Lumin U1 Mini

Mikey081057

Received and installed today...

Simple install, ROON found it and was listening in no time....like less than 5 minutes.

Using SPDIF coax connection but there are other options that I might experiment with between the Lumin and the Brooklyn DAC+.

First impression is that it is much quieter than using USB from computer to DAC.
Very tight accurate bass.
Vocals and soundstage sound incredible. I am sure it needs a little time to settle in.

It sure is a fine looking unit.

Mikey081057

Gotta find some black spray paint for that LPS

Mikey081057

Listening to some piano and experiencing some very nice detail. Very nice synergy with the Brookly DAC+...

Mikey081057

I loaded it but really haven't used it yet. I am pretty much ROON'd for life.

Mikey081057

I shall.... just didn't want to learn a new app tonite....I looks very nice and well laid out and I want to load it on a tablet I am not big into apps on the phone. The screen you see ROON on is a 50". I am having surgery to correct scar tissue on my r. eye in a few weeks and have been trying not to strain it. All good and it's an easy fix but my vision is problematic for now.

BTW my Ushers impress the snot out of every one who sits in front of them. Still the sweetest tweets for the buck i have heard.

Mikey081057

My favorite feature of the U1 Mini is that it doesn't have Alexa control.

mhardy6647

Mikey081057 wrote: »

My favorite feature of the U1 Mini is that it doesn't have Alexa control.

I think there's a market for ironic AI apps. Maybe an AI named Mildred, who periodically yells at you to turn that darned hippie music down.

I'm just brainstorming here...

Meanwhile, I think I'll file an ROI (Record of Invention).

Mikey081057

Or maybe an Alexandra that just says idiotic drivel

steveinaz

Mikey what's that thing next to your DAC?

Mikey081057

That is an HP Slice mini desktop computer with SSHD and runs the roon core. It also provides the GUI to the tv/display. It also has a cd/dvp player burner on the bottom

steveinaz

Sweet.

stangman67

I’ve got my eyes on the d2. Glad to hear the positive reviews from you of the u1

Mikey081057

Do you need the dac? The SA8005 has a nice dac in it. I haven't compared them.

stangman67

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Do you need the dac? The SA8005 has a nice dac in it. I haven't compared them.

The sa8005 is now sold so I am dacless at the moment. I’ve switched to streaming and vinyl only. Streaming is currently accomplished by my node 2 and nas. I’d like to forgo needing an external dac, so the d2 seems to be the sweet spot for me in terms of a good streamer and a good analog out.

Mikey081057

DACless sounds like a serious affliction... must find a cure.... then the d2 is your huckleberry.

Mikey081057

My objective is to get a sound that would put physical media (*for audio) in the rear view mirror.

Giving a listen today after the U1 has been streaming for a a few days now. SQ is stunning...

I am getting closer and closer...

Couple of things to note....

There is no wireless which is fine as I have an ethernet switch nearby and never planned to use it wirelessly.

There is no infra red or rf remote control capability... So I guess it stays on all the time....

There are too many products named Lumin

This one will clean your CPAP machine.... https://www.3blumin.com/support/

mark090852

Mikey081057 wrote: »

My objective is to get a sound that would put physical media (*for audio) in the rear view mirror.

Giving a listen today after the U1 has been streaming for a a few days now. SQ is stunning...

I am getting closer and closer...

Couple of things to note....



There is no infra red or rf remote control capability... So I guess it stays on all the time....

In the LUMIN app, under settings, you can set the LUMIN to switch to a slightly lower power "Idle Sleep" mode "never" or after 15 or 60 minutes of inactivity. At that point the front panel turns off and it is in sleep mode. Also, using that app, you can immediately shut it down to "sleep mode" anytime you want.

Mikey081057

Thanks gents....

Thorton

DSkip wrote: »

For what its worth, I've also had better success with SQ using Tidal over my own rips. My rips sound lifeless and dull.

So, you like the processing of MQA or is there a deficiency somewhere upstream with your own rips?

mark090852

Thorton wrote: »

DSkip wrote: »

For what its worth, I've also had better success with SQ using Tidal over my own rips. My rips sound lifeless and dull.

So, you like the processing.... or is there a deficiency somewhere upstream with your own rips?

I have to say, being old school, that this statement could be asking a question that I really don't want to know the answer to.

Thorton

I’m just curious. It seems it’s a 50:50 split with people who like or dislike the sound of MQA on the net. I’m also curious about the hi-rez sound out of Qobuz versus my own rips.

Skip’s statement was pretty strong saying his rips were “lifeless”. I hope to try Tidal vs Qobuz very soon. I’ve just had some hearing issues holding me back.

