LUMIN - Audiophile Network Music Player

[BlueSkyy]

3 minutes ago, randyhat said:

Not every preference is a conspiracy or the result of propaganda. Opinions DO vary.  It is not important to be "right" in this hobby.  And why the need to question the preferences of someone else just because they are not the same as yours?  What happened to just agreeing to disagree?  

Spot on!  Preferences vary and the intent of my original post was not meant to trigger or upset anyone.

 

I am thrilled to the core with the X1 as I was with my A1 and S1 that came before.  The emotion that the X1 evokes in me every time I listen to it is indescribable and, because I don't have the words that audiophiles typically use to describe superior products available to me, I'll have to leave it at that.  The three dimensional sound stage the X1 presents is uncanny and the speakers in my system simply melt away and cease to exist as a distinct part of the system.

 

Aside from the thrill of listening, the build quality is exemplary and the customer service and concern that folks like "wiklie" provide makes the ownership experience unparalleled.

[dark]

2 hours ago, BlueSkyy said:

The three dimensional sound stage the X1 presents is uncanny and the speakers in my system simply melt away and cease to exist as a distinct part of the system.

The competitors are no worse, in addition, the lumin s1, a1 have very poor overtones, not a natural timbre, clinical sound, a flat stage, it quickly tires, you have a simple perception if you like Lumin.

[dark]

2 hours ago, BlueSkyy said:

а обслуживание клиентов и забота, которую обеспечивают такие люди, как "wiklie", делают опыт владения бесподобным.

What is surprising?
This is his job and he receives a salary for the service.

[BlueSkyy]

Потому что многие производители предоставляют ужасный сервис.

 

(Because many manufacturers provide horrible service.)

[dark]

4 minutes ago, BlueSkyy said:

(Because many manufacturers provide horrible service.)

For example, which ones?

[Ropet]

A review is just one opinion per magazine. If we agree, we like them, if not, we or some of us try to find excuses like conspiracy theories. It is not a competition with winners and losers in my view. I see it more as a text that can give some inspiration and thoughts where the most interesting is the arguments and reason behind the review. Not least to know what kind of music they used and to get some ideas of the full set up. 

 

There is nothing like the best dac, amplifier ... in the world. Read and get inspired but do your own review and verdict. It is not a monopoly of TAS, Stereophile or who ever. 

[wklie]

I respect that different people have different SQ preferences.  When it comes to network streaming, even more things can affect that.  For the naysayers, please just ignore them.  No need to get angry or pissed.  In the same way that I do not want people to attack us, I don't want to see other manufacturers get attacked, especially not in this thread.

 

I also want to mention the matter of burn-in.  Throughout the history of Lumin, a number of people told me they found their new Lumin sounded bad and even regretted the purchase.  In all of those cases, after a lengthy burn in then they got the excellent SQ that Lumin truly offers.  In the most recent report, one user of X1 (who also owned other top of the line ES9038PRO DACs) reported it initially sounded worse than a competitor, but after hundreds of hours of burn-in it became superior.

[Kray]

Is the ground on the u1 mini really necessary? Or is it just for very bad environments?

 

also is it true you have to cut the red wire off the iec to install an sbooster?

[dark]

2 hours ago, wklie said:

  In the same way that I do not want people to attack us,

Who dared to attack?

[BlueSkyy]

14 hours ago, randyhat said:

WTF just happened?

Boys 'n' girls just being passionate about their hobby and their choices.

[The Computer Audiophile]

17 hours ago, dark said:

The competitors are no worse, in addition, the lumin s1, a1 have very poor overtones, not a natural timbre, clinical sound, a flat stage, it quickly tires, you have a simple perception if you like Lumin.

This is your one warning. Do your best to get along with others and be courteous. Those who can’t do so need to find another community to ruin. 

[wklie]

8 hours ago, Kray said:

Is the ground on the u1 mini really necessary? Or is it just for very bad environments?

 

The ground terminal may be used if your AC does not have a ground.  Or some users choose to connect it to a grounding box.

[randyhat]

"you have a simple perception if you like Lumin..."

