Aurender N10 VS Lumin U1 ??

**byrdparis** · January 6, 2017, 04:11 PM

Hello folks.
i was starting to investigate about flipping my audio PC for a Decent audiophile Streamer.
i was landed in the End, for these two.
Aurender N10
Lumin U1

i would like to know if there is some consensus between them? perforations? like and dislikes?
my System is written in my signature for your knowledge.

we have a local Aurender dealer but not for Lumin (that if i will want one i will be need to import it by myself

)
that the only drawback i have right now for the lunmin as they both feel great to me.
oh, and the N10 having its own HD its pretty cool too but not a deal breaker as i am working thru NAS right now and can continue to do so.

thanks alot.
A.

**jdandy** · January 6, 2017, 04:27 PM

byrdparis......In case you have not read it yet, here is my Aurender N10 Caching Music Server review

**Dguitarnut** · January 6, 2017, 08:14 PM

I love my Lumin U1......less pricey and I have no need for HD either.
You can still add one though not maybe as convenient.
The app works well and the SQ is great......and it's a work of art physically!
Larry

**Mike** · January 6, 2017, 08:25 PM

Because you don't have a local Lumin dealer, the Aurender might be a better choice.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Mordante** · January 7, 2017, 01:23 PM

The Lumin software is really nice from what I have seen. As sound goes. That more or less depends on the DAC. Personally I would go for the Lumin, great looks, good software.

**calloway** · January 7, 2017, 04:30 PM

I believe the aurender does offer MQA while ,at this point, the Lumin does not. Might be reason to choose the aurender as Lumin, at this time, does not seem to be interested in MQA.

**byrdparis** · January 8, 2017, 03:20 AM

Originally Posted by jdandy

byrdparis......In case you have not read it yet, here is my Aurender N10 Caching Music Server review

Dan.that is a very good review!
thank you! seems you enjoy yourself immensely!

with each day i think about it, and getting some advices from PPL who know their stuff - the N10 is the better one and more whole regarding what it can do and sounds.
i need some time to process my findings, hope i will pull the plug soon enough.
thanks again guys!

**nonesup** · January 9, 2017, 07:36 AM

According to Peter Lie, in several post in this forum, Lumin U1 can not do Native DSD by USB, but does DoP. This is not clear at all on their website.
Can Aurender N10 do native DSD over USB?

**Perfect Sense** · January 9, 2017, 10:16 AM

I believe that you're partly answering your own question as a good local dealer is always very valuable. I've had both Aurender and Lumin at my disposal, where I believe Aurender to be superior in relation to performance, build quality and support on the higher level. The smaller models with internal DAC's from Lumin is a different story though, which bring a lot to the table within their niche.

/ Marcus

**byrdparis** · January 9, 2017, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by Hyperion

I believe that you're partly answering your own question as a good local dealer is always very valuable. I've had both Aurender and Lumin at my disposal, where I believe Aurender to be superior in relation to performance, build quality and support on the higher level. The smaller models with internal DAC's from Lumin is a different story though, which bring a lot to the table within their niche.

/ Marcus

thanks
marcus.

i believe i am.. but the superiority in the whole spectrum of things is what might drive me to get the more expensive N10.
i don't need the DAC option... du to the fact i have two already that i like a lot

**Grasshopper** · February 9, 2022, 05:33 PM

I'm bumping this old thread as I'm curious about the different "house sound" of the U1 vs an Aurender N10. On SQ alone, what are the differences?

**Puma Cat** · February 9, 2022, 06:33 PM

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

I'm bumping this old thread as I'm curious about the different "house sound" of the U1 vs an Aurender N10. On SQ alone, what are the differences?

Hey Jason,
I can't speak to the U1 or N10 (which, IIRC, has been discontinued), but I can say both the Lumin P1 and Aurender N20, which are higher-specification products are really excellent products, and I would be happy to own either of them. I can't say that either has a "house sound" as both are exceptionally neutral, transparent, with excellent clarity and superb "inner detail", 3-dimensional imaging, and very low noise floors. The N20 has an advantage that it has internal storage bays for hard drives for storing your content "on-board", and the P1 has the advantage of optical in, which obviates the need for a fiber media convertor to convert an optical data stream back into copper Ethernet. Which means one less interface cable, device, and device power supply in the "chain" from server to DAC. The Lumin products also support Roon, if that's important to you. So, they each have a lot of overlapping functionality but are differentiated by some functions or features that may be a compelling value proposition given your specific requirements.

