Lumin U1 vs U1 mini + sbooster?

[VoicesInMyHead]

I have no idea myself, and I'm not sure how someone can say a percentage of such a difference, but here's a quote I found that might give an idea about it...

 

"The stock Lumin U1 Mini provides 60% of the performance of the U1 for 34% of the price. The upgraded U1 Mini provides 80% of the performance of the U1, for 42% of the price."

 

Search for Lumin in the middle of this page for the whole thing.

 

http://enjoythemusic.com/Montreal_Salon_Audio_Fest_2019/part2/page4.htm

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

I believe can now answer this question a bit better...

 

First, let me just say that I'm a big Lumin fan, I've owned both the D2, T2 and now U1 Mini and been nothing but super happy with all of them. Adding a better power cable and making sure you have clean power is a first step for a good improvement to them and I think they're all performing great in their leagues without any DIY hacks.

 

For the U1 Mini I couldn't resist doing the "Sbooster modification", although I felt that if I was about to do this then I wanted to use something a bit more "reputable" and more well accepted in the PSU domain, albeit maybe also more expensive. I decided to go with the brand new Paul Hynes SR4-12 Turbo. I found that Audio Sensibility in Canada is modifying the Sbooster kits to have a more standard 2.1mm DC connector instead which suited my intentions perfectly.

 

Please note that this voids warranty and is nothing that I recommend doing. If anyone burns your Lumin the responsibility is yours and yours only.

 

 

With that said and done, how does it sound and how do it compare to the larger U1? To clarify, I still haven't heard the U1 but I would like to describe the changes like this.

 

At first I was a bit like "ok, maybe a slight change but nothing special", but let that Paul Hynes PSU get warm, give it 1-2 days and the improvement will not be subtle anymore, in fact, I would say that there is nothing about this U1 Mini that can be related to being "mini" anymore, this baby has grown up! I do hardly recognize it anymore, the overall improvement in all aspects is substantial, it sounds big, thunderous and magical. I'm impressed!

 

I referred to a link above where it claims about 25% improvement with the Sbooster, to be honest, that number seems very low to me.

[VoicesInMyHead]

1 minute ago, Kray said:

did you have to cut any wires to install it?

 

Yes, unfortunately. But totally worth it and no regrets or going back.

 

My wording about Sbooster was a bit clumsy, I apologize for that, I've heard nothing but positive things from people using them for this upgrade as well, and I did not compare.

[VoicesInMyHead]

29 minutes ago, hpfish said:

Can I use my UpTone ultracaps 1.2 with modified LPS kit for U1 Mini?  

 

I'm afraid the LPS 1.2's output current is a bit on the low side. The original SMPS in the Lumin gives 12V/2.1A, Sbooster 12V/3A and Paul Hynes 12V/2.5A whereas the LPS 1.2 only does 12V/1.1A so I don't think it would be a good idea.

[VoicesInMyHead]

@hpfish I've got the 12V model.

[VoicesInMyHead]

13 hours ago, smodtactical said:

Thanks for this ! Impressive but how much is the paul hynes supply? I think maybe 330 GBP ?

 

Paul Hynes is 330 GBP for SR4-12 or 400 GBP for SR4-12 Turbo (which I got), add a few quids more for black version. There is always going to be cheaper or more expensive products, better or worse, I think it's all about finding whats right for you. You guys are talking about competing with the U1 which is more than three times the price of Mini, maybe spending slightly more on the LPS might get you even closer in performance, still to a fraction of the price, who knows?

 

I admit that I didn't try the Sbooster and I'm sure it will provide good results as well, but I've used a numerous of other LPS during the years to replace different SMPS for other devices, and my experience is that just because it's an LPS doesn't automatically make it any better, there are very good SMPS out there today and there are good and bad LPS, and devices are also responding differently to good power.

 

While I'm a strong believer in good power and have invested heavily in power distribution, power cables and so forth, I felt that if I was going to go through this process of modifying my Lumin I wanted to have a really good power supply, and then I decided on the Paul Hynes after doing some research. I'm very happy with the result. What also feels good is to have a standard 2.1mm input, which means if I ever feel the need to upgrade the PSU again, I can easily do so.