On the good side, it's great to have so many options!

Mikey081057

More and more manufacturers are jumping on the MQA wagon. "I" think some of the content sounds better... Some of it sounds the same..... very little if any of it sounds worse. I think it's in the "marketing". All the while getting some better quality remastering done by the engineers/artists. Recall that some remasters in the past sounded like shite... The intent of MQA was to be able to give a mobile or constrained bandwidth listener a compressed lossy format that can unfold into one with better SQ. Lets face it the world listens on earbuds... I don't but it seems like everyone else does...

And as that great modern philosopher Dennis Miller says... "That's just my opinion... I could be wrong"

Mikey081057

Isn't everything you pay money for a "cash grab"?

MQA's partner page is gaining medallions. I dunno if I would buy stock in an audio company that said never MQA or never anything new or different for that matter.

I am not sure what it costs to license MQA from Meridian. Manufacturers have to license alot of things in their products to use like Itunes and Airplay...And you pay for them even if you don't use them.

Tidal doesn't charge any extra for MQA. It is included in a HIFI subscription.

I didn't want to turn this thread into another MQA debate because in the end it matters little to me when I am listening ... I only care if it sounds good.

And Cassettes sounded better than 8 tracks... man was me a my 300 8 tracks pissed to come to that conclusion.

I think streaming is going to be around for a while now.

Mikey081057

I like stuff that is firmware up-gradeable....many of them allow you to do it automagically .It doesn't necessarily future proof you from big changes but allows you to fix things as there is so much code in all of these devices today there are always bugs to be fixed for sure.

Mikey081057

DSkip wrote: »

I think the Lumin will be a staple in your rig for a decade or more.

Just be careful not to down load the firmware upgrade for the Lumin CPAP cleaning machine to your Lumin streamer....or your rig will start snoring in the middle of the night.

msg

A note on firmware updates in general - if the platform allows you to manually update, or better, to manually upload a firmware file with the ability to revert to a previous release, consider always doing so. It seems that good stuff gets ruined sometimes these days with bad firmware updates, sometimes with loss of functionality. I'm always a little leery of updates unless there's a way to revert. I greatly appreciate when manufacturers offer one the option of controlling the updates as a choice, and not forced.

mark090852

msg wrote: »

A note on firmware updates in general - if the platform allows you to manually update, or better, to manually upload a firmware file with the ability to revert to a previous release, consider always doing so. It seems that good stuff gets ruined sometimes these days with bad firmware updates, sometimes with loss of functionality. I'm always a little leery of updates unless there's a way to revert. I greatly appreciate when manufacturers offer one the option of controlling the updates as a choice, and not forced.

In the LUMIN app, you can disable "check for firmware updates", but as far as I can tell, there is no way to revert back to a previous firmware version once an update has been completed. However, LUMIN customer service is very responsive, and perhaps they would be able able to guide an owner through this process should a problem develop.

tonyb

msg wrote: »

A note on firmware updates in general - if the platform allows you to manually update, or better, to manually upload a firmware file with the ability to revert to a previous release, consider always doing so. It seems that good stuff gets ruined sometimes these days with bad firmware updates, sometimes with loss of functionality. I'm always a little leery of updates unless there's a way to revert. I greatly appreciate when manufacturers offer one the option of controlling the updates as a choice, and not forced.

Not so sure that's feasible, since the hardware is dependent on the software to run properly. For instance, in my Sonos, if you don't do the updates, after a certain period of time the hardware won't function properly or the software becomes buggy.

Updates is simply the nature of the beast in a fast moving techy world.

I hear what your saying though as I've experienced drops in SQ with updates, loss of functions before with my Sonos. Sometimes they are cured with future updates, rebooting the system. Sometimes not too.

This time, after this last update, my system is almost unlistenable to me. Could also be the hardware portion in the ZP90 has reached it's end of life cycle since it is approx. 8 years old. Which begs to question, has anyone ever talked about what the life cycle is to streamers ? Maybe they just haven't been around long enough to dictate that conversation yet.

Mikey081057

I usually like to disable auto update and wait a while to see if any issues pop up in the user community. Google is your friend. Wait a while and do a little research.

tonyb

Mikey081057 wrote: »

I usually like to disable auto update and wait a while to see if any issues pop up in the user community. Google is your friend. Wait a while and do a little research.

I do the same, but if you wait too long sometimes you won't have a choice because you'll lose function. If you skip an update, and the next comes out fairly quickly, you can't pick and choose which you want. Updating to the most current one also adds all the prior ones too.

Which makes sence anyway, because usually the most current update is built off the previous. If you skip one along the way, your current update won't work properly.

msg

[bah. edited to remove spirited sunday coffee ramble]