Headless MacMini vs Lumin U2: I'm never going back

[JaideepGiridhar]

My primary source of music is streaming audio. I use a turntable only for canonical records. My source has been Tidal for the longest time. I've now completely turned to Qobuz.

I began with a Yamaha digital audio player almost a decade ago, which I quickly abandoned because it was among the least intuitive devices I've every used. I then switched to a MacMini, an SOtM SMS 200, and went back to one of the last MacMini's with an Intel chip. I never really had a go at the SOtM because Eunhasu - the GUI that's used to start up and control it - was as buggy as as an ebola outbreak. I'm not sure if this is the universal experience. I was most happy with the MacMini - running Audirvana, with a couple of Jitterbugs fitted between it and a Chord MScaler.

I had settled on this as my final(ish) source set up until I read Sidvee's advert for the Lumin D2. I value his experience and advice, so I texted him about the D2 in particular and computer audio in general. When he said he'd "given up the DIY stuff 10 years ago", and that he was only going to upgrade from the D2, I figured it was time to change the status quo.

I bought the Lumin U2, which arrived last week. I first used the MacMini as a NAS - both to stream downloaded FLAC/DSD/WAV files as well as a UPnP device to send music from Audirvana to the Lumin. I switched between the NAS and Lumin a few times before it became apparent that the Lumin was dandy on its own. I swapped the MacMini for a SanDisk USB drive and began to feed the Lumin a broad swathe of music.

It sang. Transients were blade-sharp, dynamics climbed up and down, soundstage was like a million gallon fish tank, and there was so much air around the instruments, things got scary during near field sessions. I've ordered the LPS kit that goes with the Lumin. Things should only get better, hopefully. Things are only getting started, evidently.

 

[drkrack]

It sang. Transients were blade-sharp, dynamics climbed up and down, soundstage was like a million gallon fish tank, and there was so much air around the instruments, things got scary during near field sessions. I've ordered the LPS kit that goes with the Lumin. Things should only get better,

Your Experience exactly mirrors mine, I actually came to U2 mini after from multiple DIY transport options, including Pi2aes which is the best DIY option I've used, very close in resolution to highend transports. But as far as the overall musicality goes Lumin beats most of them hands down.

Lumin LPSU kit takes it by quite a few notches above in performance. You'll be astonished on how subtle changes bring about marked improvement in SQ and musicality. PS-Do buy the LPSU board and LPSU from a same source for good compatibility.

 

[JaideepGiridhar]

Your Experience exactly mirrors mine, I actually came to U2 mini after from multiple DIY transport options, including Pi2aes which is the best DIY option I've used, very close in resolution to highend transports. But as far as the overall musicality goes Lumin beats most of them hands down.

Lumin LPSU kit takes it by quite a few notches above in performance. You'll be astonished on how subtle changes bring about marked improvement in SQ and musicality. PS-Do buy the LPSU board and LPSU from a same source for good compatibility.

Hi Doc. Many thanks for the tip. I’ve asked for the Jay’s Audio LPSU and board.

 

[sidvee]

Over the past few years, to my ears - music servers from companies like Aurender, Lumin etc. have take significant leaps against HTPC/Music PC's. In my case I noticed it particularly with Aurender gen 1 (I had the n100h) which was at par or slightly better than my music PC at that time vs my new N200 which is significantly better. Even the Lumin D2 with its built in DAC performs at a significantly better level than my music PC with a chord qutest. As Jaideep quoted me - I ain't ever going back to PC based servers any more.
With these devices and an appropriate DAC if needed, digital file playback/streaming is not a compromise.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[rikhav]

Even Auralic products have a very good app to control.
Atleast that was the case few years ago and i hope its still the same

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

I've been sitting on the wall for a very long time now. Just the push I needed

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

It sang. Transients were blade-sharp, dynamics climbed up and down, soundstage was like a million gallon fish tank, and there was so much air around the instruments, things got scary during near field sessions

Congratulations on the purchase and improved audio experience. It’s not surprising that a dedicated audio streaming transport sounds better than an all-purpose computing machine. Can you also outline how it feels to use the streamer?

 

[IndianEars]

Have you compared Playout via the Lumin's own app without going through Audirvana ?

 

[JaideepGiridhar]

Have you compared Playout via the Lumin's own app without going through Audirvana ?

