Thread: Lumin P-1 arrives tomorrow

I found the review from Stereophile not very flattering. It appears that there is a disconnect in performance judgment between a professional reviewer and actual users? Most other input I have read is very positive!

I have a question. How does HDMI work on P1? AppleTV or other devices can connect to P1 with HDMI and P1’s HDMI OUT goes to TV? Basically acting as a pre-pro for 2 front channels.

Actually 2 questions. Does it come in black?

I missed that Class A rating! Thanks. I'm in the market for a new DAC and my head is spinning. May post a thread to get some help!

Hello everyone, new member here that is thinking about purchasing a P1.
My system is Khama DB 7’s driven by a Nagra integrated.
My source is currently an Ifi Zen stream into a Musical Fidelity MX Dac, both streamer and Dac have an S-booster power supply.
I previously owned Naim gear,Cary audio gear among others.
I have owned quite a few Dynaudio speakers,Sopra 1’s, Paradigm back in the day.
I was using a Naim Nd5xs2 into a Chord Mscaler/TT2 as my source last year,but traded that all in to fund the DB7’s.
Now I am ready to upgrade the source again, so I am thinking a P1 ticks all the boxes. Another possibility I was thinking about is an Innous Zenith into a stand alone Dac.
Currently I am home demoing a Saturn 201 Dac fed by my Ifi Zen stream.
Hopefully I can make my mind up which direction to go with the help of forum members here.
I have not heard the P1 yet, but a dealer near Toronto has one that I can demo/purchase. The problem is, that is a 4 hour drive one way.
Any advice would be very much appreciated,
or just info on the P1 in general.

I would actually use the inputs for my Xbox, blue ray player, and media player I have.
At one time I had a full 7.2 home theatre, when I was in a house,but I dismantled all that when I moved to my current apartment building.
The room is 13.5 feet wide x15.5 feet deep, and I can no longer crank up the volume.
Looking for a great sounding simple system without stacks of boxes and wires.
Besides, the P1 is the limit of my budget.
The dealer who has it actually recommended I wait for the upcoming T3 because I already have a pre amp in the Nagra.

Take the sweetspot Lumin P1


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Originally Posted by No Quarter

I would actually use the inputs for my Xbox, blue ray player, and media player I have.
At one time I had a full 7.2 home theatre, when I was in a house,but I dismantled all that when I moved to my current apartment building.
The room is 13.5 feet wide x15.5 feet deep, and I can no longer crank up the volume.
Looking for a great sounding simple system without stacks of boxes and wires.
Besides, the P1 is the limit of my budget.
The dealer who has it actually recommended I wait for the upcoming T3 because I already have a pre amp in the Nagra.

Sent you a PM.

Hi guys, I installed my new Lumin P1 yesterday, fresh out of the box it sounds very good.
I was up and running within 20 minutes. Now I need to figure out what all the little icons in the App do, find optimal settings etc.
Is there a more detailed manual available online somewhere?
Right now I have the volume at 100% on the Lumin, and have been controlling the volume with my Nagra integrated. Does this sound like the best way? I think I have Leedh processing enabled, but I am not sure about anything yet, need to dig in deeper to this App.
I have radio paradise playing to get run time on it, but I notice even Tidal sounds better than the radio so far. I also inserted a thumb drive in the back of the P1 with some music, and was able to play that.
I have Roon Core set up on my Laptop too, but have not tried that yet.
So far, I love this thing.

Thanks guys, I will take a look at that link to the manual Mike, much appreciated.

I read through the online manual that Mike provided the link to.
Lots of info there, so I think I have all the settings correct. I noticed today that an update was available (15), so I hit ok and it downloaded I think.
So I did a little experimenting today, I managed to get Tidal connect to work.
Also I was able to set the P1 as my endpoint in Roon ( on my laptop),opened the Roon App and everything is working. I was expecting a drop in sound quality using Roon, but did not notice one.
This is not even the exclusive mode that was just announced.
I leave the P1 playing 24/7, trying to get a few hundred hours on it before any critical listening.
So far it is living up to the Hype for sure.

I now have close to 250 hours on my P1. I decided to upgrade my Tidal account to Hifi Plus to give MQA a try. At work right now but will have a listen tomorrow to see if I hear an upgrade 🤷*♂️
Of all the Lumin threads on here, I did not find any discussion about MQA on the P1. Is it a waste of time/money?
I think I have MQA enabled in settings, does it show up somewhere on the screen or in the App if it is actually doing the full unfold?
Sorry for all the newbie questions, but I have never owned an MQA capable device. I also wonder if it would be better to use Tidal connect,Roon, or the Lumin App to get the best MQA sound?

Thanks for the quick reply jmusica. That MQA mode setting sounds familiar, I will check that it is set to Analog out.
I will trust my ears, despite all the MQA bashing I read about, it must be an option for a reason, I would think.
I still want to try Amp direct, optical input and MQA…not even tried any HDMI inputs/outputs yet either.
So many options with this P1.

Originally Posted by No Quarter

Sorry for all the newbie questions, but I have never owned an MQA capable device. I also wonder if it would be better to use Tidal connect,Roon, or the Lumin App to get the best MQA sound?

In my opinion the LUMIN app is superior to Roon and whist MQA is ‘different’, it sounds to my ear like someone has left the loudness switch on so, after using it for a while, I stopped using it.
Also, there used to be a choice of Hi Res or MQA but now many recordings only have MQA available so it’s a non too subtle conversion system over to MQA - hence I use Qobuz now.

