.

 

So in my case I can say that Qutest SMPS causes less audible harm to the rest of the audio component, than all the other SMPS devices cause to Qutest sound. For me, the stock Qutest wall-wart does the job just fine for this device, however I do have the benefit of a cleanish dedicated electrical spur installed. I am toying with the idea of trying an LPS with Qutest, but I don't want to add a second box behind my rack, so I may try the new HDPlex 200w supply - this could power my Lumin, Qutest and also my network switch so could well be worth a go.

 

@JMD54 U1 is a very different price league, but LPS-converted U1mini should get quite close to it in sound. D1 didn't quite do it for me as above..

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16 hours ago, kelly200269 said:

I think you’re misguided about the benefits of LPS vs SMPS, and IMO you present an oversimplified picture.

My Linn Akurate Kontrol preamplifier, my Linn Chakara power amplifiers AND my Lumin A1 are all powered by switching power supplies. And they all sound absolutely fantastic.

The situation isn’t as ‘black and white’ as you make it out to be.

Maybe read back my post again. I didn't present any case for LPS vs SMPS at all, just that I prefer to minimise the number of smps in my system. But also that I find the Qutest stock PS just fine plugged into the same clean electrical spur as the rest of the hifi.

 

I also said I can't comment on U1 mini sound with LPS vs SMPS since I ordered it with the LPS conversion. I may well swap the conversion back myself at some point just to compare. I already had the LPS from my D1, but for most new buyers I would advise to try the stock U1 mini first.

 

I can happily say that mine took a step forward sonically between 150-200 hours of play. It really came on song yesterday and now sounds very natural, dynamic but also easeful and relaxed/effortless. It's overtaken the sms200 as the best sounding transport I've had in my system. If there's any further improvement as it runs in I'll be very happy indeed, the U1M-Qutest is a killer combo to my ears.

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15 minutes ago, dcas71 said:

I can happily say that mine took a step forward sonically between 150-200 hours of play. It really came on song yesterday and now sounds very natural, dynamic but also easeful and relaxed/effortless. It's overtaken the sms200 as the best sounding transport I've had in my system. If there's any further improvement as it runs in I'll be very happy indeed, the U1M-Qutest is a killer combo to my ears.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Which connection are you using?  BNC?  USB?

Peter Lie

LUMIN Firmware Lead

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4 minutes ago, wklie said:

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Which connection are you using?  BNC?  USB?

I'm using DHLab spdif rca-bnc as that's what I already had. I've also been listening a little on the USB connection but not enough to compare, first impressions are that it's very close which is obviously a good thing for those with single-input DACs.

 

I have a Shunyata Cobra BNC-BNC on order so will see in a few weeks whether the Zitron technology makes an audible difference.

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Hi all, just joined up here, will become the proud owner of a D2 next week and have a question if I may-

 

I note the D2 does not have any Toslink inputs, or indeed any others apart from USB. What I'd like to do is input my TV sound through as I like to listen through my system. I do have another dac and pre so could connect that way, however I'd like to simplify things and lower box count, so was wondering if it's possible to use a Toslink to USB converter to connect the TV audio to the Lumin- in effect using the Lumin as the preamp in my system?

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1 hour ago, Ali T said:

wondering if it's possible to use a Toslink to USB converter to connect the TV audio to the Lumin

 

Currently Lumin products do not accept USB audio input.  So this won't work.  Lumin players do not aim to replace the preamp either, even though it has digital volume.  I'm afraid it's best not to lower the box count for now, and connect both the D2 and your DAC to the preamp.  If your preamp has XLR input, use the XLR output of D2.

Peter Lie

LUMIN Firmware Lead

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