Yes. The app UX is no better or worse than Audirvāna. It’s nowhere near Roon. I find a slight lag in command response when I use my iPhone as a remote. The only reason I stuck with Audirvāna all these years was the sound quality. Now that the Lumin trumps that on almost all counts, I’m willing to live with the rustic UI/UX. Also, like Audirvāna, Lumin lets you tinker with output formats and upsampling. I’ve tried native bit rate and frequency and upsampled to various levels and bit rates. The best so far, especially for live recordings of Phish and Grateful Dead, is Qobuz tracks converted to DSD. I haven’t tried the Lumin app on my iPad yet.

Congratulations on the purchase and improved audio experience. It’s not surprising that a dedicated audio streaming transport sounds better than an all-purpose computing machine. Can you also outline how it feels to use the streamer?

Hi, I’ve tried to cover that in my reply to IndianEars and in my original post. Happy to answer anything specific you think I can help with.

 

[Yeraditya]

Have anyone any experience with P1? Would you consider buying an T3 or a P1 or an X1. The reason I ask is with T3, the price is much lower.

 

[IndianEars]

Yes. The app UX is no better or worse than Audirvāna. It’s nowhere near Roon. I find a slight lag in command response when I use my iPhone as a remote. The only reason I stuck with Audirvāna all these years was the sound quality. Now that the Lumin trumps that on almost all counts, I’m willing to live with the rustic UI/UX. Also, like Audirvāna, Lumin lets you tinker with output formats and upsampling. I’ve tried native bit rate and frequency and upsampled to various levels and bit rates. The best so far, especially for live recordings of Phish and Grateful Dead, is Qobuz tracks converted to DSD. I haven’t tried the Lumin app on my iPad yet.

Thank you for a Very Informative reply, Jaideep.


A friend who uses the Lumin X1 says the Lumin app does not cope well with large libraries (100K+ Tracks)

I have tried Tidal & Qobuz, and MUCH prefer a CD Ripped into wav by me, on my HDD. (This is my Gold Standard)

Also find Audirvana to lend a of a rosy tint colouration to the music.

Purely from a Sound Quality perspective, I prefer J River to Roon, but I understand that I am probably in a minority of 1 on this count

 

[sidvee]

Have anyone any experience with P1? Would you consider buying an T3 or a P1 or an X1. The reason I ask is with T3, the price is much lower.

I have heard the T2, and did not prefer it due to to sabre es9028 chips (which are used in the T3 as well I believe). I also heard the X1 and it has the higher spec ES 9038 chips - I personally do not like the signature of the ESS sabre chips. I eventually bought a D2 which has wolfson dac chips and I preferred this sound signature vastly. If are willing to experiment with an external DAC I would recommend the Lumin u1X with an external DAC.
I also have an Aurender N200, which works superbly with a Lampizator DAC. However I would recommend you to audition the units as you may like the ESS sound.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

I have heard the T2, and did not prefer it due to to sabre es9028 chips (which are used in the T3 as well I believe). I also heard the X1 and it has the higher spec ES 9038 chips - I personally do not like the signature of the ESS sabre chips. I eventually bought a D2 which has wolfson dac chips and I preferred this sound signature vastly. If are willing to experiment with an external DAC I would recommend the Lumin u1X with an external DAC.
I also have an Aurender N200, which works superbly with a Lampizator DAC. However I would recommend you to audition the units as you may like the ESS sound.
Cheers,
Sid

Thanks a ton for sharing that. I was planning on going blindly with the P1, till the topic of the ESS chip came up. Even I didn't like the ESS sound in the past. My preference so far has been the AKM or AD or the TDA chips. Always felt I could hear the ESS glare. So will definitely audition before taking the plunge. Thanks

 

[IndianEars]

Thanks a ton for sharing that. I was planning on going blindly with the P1, till the topic of the ESS chip came up. Even I didn't like the ESS sound in the past. My preference so far has been the AKM or AD or the TDA chips. Always felt I could hear the ESS glare. So will definitely audition before taking the plunge. Thanks

Yes, the AKM Chips

Incidentally, The Gold Note DS 10 Plus is available from its Pune distributor

Gold Note DS-10 Plus Streaming DAC/Preamplifier - The Absolute Sound

Gold Note DS-10 Plus Streaming DAC/Preamplifier - Gold Note’s terrific-sounding streaming DAC is loaded with capabilities, including a full preamplifier, says Steven Stone.

www.theabsolutesound.com

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Hi Doc. Many thanks for the tip. I’ve asked for the Jay’s Audio LPSU and board.

Hi jaideep ..

Good morning and happy weekend. Was just curious if the Jay's audio LPS kit has arrived. And your listening impressions if you've already installed it. Thanks

 

[JaideepGiridhar]

Hi jaideep ..

Good morning and happy weekend. Was just curious if the Jay's audio LPS kit has arrived. And your listening impressions if you've already installed it. Thanks

Hi, I'm waiting for the LPS kit. Will post impressions as soon as it's in my rig.

