wbass
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Hi, all, my first post here (aside from my intro post)! With apologies if I've breached any forum etiquette... I've also posted to the computer audio/digital forum, but this also seems like a relevant place to put up a few thoughts/questions. This will be a sort of rolling review/solicitation for any advice/suggestions....
A dealer has given me a loaner of a Lumin U1 Mini, and I'll be comparing it to my Node 2i over the next week as both a streamer and a volume control. I don't know a ton about digital/computer audio, other than that things like power supplies and interior shielding, etc are supposed to matter. However, the notion that bits are bits also makes a kind of horse sense, so I'll be curious if I hear some, a lot of, or no difference at all between the two streamers.
Lumin's current killer feature is meant to be Leedh Processing, which is supposed to have finally nailed digital volume control. However, a little digging on Bluesound's volume control suggests that it, too, is essentially bit perfect. (I tested this, as best I could, with a DAC that shows the bit rate incoming. Unless I'm interpreting things incorrectly, it seems that the Bluesound doesn't lower the bit rate to lower the volume. A 48/24 or 96/24 stream from Oubuz remains the same whether at fixed or variable volume, up and down the slider. Interestingly a 44.1/16 stream stays at 16 bits, of course, at fixed/full volume. But if you lower the volume slider in app, the bit rate goes up to 24. I assume that's the Bluesound kicking in some kind of upsampling to allow for the volume control?)
Anyway, I'll be comparing overall sound quality and ease of use of the Lumin app next to the Bluesound app (which I already know and think is basically fine). Both streamers will be going into a Schiit Yggy DAC. I'll hook the Lumin up via AES, and the Bluesound via optical, likely, or possibly coax.
The Yggy will go straight into a pair of Sanders Sound monoblocks, which in turn power Magnepan 3.7i. I'll also be playing around with sending both streamers direct (digital) into a DBX DriveRack Venu 360 and using that as a combo DAC/room correction device/digital crossover between the Maggies and a pair of Seaton Sound subs. Should be interesting!
Anyway, watch this space. If anyone has experience of either the Lumin or Bluesound or both, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts and whether you see any clear advantages in the Lumin's feature set. I only stream (Qobuz and Tidal), don't do any local-storage files, and haven't messed around much with things like upsampling. This will be something of a learning process. Thanks for any thoughts!
A dealer has given me a loaner of a Lumin U1 Mini, and I'll be comparing it to my Node 2i over the next week as both a streamer and a volume control. I don't know a ton about digital/computer audio, other than that things like power supplies and interior shielding, etc are supposed to matter. However, the notion that bits are bits also makes a kind of horse sense, so I'll be curious if I hear some, a lot of, or no difference at all between the two streamers.
Lumin's current killer feature is meant to be Leedh Processing, which is supposed to have finally nailed digital volume control. However, a little digging on Bluesound's volume control suggests that it, too, is essentially bit perfect. (I tested this, as best I could, with a DAC that shows the bit rate incoming. Unless I'm interpreting things incorrectly, it seems that the Bluesound doesn't lower the bit rate to lower the volume. A 48/24 or 96/24 stream from Oubuz remains the same whether at fixed or variable volume, up and down the slider. Interestingly a 44.1/16 stream stays at 16 bits, of course, at fixed/full volume. But if you lower the volume slider in app, the bit rate goes up to 24. I assume that's the Bluesound kicking in some kind of upsampling to allow for the volume control?)
Anyway, I'll be comparing overall sound quality and ease of use of the Lumin app next to the Bluesound app (which I already know and think is basically fine). Both streamers will be going into a Schiit Yggy DAC. I'll hook the Lumin up via AES, and the Bluesound via optical, likely, or possibly coax.
The Yggy will go straight into a pair of Sanders Sound monoblocks, which in turn power Magnepan 3.7i. I'll also be playing around with sending both streamers direct (digital) into a DBX DriveRack Venu 360 and using that as a combo DAC/room correction device/digital crossover between the Maggies and a pair of Seaton Sound subs. Should be interesting!
Anyway, watch this space. If anyone has experience of either the Lumin or Bluesound or both, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts and whether you see any clear advantages in the Lumin's feature set. I only stream (Qobuz and Tidal), don't do any local-storage files, and haven't messed around much with things like upsampling. This will be something of a learning process. Thanks for any thoughts!
