Impressions of Lumin T2?

[mav52]

On 6/29/2019 at 2:59 PM, AVphile said:

I am tardy in responding to your inquiry, so my comments might be irrelevant at this time.   In late April, I purchased both a Lumin T2 and a Roon Nucleus+ core; buying those two devices has given me the opportunity to better assess the pros and cons of the T2.

 

As you know, the only way one can truly determine how a new piece of gear will sound in one's system is to try it in one's system.  That option was not available to me, and so most of my research was done by attending the AXPONA show in Chicago a couple of months ago.  At that show, I was able to see essentially all the major manufacturers of music streamers/DACs.  At the end, I was down to two choices: the Lumin T2 and the Cary Audio DMS-600.  Besides the $1,500 price differential, the factors which swayed me to the T2 were:

     1. Lumin's sole business is music streamer/DACs, whereas Cary Audio is known for its analog products; its DMS-600 is an outlier.

     2. The T2 uses dual ESS Sabre 9028 DAC chips, whereas Cary Audio uses two AKM 4497EQ DAC chips.  Once upon a time, I was a financial advisor to ESS, and so I "sort of wanted to " own a product which utilized their DACs after hearing from ESS's CEO how fantastic they were.

 

I own multiple DACs, including one resident in my Theta Casablanca IV preamp/processor which is board-based rather than DAC chip-based.  Consequently, I am able to operate the T2 as both a standalone music streamer and as an integrated music streamer/DAC.  The differences are enlightening.  Using its Sabre 9028s, the resultant sound is very accurate, very detailed -- as is said, very "clinical".  For certain recordings, that sharpness is a real plus, as one can everything that was in the digitized recording.  On the other hand, the sound is hardly warm; there is an absence of fullness or bloom -- almost as if the lowest frequencies within an octave were truncated.  The best I can describe the difference is like a "crack" to a "boom".  Both can be the sound of a howitzer; the individual has to decide which seems more authentic.  In contrast, using my Casablanca IV, the sound is more rich and full, but perhaps with a tad less detail.

 

Depending on the recording, sometimes I prefer the integrated sound and other times the standalone T2 streaming with my Casablanca IV performing the digital-to-analog conversion.  If a person lacks that system flexibility, it is important to know the "tilt" of the T2 towards clinical accuracy.

 

In terms of operation, the T2 is a breeze.  It sets up easily, has a good app for seeking and downloading Tidal files, and offers a number of different settings, including upscalings, and PCM to DSD conversions.  Finally, although customer support is provided via various enthusiast websites (Audiogon, AudioShark, etc.), that support is really quite outstanding.

 

I hope I've been helpful.  Please let me know should you have further questions.

 

 

 

After I listened to the T2,  I just decided I would keep my A1 and D1.   I just like the way they sound.

[mav52]

2 hours ago, EMMM said:

 

I'm contemplating a move from the D1 to a T2 and would be grateful if you could explain more on why you prefer the A1/D1 to the T2.  Thanks!

The sound, I like the way Lumin uses the Wolfson dacs.  The T2 was a little more bright/more detailed that I expected.  The A1 and D1 just sounded a lot more like my LP's, a little warm. .  Personal taste I guess.

[mav52]

1 hour ago, AVphile said:

 As an owner of a T2, I am wrestling with that problem -- the absence of warmth and analog-like sound -- myself.  I experimented with different interconnects, but the improvement, if any, was hardly easily discernable based on the cables I employ, as they are all relatively neutral.  I have the ability to bypass the T2's resident Sabre 9028 DACs and instead use my Theta Casablanca IV do the D-to-A conversion; this weekend I shall explore -- much more extensively than I have done previously -- to what extent this option modifies the sound in a positive way.

I even added a tube pre-amp which did help a little, but !.

 

AV keep us updated. 

 

Chris