Thread: U1 mini or U1

Other than the output structure and the functionality the Mini was never intended to compete with the regular U1 from a sound perspective. Starting with the case they are just different in terms of parts quality irrespective of the external power supply. So in the end you have to decide whether you want to spend the money on the U1 for the better performance or are happy with the Mini and an external power supply to get the same functionality. Your budget and your system make up with determine that. You seem to be trying to convince yourself that the Mini and the external power supply are sufficient so just go that way.

Originally Posted by hatateru

Hi Peter, does U1 mini do a one week of 24x7 burn in period enough?

I guess ok.

You can use the free Linn Kazoo app to control Lumin from a computer. Alternatively, you can try Audirvana Plus.

No, you cannot connect the laptop to a Lumin using USB cable because current Lumin products do not have USB DAC function.

You can connect both the laptop and the Lumin to the network using Ethernet cable.

In the latest Audirvana Plus it should be possible to find Lumin in Audrivana as a UPnP device.

As for WiFi 6 router, I don't have specific recommendation, but I prefer Broadcom chipset, or Qualcomm chipset. Do not use any other chipset. To find out what chipset a router uses, you'll need to google.

The laptop may use WiFi if and only if your WiFi network is very good without much interference from neighbors. In case you use Roon, having the Roon Core on WiFi is not recommended.

I answered the WiFi router question with the assumption that you need a WiFi router upgrade for functional purpose. If your intention is SQ, you may look at LPS and fiber isolation (which also requires LPS) instead of replacing the router.

No problem. In this case, please use an unmanaged Ethernet switch such as Netgear GS105.

Previous discussion of fiber isolation:
A1/T1 Ethernet to fibre optic conversion

Recently another user also have positive reports of using this FMC (SFP modules required) with LPS:
Mini Fiber to Ethernet Gigabit Media Converter, 10/100/1000Base-T to SFP Slot - FS

You would need to experiment to find out. Generally, FMC is expected to be put just before the Lumin. Note that the Lumin-side FMC needs to be used with a LPS.

It needs to have music playing through it during that time.

Originally Posted by chungjh

My U1 mini is arriving tomorrow. I heard that leaving it on 24/7 for 1-2 weeks breaks it in. Does the mini need to be hooked up to the rest of the system turned on to break it in? Or can I just have it turned on by itself for 1-2 weeks?

It needs to be hooked up to the DAC with music playing.

If the DAC is standalone (not integrated into an amp) and not tube-based, please turn on the DAC as well but leave the amp turned off. If you use USB audio output, the USB DAC has to be turned on otherwise it cannot play.

Yes, OK.

The front blue circle is a normal status on first startup or after factory reset, or if you don't have any music in the Lumin current playlist.

Please launch Lumin app and select it as renderer. If you don't see it in Lumin app, please make sure your iPad is connected to the WiFi network of the router connected to the Lumin. The WiFi network must not have "Separate" or "AP Isolation" features enabled.

If you're connecting directly from the laptop via USB just use the Tidal and Qobuz desktop apps as you don't need anything else.

Originally Posted by chungjh

I am using Mac laptop not iOS, so I am assuming that Lumin app doesn't apply here? If not, what do I use to run Audirvana to control Tidal, Qobuz?

Please try Linn Kazoo app on Mac OS.

With latest Audirvana Plus, it should be possible to find Lumin as a UPnP device.

Originally Posted by chungjh

I heard that UPnP can pose security problems, at least in the past. Would using Luminary's as a UPnP device cause this problem?

UPnP in router and UPnP for music are entirely different things. The former has security concerns because if your router is hacked, your whole network is exposed. The latter is not a security risk because you lose nothing even if the Lumin hardware is hacked.

Originally Posted by chungjh

I downloaded the Lumin app on my iPhone 8. But the Lumin app seems grayed out. Is this incompatible with iPhone 8?

Top 6 Ways to Fix iPhone Apps Greyed Out After iOS 13/12.4 Update

Originally Posted by chungjh

I am using the iPhone Lumin app and I can get to Tidal but it plays the music via my phone, not U1 mini. Did I not set up U1 mini properly?

The LUMIN App can't play to your phone, so you might be using the TIDAL app rather than the LUMIN App.
Please log into TIDAL from within the LUMIN App.
Some instructions here:
LUMIN - How to use the LUMIN App

Please tap and hold the album art, then add the whole album to playlist.

Originally Posted by chungjh

Peter, thank you. I got everything working now on Tidal. One more thing. How do I have Lumin app playing one song after another continuously without having to turn the next piece?

Also - if you are using a phone - there are 3 screens available.
| Now playing| Playlist | Browse |

Swipe the whole screen across to get to each. The | Playlist | will show the tracks that will be played in order (continuously) on LUMIN. It's possible that so far you've only been adding a song to the end and playing it immediately.

Originally Posted by chungjh

U1 mini sounds great. In Tidal, is there a way to highlight the track in an album that is currently playing. I can see which song is being played (top left) but it would be good to see how many more tracks are left after the current one.

The button at the bottom-right of the playlist shows the current song number and total playlist number.
If you press this button, it will scroll the playlist to show which song is currently playing.

Playlist-jump-button.png

This same number is also shown on the front panel display:

front-panel-track-number.png

Originally Posted by chungjh

U1 mini sounds great. In Tidal, is there a way to highlight the track in an album that is currently playing. I can see which song is being played (top left) but it would be good to see how many more tracks are left after the current one.

On the left, there is an arrow in a small circle to indicate the current playing track. Please turn on "Follow Now Playing" setting.