Given price point of the U1, you may want to compare it to the new Aurender N200.

Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with either. My advice is to carefully determine and articulate what your exact requirements for features, functionality, and quality attributes are, as it will come down which one best meets your specific requirements that would be the deciding factor, in my view, rather than one being "better than the other", with respect to audio "house sound".

**Grasshopper** · February 9, 2022, 08:56 PM

Thank you!

Great thoughts.

**audio.bill** · February 9, 2022, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

...The N20 has an advantage that it has internal storage bays for hard drives for storing your content "on-board"

It was explained to me by a Lumin factory representative that it was a design decision for performance reasons to not have on board digital file storage. They believe having a drive in the same enclosure with all of the digital circuitry in a music streamer has a negative impact on its ultimate sonic performance.

**Puma Cat** · February 9, 2022, 09:38 PM

Originally Posted by audio.bill

It was explained to me by a Lumin factory representative that it was a design decision for performance reasons to not have on board digital file storage. They believe having a drive in the same enclosure with all of the digital circuitry in a music streamer has a negative impact on its ultimate sonic performance.

Well, as far as I can tell from having lived with an Aurender here for the better part of 4 months, not that I could tell, as I listened to it without the hard drive installed and also with it installed, and I couldn't distinguish any audible impact having the SSD drive in place and in-use. Knowing Aurender, my hypothesis is they thought this through thoroughly, and mitigated any impact this has, if in fact, it has an impact.

**Grasshopper** · February 11, 2022, 11:43 PM

Today I just pulled the trigger on a “new to me” Aurender N10.

My friend ordered the U1.

Can’t wait till we have them and can do a shootout between the two!

**Grasshopper** · February 17, 2022, 12:06 PM

*Update* Aurender N10 is "in the house" and color me confused.

I spent the better part of the day listening to it yesterday (AES out into the Lampizator B3) and could see why many, many folks love the N10. It was crystal clear and insane amounts of separation. Bass was thunderous, and highs were sharp.

In fact, everything felt very "sharp" if I can call it that. It very much reminded me of the sound of the dCS Rossini that I auditioned and used as a streamer.

I get that sound, but find it fatiguing.

This made me think I chose wrong to get the N10 with it's upgraded clock etc.

Then I felt an experiment was in order... I hooked it up with the USB out, into my Berkley Alpha USB, and AES from the Alpha into the Lampizator----

This was a world of difference. It was smoother, and more "musical" to my ears. Bass was still thunderous, there was still separation, but it wasn't razor sharp.

My understanding is going this route, I bypass the internal clock and effectively have the N100H sound with the exception of a better power supply and more robust chassis.

Seems to me I'd be one that would prefer the N100H---

I'm now very anxious to compare with my friend's U1 after his gets burned in, as I suspect that may be a tad smoother in it's presentation

Thoughts from all you N10 lovers?

**wklie** · February 18, 2022, 12:18 AM

If you have a chance to use Lumin U1 with your Lampizator, you may try both native PCM playback vs DSD upsampling in Lumin. This is taste dependent, and may influence Lampizator designs more than typical DAC.

However, old Lampizator models only accepted DSD over USB (not from other inputs), I'm not sure about new models.

Recent Lampizator uses a newer USB module, which reportedly is better. So you may as well try using it against AES for 44.1kHz PCM, see which sounds better to you.

**Puma Cat** · February 18, 2022, 01:05 AM

Originally Posted by wklie

Recent Lampizator uses a newer USB module, which reportedly is better. So you may as well try using it against AES for 44.1kHz PCM, see which sounds better to you.

Agreed 100%.

**Grasshopper** · February 18, 2022, 02:28 AM

Worth a shot!

Thanks -

**imprezap2** · February 18, 2022, 06:44 AM

Both devices, dCs Rossini and Aurender N10 are not "bright" devices, in my experience a system can get bright when the power supply side is "lacking"

**Grasshopper** · February 22, 2022, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by imprezap2

Both devices, dCs Rossini and Aurender N10 are not "bright" devices, in my experience a system can get bright when the power supply side is "lacking"

So what would the remedy be? How would one improve the power supply side?

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