Lumin U1MINI

[wklie]

Lumin U1 MINI is a cost-reduced full-function version of U1 at the physical size of D2 and a price tag of not higher than D2.
http://www.luminmusic.com/lumin-u1-mini.html

Those who are using D1 or D2 SPDIF output to an external DAC should upgrade to U1MINI for AES / USB output capability and improved SQ.

[Mike]

Awesome!


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[joeinid]

That's great !!! Looking forward to this piece.

[kzhtoo]

Nice!

[wklie]

Lumin U1 MINI is already available.

[aKnyght]

looks really, really nice - hard to wish for more in a streamer, especially at a sub-D2 price.

a reading of the specs would lead one to the conclusion that it is close to a U1 without the external power supply. what do you see as the other major differences between the two?

[wklie]

The chassis is different. The U1 chassis (like the X1 / S1 / A1) is solid aluminium for mechanical stability and shielding that is incredibly expensive to manufacture. The U1 external power supply is a linear power supply that was used in Lumin S1. The U1 MINI internal power supply is a switching power supply.

[Mike]

$2k MSRP.


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[joeinid]

I can’t wait until they are in the wild.

[Phil A]

Looks like a great product!

[the professor]

That's great.

The U1 makes it so easy to stream. Having that ease of operation at less cost is a win win! Great product idea and price!

[CPP]

Always impressed with Lumin products

[aKnyght]

That's great.

The U1 makes it so easy to stream. Having that ease of operation at less cost is a win win! Great product idea and price!

definitely looks to be a win-win from my standpoint. it will be interesting to hear opinions of how close the performance of u1-mini comes to the u1.

[alto]

This was the product I was hoping for, good move Lumin.

[kkibrisli]

This was the product I was hoping for, good move Lumin.

+1
Any idea where I can find this in Canada?

[audio.bill]

+1
Any idea where I can find this in Canada?

It's a brand new release, but Lumin lists its dealers including those in Canada here.

[Djcous]

Very interested in purchasing this product. Good to have another streamer option without the onboard DAC.

Looking forward to user feedback on performance once this becomes available.

Is is there an up charge for the black finish on Lumin products?

[Djcous]

Does Lumin usually do preorders for new products?

[Mike]

Does Lumin usually do preorders for new products?

Yes! I have two on order. Want one?


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[thingswelike]

Does Lumin usually do preorders for new products?

Many LUMIN dealers do accept pre-orders.

However LUMIN U1 MINI is in stock and shipping now, so you can place an actual order instead!

In theory, we only like to announce products once they are ready to ship, but this isn't always possible due to the timing of big shows like Munich High End which need planning 2 or 3 months in advance.

[thingswelike]

Is is there an up charge for the black finish on Lumin products?

No, Black and Silver are the same price on the U1 MINI and the D2

[wklie]

Just talked to a customer using Lumin U1 MINI USB output to Audio-gd R2R 1 DAC, he feels the SQ is significantly improved from his previous computer, in terms of texture, detail, black background, mid and bass.

[Djcous]

I would be upgrading from a microrendu. Love to see a comparison as I do not live anywhere near a Lumin dealer.

[PeteG]

Any comparisons with Auralic Aries G1, thinking about replacing my Mac mini/jriver at the end of year.

[Swisstrips]

Any plans to equip the U1 or mini with the same fiber input and DSD512 support as the X1?

[wklie]

I'm afraid it cannot be done to the current models.

[SoundRebels]

Since Yesterday I've got U1 Mini on tests, and ... it's amazing, but accommodation is in progress. During first few hours sound was a little too polite and withdrawn, but after 10-15 hours of non stop playing became more vivid, with much better resolution.



Of course it's too early to describe any sonic differences between U1 Mini and Auralic ARIES G1, but the main U1 advantage is ... Lumin app full Android compatibility, which isn't available in Auralic Lightning DS.

[PeteG]

Thank you, looking forward to any updates.

[SoundRebels]

For now only in Polish - U1 Mini review

[SMINKL]

Hi WK, I’m reading this with great interest as I’m having some connectivity issues with my Cary Audio DAC200ts. The issues are:

1) I get a loud distorted sound and hiss when I switch from DSD 2.8 to 24/192 PCM/WAV. It persists on even if I try to any other WAV files of say 16/44.1.
2) There are instances where I can’t get it to start playing WAV files from cold and I have to select a DSD file first.
3) if the hissing issue mentioned above doesn’t happen, I get a crackle switching between formats.
4) There were instances where my DAC couldn’t detect the U1 mini and I had to reboot

I was using Jriver on my Mac previously as I can always set a silent delay during the handshake to avoid the loud crackle.

