Thread: Lumin X1 Review

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Hey Jon,
Can you use the Lumin L1 as a Roon Core for use with the X1/P1, etc?

No.

For Roon Core, you need a computer running Windows, Mac OS, or ROCK. For ROCK, you need a NUC10 or NUC8, not NUC11 or newer.

Originally Posted by chungjh

As many audiophiles know, sound quality late at night is so much better than during the day, presumably due to cleaner internet and power grid signal. If this is the case, I wonder switching the input service from Comcast cable to Verizon optical fiber. Has anyone noticed any sound quality from the switch?

Never heard of the Internet signal being cleaner at night. On the other hand, AC power is definitely cleaner at night. Then again, sound improvement at night might be due to the overall reduction in background noise that occurs at night.

Have you tried fiber isolation, and LPS for the modem / router / switches, and power conditioner (not for the power amp)?

A X1 user shared his impressions with me:

As I had good experience with Lumin, decided finally to go with X1. Now after a week of listening I can say that sound from X1 is equal to my vinyl records player. Made several same track to track comparison and all HQ sound aspects are equal, voice and instruments are live and so on. Of course there is a little difference in "sound color" with vinyl and X1 but important HiFi audio aspects are same to me.

Originally Posted by chungjh

I have my X1 fed by EtherRegen via fiber and today I got a "check the network" error message on X1. I checked the fiber connection between ER and X1 and it looked fine as before. When I took out the fiber and connected them via Ethernet, the message went away and started working. When I put the fiber back in, I get the same error message. Could it be that the fiber pathway inside X1 could have gone bad?

Could be an SFP, or the cable itself, or maybe the ER. I would try replacing one at a time, starting with whatever is easiest. But before you do that, just try taking it all apart, and re-assembling. Sometimes you need to re-seat the SFPs, or the fiber cable, etc.

Unplug the power from the ER.
Wait for a while and do something else.
Come back later then plug in the power.

It is almost impossible for X1 / P1 to have a non-working SFP port but a working RJ45 port.

Do you have another SFP switch or SFP converter?

If not, please purchase this cheap switch for testing:
Amazon.com

Alternatively, you may use another pair of SFP modules for testing, but we never heard of a SFP module failure from our users.

What model of SFP modules are you using?

Has the fiber been touched recently?

It's also very possible for a fiber to be broken internally. So you may also try getting another single mode fiber (if you use single mode SFP modules) as listed here:
LUMIN - Fibre Networking

I've seen many SFP failures. In fact it's the single most frequent equipment failure I've seen at our data centers, and that's typically with data center grade SFPs opposed to what you'd get for this application. I would start there.

Broken fiber cable is a possibility as Peter has said, especially if your fiber is at all exposed to anything resting on it, foot traffic, or being moved around. Also a cheap and probably easy place to troubleshoot. Make sure you don't have any tight bends in that fiber run, that can also cause problems.

Generally with Lumin products, use XLR if possible, unless you find RCA to sound better, or you need a lower gain.

Originally Posted by chungjh

Jmusica was correct. I replaced the SFP modules and X1 is now working again on fiber. My SFPs probably got 6 months of use before they died. Very flimsy.

Even the expensive SFPs have an unusually high failure rate.

Originally Posted by chungjh

Do expensive SFPs sound better?

Was referring to (expensive) SFPs used in mission critical computer equipment in large datacenters. For audio purposes there are lengthy threads to be found with some very boring reading about the benefits of one or the other. Finisar seems to be popular. That's what I bought. Whether it sounds better, lasts longer.... no idea really. I don't think I'd be able to distinguish between those and the GTEK I had before them, tbh.

Originally Posted by chungjh

Does anyone have a good idea on getting rid of "glare" at around 2-4 kHz? It shows up in some vocals, particularly female. I don't know if this is an equipment issue or room treatment issue?

What’s the rest of the gear look like? Without spending any money, can you reposition your speakers?

Originally Posted by chungjh

Does anyone have a good idea on getting rid of "glare" at around 2-4 kHz? It shows up in some vocals, particularly female. I don't know if this is an equipment issue or room treatment issue?

When I had my X1, I found it sounded smoother and more even when I left it powered on or after it had been on an hour or two. From a cold start, I thought I perceived something similar to what you describe.