 

This is the attitude (usually just implied) that I find aggravating about much of the discourse on some of these forums.  The arrogance of the poster to suggest that if you like a product that he does not that your perception is simply lacking is simply rude and uncalled for.   You are certainly to free to criticize a product.  Debates about sound quality is a fundamental part of what make these discussions fun and informative.  The variety of tastes, preferences, and opinions are the fabric of diversity that make a hobby like this interesting.  Snide remarks like his is usually how discussions devolve into childish pissing matches.  The moderator was correct in admonishing his behavior.  Lighten up dude and just "agree to disagree" and move on.  No need for the cheap shots.

[sfseay]

On 2/26/2020 at 2:07 PM, dark said:

The competitors are no worse, in addition, the lumin s1, a1 have very poor overtones, not a natural timbre, clinical sound, a flat stage, it quickly tires, you have a simple perception if you like Lumin.

Wow!  Spoken like someone that has damaged hearing.  What streamer do you own that you like better, or are you just trolling?

[dark]

1 hour ago, sfseay said:

 What streamer do you own that you like better, or are you just trolling?

 

I had Lumin d1 - a very good streamer, then I had s1, sold it, I can not bear the sound of sabre chips, now I'm listening to the old one
 Naim nds model, for $ 7,500, great sound, I like how the burr-brown 1704 multibit chip sounds

[rodrigaj]

Ah yes.... the "chip sound".

[rossb]

I had the Chord DAVE/Blu 2. I now have the Lumin X1. Draw your own conclusion.

 

On 2/27/2020 at 3:30 PM, wklie said:

I also want to mention the matter of burn-in.  Throughout the history of Lumin, a number of people told me they found their new Lumin sounded bad and even regretted the purchase.  In all of those cases, after a lengthy burn in then they got the excellent SQ that Lumin truly offers.  In the most recent report, one user of X1 (who also owned other top of the line ES9038PRO DACs) reported it initially sounded worse than a competitor, but after hundreds of hours of burn-in it became superior.

 

This was my experience also. I seriously regretted buying the X1 in the first few weeks of owning it. It really did not sound very good. But over time its character transformed quite substantially, and now it sounds truly magnificent. 

 

I have owned a few Sabre dacs and in my experience they always take an unusually long time to burn in. The X1 probably took a few 300-400 hours before it started to show what it was capable of. 

[dark]

16 hours ago, rossb said:

few 300-400 hours before it started to show

Everyone understood this for a long time, any audio equipment needs 300-400 hours.

[Kray]

@wklie having a weird issue with the U1 mini. If I connect only RCA coax, my DAC shows synced the music plays (thru lumin app) but no sound. If I stop music. Connect usb, it works fine, then it will work if I switch over to RCA input on my DAC. But then I get some crackling or noise. 
 

ive tried only having RCA connected and rebooting lumin, but that doesn’t work. 
 

using the same digital rca cable on my CD player I have no issues between it an my DAC. 

[wklie]

@Kray Please try different sample rate music - 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz.  If you don't have that many, use the Lumin custom re-sampling to upsample 44.1kHz to 88.2kHz and 176.4kHz.

 

Another thing to try is different inputs to your DAC, e.g. toslink.

 

Please also try another cable.

[wklie]

And please power cycle both the DAC and the Lumin.

[sojer2005]

Hi @wklie

I am on 12.0 firmware on my D2.

Is there a new 12.0a version for manual update?

[BlueSkyy]

On 3/5/2020 at 11:42 AM, dark said:

Everyone understood this for a long time, any audio equipment needs 300-400 hours.

This is true.  I've owned my X1 for over a year now and it has never been turned off.  I suspect it has 2600 hours on it.  It has never stopped streaming and it is still getting better and better every time I listen to it..  I have reached audio nirvana but YMMV (your mileage may vary).  My sincere hope is that Pixel Magic, Lumin, doesn't bring out a new flagship before I pass on to the next plane of existence or I will surely go broke.

[dark]

1 hour ago, BlueSkyy said:

I suspect it has 2600 hours on it.

Sorry, ghosts don't visit you?

[wklie]

8 hours ago, sojer2005 said:

I am on 12.0 firmware on my D2.

Is there a new 12.0a version for manual update?

 

No.  D2 and newer models do not need a certain minor bug fix in 12.0a.