Article: Lumin T3 Network Player and Lumin AMP Review

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[bobfa]

Chris,

 

Thanks for the review of the Lumin system.  I have had a couple of their products in-house for listening and have been rather pleased with them.  I agree that the Lumin app is one of the better control point systems.  And it WORKS!.   There is no real need for expensive third party solutions here, or extra hardware.  

 

I really like the look of the equipment but I am less than enamored with the rear overhang at least when A/B testing, it seems to get in the road a bit.  (Minor point)

 

I spent some time with older models and external power supplies with some interesting successes.  The T3 looks like a nice step up.   

 

There is a lot of depth in the Lumin line, it looks like you found a sweet spot. Getting the combination of hardware and software “just right” is not trivial!

 

Bob 

 

 

[Grumplestiltskin]

Thanks for the mention of the Ike Quebec album, I am a big Grant Green fan but had never heard this one. I love his intro on "Blue and Sentimental." An added bonus of reading audiophile stuff is discovering new (old) music!!!!

[PYP]

Good stuff, Chris.  It is great to read a review that puts the issue of diminishing returns up front.  Knowing the sweet spot in the lineup is what I would want to know before an audition.  As described, the T3 certainly has a lot of functionality and quality for $5,000 (plus the saving on a preamp for those who keep it simple).  

 

I'm not always familiar with the music you use to evaluate gear, but Blue & Sentimental and Mambo Sinuendo are among my favorite albums and I return to them often.   In addition to wonderful musicians who interact on such a high level, both recordings are tone monsters (it is interesting to read Cooder's comments about the recording environment for Mambo Sinuendo).  

[russellbobby]

I had a T2 previously but with Magico S3 speakers and a smaller room was not a good match. Preformed flawlessly though. 
The one negative is the lack of digital inputs. Coax and optical are always a nice feature for your Blu-Ray, Transport ,Tv or whatever product you may want to run thru your Dac. 

[3dsoundshop]

7 hours ago, russellbobby said:

The one negative is the lack of digital inputs. Coax and optical are always a nice feature for your Blu-Ray, Transport ,Tv or whatever product you may want to run thru your Dac. 

Now they have the P1... Much more expensive though.

[Kelly]

If you like Grant Green then also check out Kenny Burrell. He was in many ways a similarly understated and tasteful guitar player. He was perhaps the other blue note standby session player of the same period. In my mind Kenny Burrell stands with the greatest of the jazz guitar players (Wes, Django, Charlie Christian.) A contemporary player who is carrying the torch for Kenny and Grant is Russell Malone. 

 

I also put Joe Pass on a pedestal. I feel like many leave him out of the conversation when talking about the greatest of the great, but I think he belongs. The way he could sit and riff on songs for hours by himself was truly unique and unprecedented, I doubt we will ever see his equal. 

[thingswelike]

On 10/8/2022 at 9:53 PM, 3dsoundshop said:

Now they have the P1... Much more expensive though.

Yes, LUMIN P1 was developed after we had a lot of requests to open up our DAC for external inputs. It's been a great success so far!
As you say, it's quite a jump up in price, but then there are lot of differences as well as the inputs (dual-toroidal power supply, Lundahl output transformers, fibre networking, Femto clocks, included remote control, etc), but obviously that doesn't help if the budget is more in line with the T3.
 

[MhtLion]

Great review! This combo or Boulder 866 with the integrated DAC? They are about the same price, and I believe you heard them or have them both. So, I’m very interested in hearing your personal thoughts. I’ve been considering 866 for some time but yet had a chance to audition it by the way. Thanks! 

[The Computer Audiophile]

42 minutes ago, MhtLion said:

Great review! This combo or Boulder 866 with the integrated DAC? They are about the same price, and I believe you heard them or have them both. So, I’m very interested in hearing your personal thoughts. I’ve been considering 866 for some time but yet had a chance to audition it by the way. Thanks! 

I like to split things much of the time, giving me the flexibility to change one piece at a time. 

[Douglas M.]

The Boulder is a great product.  However, Lumin Music leads the field in digital streaming as they are a group of broadcast set top box engineers, not consumer electronics guys.  Their main goal is to provide the cleanest and purist data stream possible with no outside interference.

[MhtLion]

On 10/23/2022 at 1:06 PM, The Computer Audiophile said:

I like to split things much of the time, giving me the flexibility to change one piece at a time. 

Thanks for the response!

[MhtLion]

On 10/24/2022 at 12:24 AM, Douglas M. said:

The Boulder is a great product.  However, Lumin Music leads the field in digital streaming as they are a group of broadcast set top box engineers, not consumer electronics guys.  Their main goal is to provide the cleanest and purist data stream possible with no outside interference.

Thanks! I've heard Lumin knows the digital. Yet, I was surprised to read a number of positive reviews of their first amp. It looks surprising good.

[wklie]

A Hong Kong review compared T3 to T2.  It said T3 is smoother, while layering and dimensionality are slightly improved.

 

Interestingly enough, this is the second time I receive feedback that characterizes the SQ from our 2022 processor to be "smoother" compared to the corresponding predecessors.

 

[stefano_mbp]

On 10/23/2022 at 6:23 PM, MhtLion said:

This combo or Boulder 866 with the integrated DAC?

The streamer section of the Boulder 866 is a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ so I would expect a rather "different" performance compared to the Lumin T3 ... or not?

[wklie]

The DAC option that was asked about for the other brand costs, if I'm not mistaken, $1500 according to a 2022 review from a different site listed by Google for my search term.

 

T3 triples that price, so comparing them is perhaps not an apple to apple comparison.  Even the DAC features are different.

[saturdayboy]

On 10/27/2022 at 9:23 AM, wklie said:

A Hong Kong review compared T3 to T2.  It said T3 is smoother, while layering and dimensionality are slightly improved.

 

Interestingly enough, this is the second time I receive feedback that characterizes the SQ from our 2022 processor to be "smoother" compared to the corresponding predecessors.

 

I’ve owned the T2, X1, P1 and now the T3. The T3 is the best sounding to me, must be the combination of the new processor and the 9028 (which I prefer to the 9038).