Originally Posted by wklie

You may either use Lumin app or Tidal app (Tidal Connect), depending on which user interface you like more.

If you use Tidal app, make sure you set the Quality - Streaming - WiFi to Master.

See if you can find an album that exists both in Master and non-Master versions. Let me know which sounds better to you.

On the Lumin front panel, if you see MQA and if you're listening to Lumin analog output (instead of SPDIF or USB output), you're getting MQA Full Decoding.

Thanks for the reply Peter, I am home now and have been listening to MQA for a couple of hours now.
First impression is quite good, it feels more like I am in the room with the artist.
I see the little MQA on the front panel and also see the squiggly line in the App next to the song I am playing.
Also at the top left of the page in the App, next to the picture of the Album cover, I noticed higher KHz and bit rate numbers.
Currently listening to Etta James 192 KHz 24 Bit, so I think I have it.
I am still trying to figure out how to play more than one song at a time, need to study that online manual closer.
I will say, so far some songs still sound better than others, it is not a universal MQA is better across the board.
Back to the listening, might give the Tidal connect a try now.
Thanks again

Originally Posted by MaxH13

In my opinion the LUMIN app is superior to Roon and whist MQA is ‘different’, it sounds to my ear like someone has left the loudness switch on so, after using it for a while, I stopped using it.
Also, there used to be a choice of Hi Res or MQA but now many recordings only have MQA available so it’s a non too subtle conversion system over to MQA - hence I use Qobuz now.

Hi Max, I get what you are saying about the loudness button, but I live in an apartment building, so that actually helps with my normal lower volume listening.
Too early to form any solid opinion yet, so back to the music.

Originally Posted by jmusica

Like Max I found I prefer Qobuz to Tidal/MQA. I use Qobuz exclusively now, and at low volumes like you do. May want to give it a try.

Unfortunately I live in Canada, we do not have Qobuz here. This is why I am hoping for MQA to be worthwhile.
Spotify Hifi should be available in Canada, if they ever release it.

Originally Posted by thingswelike

The best section to read is here:
LUMIN App Browsing

In particular the Add to Playlist and Info Pop-up sections.
Note that changing the "Tap on Song List" setting changes the app behaviour significantly, so should definitely be investigated.
My recommendation is Double-tap and Play Later.

Also worth reading both pages of the Hints & Tips section of the manual.

Thank you so much, will check this out when I have a little time.

My SFP modules have arrived, just waiting on the optical cable now so I can try the optical input.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that there is a sequence to follow when switching over to optical, is that in the online manual somewhere?
I must say that the online manual can be confusing to me, I sure wish someone would post a YouTube tutorial video about how to use the App.
Single tap, double tap…huh? Still confused about most of this App features.
I have read the Tidal section, Add to playlist, info Pop-up section, but still kind of baffled as to what the heck I am doing.
Usually just end up hitting buttons till I hear music, but even then I don’t know if one song will play, an album, a playlist…who knows.😖

Yes I will follow the order you suggest. I just remember reading somewhere that if you happened to leave the original Ethernet hooked up, and insert the optical, you would brick the unit.

Thank you Peter, are you suggesting that I leave my switch (Cisco 2960) powered on when I unplug the Ethernet/plug in the optical Ethernet? I was planning on powering down the P1 and the switch. Good info about hearing the cable click into place, will do.

I got the Fibre working with no problem, and WOW, just WOW! Huge upgrade in my setup over the regular Ethernet input. From the first note I had a big grin on my face, and it is still there. I feel like I am listening to a different machine, so much body, soul, meat on the bones to the music now….awesome.
One thing I noticed, now I can control the volume with my IPad volume button now. That seems new to me, but it might of been something I never noticed before.
Anyway, very happy with the Fibre input, using a Cisco switch, nothing fancy.All this for $70 dollars 😎

I have had this switch for a few years Peter, it is a 2960 8tc.
What I said earlier about being able to adjust volume with my I pad only seems to work when I am using Tidal connect with the Tidal App. Using the Lumin App the volume of the IPad has no effect, does this sound normal?

Yes I was referring to the physical volume buttons on the top edge of my IPad. I will check again when I get home, but I am pretty sure those buttons were controlling the volume, this was while inside the Tidal App, using connect.
They did not affect volume while inside the Lumin App, playing music from there. I also have/use Roon, which I have the App installed on my IPad too.
I will try adjusting with the IPad buttons while inside the Roon App too, when I get home.
By the way, I use a Nagra integrated which has it’s own remote and volume control, not going Amp direct, but want to try it soon with an Anthem amp I have in a closet.

Hello Peter
I was just made aware that Qobuz formed a partnership with a company in Montreal that is kind of an offshoot of Qobuz. The name is QUB musique, I am hoping that I can use this with my P1.
Will it work is the question? I am in Ontario, not Quebec, so I have not even tried the free trial yet. I keep hearing that Qobuz is better sounding than Tidal, which is all we have access to at the moment. I am browsing their website right now and it says $4.99/ month plus tax, which would be an absolute bargain. Any info on this?

Originally Posted by wklie

Based on what I see (or don't see) in Roon forum, I don't think that QUB musique is the same, so I don't expect it to work.

As far as I know, if you have access to a credit card from a country that has Qobuz, you can VPN to that country to create an account and setup payment via Paypal. After that you no longer need the VPN.

Thanks for the reply Peter, but I am not really a computer wiz, so all that VPN stuff seems to be over my skill set.
Also I do not have a PayPal account, or know anyone from other countries that would do that for me. Hopefully Qobuz will arrive in Canada at some point.