On the broader side, the app (IOS) seem to take a while to detect the Lumin as well as refreshing the file listing when changing folders. I also can’t seem to have my music sorted by album, genre and artist but could only find the, by folders.

Would appreciate it if you can assist as it sounds wonderful when it is working.

Many thanks,

SM

[Phil A]

Thanks for sharing - below is the final paragraph translated:

"It would seem that Pixel Magic Systems Ltd. introducing into its already already rich offer, this model of transport U1 Mini takes another step towards further, maybe not so much changing to minor, what complicates the life of its potential clientele. Meanwhile, closer contact with the title toddler brings quite surprising results. First of all, in fact, in a smaller and at the same time modest, and therefore cheaper housing, we managed to spell at least 99.9% from the sound of a full-sized protoplast. Secondly, the logistic issues resulting from the elimination of the external power supply have been simplified, and thirdly U1 Mini is an ideal solution for all DAC owners with an extremely wide price spectrum, because the protagonist of this epistle should, without any problems, prove himself in the company of similar devices, and many times more expensive, if only in the latter case remember the appropriately sophisticated wiring that allows him to fully develop his wings. So if you have a perfect fit in your tastes and for obvious reasons sophisticated system and you would like to lose nothing and nothing of its class delve into the depths of files and streaming, I strongly recommend the search begin with this inconspicuous transport."
Marcin Olszewski

[joeinid]

Hi WK, I’m reading this with great interest as I’m having some connectivity issues with my Cary Audio DAC200ts. The issues are:

1) I get a loud distorted sound and hiss when I switch from DSD 2.8 to 24/192 PCM/WAV. It persists on even if I try to any other WAV files of say 16/44.1.
2) There are instances where I can’t get it to start playing WAV files from cold and I have to select a DSD file first.
3) if the hissing issue mentioned above doesn’t happen, I get a crackle switching between formats.
4) There were instances where my DAC couldn’t detect the U1 mini and I had to reboot

I was using Jriver on my Mac previously as I can always set a silent delay during the handshake to avoid the loud crackle.

On the broader side, the app (IOS) seem to take a while to detect the Lumin as well as refreshing the file listing when changing folders. I also can’t seem to have my music sorted by album, genre and artist but could only find the, by folders.

Would appreciate it if you can assist as it sounds wonderful when it is working.

Many thanks,

SM

Welcome to the forum, thank you for joining.

[SMINKL]

Welcome to the forum, thank you for joining.

Thanks for approving.

[SMINKL]

Hi WK,

I forgot to mention that I’m connecting via DoP using USB.

Cheers,

SM

[wklie]

Hi WK, I’m reading this with great interest as I’m having some connectivity issues with my Cary Audio DAC200ts. The issues are:

1) I get a loud distorted sound and hiss when I switch from DSD 2.8 to 24/192 PCM/WAV. It persists on even if I try to any other WAV files of say 16/44.1.
2) There are instances where I can’t get it to start playing WAV files from cold and I have to select a DSD file first.
3) if the hissing issue mentioned above doesn’t happen, I get a crackle switching between formats.
4) There were instances where my DAC couldn’t detect the U1 mini and I had to reboot

I was using Jriver on my Mac previously as I can always set a silent delay during the handshake to avoid the loud crackle.

On the broader side, the app (IOS) seem to take a while to detect the Lumin as well as refreshing the file listing when changing folders. I also can’t seem to have my music sorted by album, genre and artist but could only find the, by folders.

Please try a different USB cable for the DAC issues, and power cycle the DAC first, then power cycle the U1 MINI. If that does not work, use AES connection instead - with some DAC it may even sound better than USB.

Please install the free MinimServer to a NAS or computer, and use that as the music library instead of USB storage. This will fix the slow browsing and enable the various view options.

[SoundRebels]

Please try a different USB cable for the DAC issues, and power cycle the DAC first, then power cycle the U1 MINI. If that does not work, use AES connection instead - with some DAC it may even sound better than USB.

