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Impressions of Lumin T2?


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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.

 

 

 

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 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.

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  • 2 weeks later...

hlkaye's post regarding the Lumin T2 vs. the Auralic Vega G1 underscores how one's entire audio equipment and cabling configuration as a system does indeed, as arcman states, influence's the sonic signature of a single component.  In my system, music streamed through the T2 initially seemed far too bright and hyper-realistic. even when upsampled to DSD 512.  My T2 now has about 150 hours of usage, and that "edginess" has mitigated somewhat to the point that well-recorded/mastered tracks are very listenable.  That is a marked contrast to hlkaye's description of the T2 as sounding too dark and slightly muddy. 

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  • 1 month later...

I have now run my T2 300+ hours.  I also have it plugged into a Shunyata Denali 6000S power conditioner, use a Shunyata Venom 14 power cord, and finally use Kimber Kable's Silver Streak Balanced analog interconnects into my Theta Casablanca IV preamp.  Lastly, I have upgraded my interconnects to my power amplifiers with Wireworld Equinox 8 balanced cables.

 

I believe, and a number of my audio friends who have recently auditioned my system share my belief, that a wide variety of music -- vocals, classical, new age, jazz, country, etc. -- sounds really wonderful with this configuration.  Insofar as the T2, all I can say is that it takes hours and hours and hours to break in, but, having done so, I am very pleased with it as a music server.

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  • 8 months later...

I am glad that you are enjoying your T2.  As for the T2's placement of the sonic image, I have found that the longer I have owned mine, the more depth appears to be present (if it existed on the original recording).  I also have found the brightness has lessened noticeably, resulting in a most melodious listenability.  May I make a few suggestions which may further still your listening enjoyment:

  1. Consider purchasing a Roon Nucleus +.  It simply opens up the vast world of digital recordings available on Tidal, Qobuz, etc. in a way that Lumin alone cannot.
  2. Besides buying the Nucleus +, consider purchasing a linear power supply for that Roon device.  I obtained a reasonably priced Teddy Pardo unit and have been very pleased with it.
  3. Make sure you cables are commensurate with the quality of the T2. (a) As power cords, I use Shunyata Venom 14s; for Ethernet cables, I use Wireworld Chroma 8s; and for analog interconnects from the T2 to my preamplifier, I use a pair of Kimber Kable Silver Streaks with WBT 114 copper terminations.

The usage of all these components in my system has made me a "happy camper".  Seriously, listening is never tiresome for me, and I find that the streamed recording is as good as, if not better than, my CD playback sub-system.  As for that constant controversy of which is better/more authentic, etc. between digital and analog, in my audio system I just don't know.  They are clearly different, and each is uniquely satisfying in its own way.

 

Experimentation is part of being an audiophile.  We make little upgrades here and there until incremental improvement plateaus and then we start working on a defensible rationalization for that "real" major upgrade.  At $4,500, the T2 is almost a bargain.  For me, the next step up would be either the dCS Bartok or the Lumin X-1.  However, given the quality of what I now hear, I am uncertain the discernable potential improvement in my system's sonic reproduction of streamed music will justify the expenditure of many thousands more dollars necessary to get there.

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  • 1 year later...

I am confused by what you have described.  I have a T2 and multiple subwoofers in my audio system.  I use the DAC in the T2, with the analog output of the T2 connected to an analog input of my preamplifier.  This preamplifier has Dirac room correction software incorporated, and I use it with all of my inputs (both analog and digital).  Dirac impacts all of my speakers, including my subwoofers, and provides a remarkably flat frequency response in my room all the way down to around 18Hz.

 

I don't see why you cannot do the same thing with your setup.  

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