 

[Arvind Mathur]

Hi, I'm waiting for the LPS kit. Will post impressions as soon as it's in my rig.

I am also looking to upgrade from iFi Zen stream to Lumin U2 mini. My DAC is Luxam DA06 and amplifier is Luxman 507 ux. My source is ripped CDs in FLAC & WAV formats in a HDD & streaming through Spotify.. Will upgrade to Lumin U2 mini shall improve sound quality? Is it necessary to replace the built in power supply by Linear Power supply? If yes, who is to get this. Which LPSU shaould match with U2 mini?

I am also looking to upgrade from iFi Zen stream to Lumin U2 mini. My DAC is Luxam DA06 and amplifier is Luxman 507 ux. My source is ripped CDs in FLAC & WAV formats in a HDD & streaming through Spotify.. Will upgrade to Lumin U2 mini shall improve sound quality? Is it necessary to replace the built in power supply by Linear Power supply? If yes, who is to get this. Which LPSU shaould match with U2 mini?

Anybody considered upgradation from ifi zen stream to Lumin U2 mini? What gas been the experience?

Hi Doc. Many thanks for the tip. I’ve asked for the Jay’s Audio LPSU and board.

Who deals with Jay's LPSU in India? Whether one has to replace the power supply himself or the dealer would do this?

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Who deals with Jay's LPSU in India? Whether one has to replace the power supply himself or the dealer would do this?

Hi arvind...

You will have to import the Jay's lpsu kit yourself and also do the installation yourself. But it is very simple, there is a YouTube video showing how it is done. You can check out the site of beatechnik from Singapore. They sell and ship Jay's lpsu kits along with the lpsu. All the best.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Just wondering what others are using to store their ripped or local music libraries. Iam not intent on streaming, and just use spotify. My main listening is CD or vinyl, and want to optimize my local library playback now. I have a WD my cloud which is currently plugged into my router. The Lumin indexes and plays from it. But just wondering if there are better sounding storage options for local playback. Melco or something from innuos perhaps. Or will there be no benefit in spending extra on one of them if used purely as a Nas.

1. Option one - Get a innuos pheonixNet or Melco S100 or Sotm switch to plug the WD My cloud Nas into. I could additionally replace the WD my cloud with a Lumin L1 if it will sound superior too.
2. Option two - Get a innuos zenith 3 or melco N1A and use their player ethernet port to connect to the lumin.

Any thoughts on the above please

PS: If anyone is interested, network switches are also evolving fast. And the current "flavour of the month" switch at a reasonable price is the HNE magicNet D1 supreme.
Plus, I like that it has a internal LPSU. I believe one has to import directly from Vietnam. Started at around USD 1400, but seems to be 2k now. Looks very well built, and has borrowed filtering tech from some very expensive switches from Aqvox. Just sharing incase anyone is itching for a new switch

 

[mustafakk]

Just wondering what others are using to store their ripped or local music libraries. Iam not intent on streaming, and just use spotify. My main listening is CD or vinyl, and want to optimize my local library playback now. I have a WD my cloud which is currently plugged into my router. The Lumin indexes and plays from it. But just wondering if there are better sounding storage options for local playback. Melco or something from innuos perhaps. Or will there be no benefit in spending extra on one of them if used purely as a Nas.

1. Option one - Get a innuos pheonixNet or Melco S100 or Sotm switch to plug the WD My cloud Nas into. I could additionally replace the WD my cloud with a Lumin L1 if it will sound superior too.
2. Option two - Get a innuos zenith 3 or melco N1A and use their player ethernet port to connect to the lumin.

Any thoughts on the above please

PS: If anyone is interested, network switches are also evolving fast. And the current "flavour of the month" switch at a reasonable price is the HNE magicNet D1 supreme.
Plus, I like that it has a internal LPSU. I believe one has to import directly from Vietnam. Started at around USD 1400, but seems to be 2k now. Looks very well built, and has borrowed filtering tech from some very expensive switches from Aqvox. Just sharing incase anyone is itching for a new switch

Hi I was using a Melco N1A/ mark 2EX, which I switched to from a Qnap NAS. There was a drastic improvement in sound quality when moving from the NAS to the Melco. I remember just listening to 1 track is all it took to make my move. I also have the S100 which I use to rip the disks to the melco.
I have now upgraded my Melco to the N1-S38 as I have found Melco to be very reliable and I find them very musical.
I would highly recommend a Melco if you are looking for a server.
I have added the Melco S10 switch to my chain which had made a drastic difference in over SQ.