Please install the free MinimServer to a NAS or computer, and use that as the music library instead of USB storage. This will fix the slow browsing and enable the various view options.

I've got the same opinion about the source of anomalies. I'm using few USB cables and sometimes all of them working fine, but in some configuration one of them - Goldenote Firenze Silver makes some troubles, but that is most "exotic" cable in my small collection. And why using WAV files when FLAC/ALAC formats allow to better tagging which is probably the next reason why SMINKL can sort only by folder

[SMINKL]

Thanks Peter. Will update soonest.

[SMINKL]

All my DSD files has metadata on artist, album etc. Although WAV files inherently doesn’t carry metadata but I’m able to use Jriver to enter manually. It shows on my AK380 as well as on my Sony Hap-z1es.

Will try the miniMserver route on the NAS. However metadata from my USB hdd doesn’t show up in the app when browsing but I can only see it if I depress on the track for a window to appear.

[SoundRebels]

All my DSD files has metadata on artist, album etc. Although WAV files inherently doesn’t carry metadata but I’m able to use Jriver to enter manually. It shows on my AK380 as well as on my Sony Hap-z1es.

Will try the miniMserver route on the NAS. However metadata from my USB hdd doesn’t show up in the app when browsing but I can only see it if I depress on the track for a window to appear.

If You're tagging via JRiver please check that by Mp3tag. Maybe some fields were missed, and for sorting by metadatas Yu need some UPNP server like minimServer (the best)or even twonky

[wklie]

computeraudiophile member dcas71 posted https://www.computeraudiophile.com/f...comment=886881

So I'm one week in with my Lumin U1 Mini, and it's already sounding great connected to a Qutest DAC. I upgraded from a D1 which didn't quite do it for me as a pure transport (I've found that in my setup Qutest seems a little sensitive to RFI when using the spdif BNC input).

I've also used SOTM sms200 in my current setup, which sounded great but didn't have the right level of usability (I use local NAS, Tidal and Spotify), where the Lumin OS and app makes for a great UX. The U1 mini is opening out nicely, and I'm hoping there's even more to come over the next few weeks. 

[wklie]

Roon forum member Peter_Hafkamp posted https://community.roonlabs.com/t/lum...0521/8?u=wklie

I got a Lumin U1 Mini loaner from my dealer.
Testing it at the moment.
First impression is Wow didn’t know the built in dac of my amp could sound that good.

[wklie]

Roon forum member Rdg posted https://community.roonlabs.com/t/lum...521/18?u=wklie

I have used a Bluesound Node 2, Allo DigiOne (standard and signature version), Chromecast Audio, Intel NUC with Schiit Eitr and a Lumin D1 in the same setup and the U1 Mini combines the musicality of the D1 with the clean sound of the DigiOne signature. It has only been playing for a few hours but it really impressed me so far.
At work I have used a variety of streamers (aurender, Auralic, linn, Cambridge audio, to name a few) and the one brand that always works is Lumin. Not to say that the other brands are bad but more to point out that Lumin has a really good hardware/software combination with their streamers.

[wklie]

computeraudiophile member dcas71 posted https://www.computeraudiophile.com/f...comment=886881

Update

I can happily say that mine took a step forward sonically between 150-200 hours of play. It really came on song yesterday and now sounds very natural, dynamic but also easeful and relaxed/effortless. It's overtaken the sms200 as the best sounding transport I've had in my system. If there's any further improvement as it runs in I'll be very happy indeed, the U1M-Qutest is a killer combo to my ears. 

[SoundRebels]

English translation of U1 Mini review

[Kingrex]

I don't understand all the modifying an entry-level model. Why not just purchase a factory model with linear power supply. Is it really that much difference once you buy a decent 500 to $1,200 linear power supply.

[Mordante]

I've heard rumors that Lumin will come with an updated U1 mini. That has the option of an external power supply

[Mordante]

Any comparisons with Auralic Aries G1, thinking about replacing my Mac mini/jriver at the end of year.

Someone compared them. According to him the U1 mini is better. But don't expect details, since he is dealer of both products.

[SoundRebels]

I've reviewed U1 Mini directly after Auralic Aries G1, and both are on the same level, but Aries is more analytical and U1 more "analogue" sounding

[wklie]

I've heard rumors that Lumin will come with an updated U1 mini. That has the option of an external power supply

I never heard of that. I don't see any reason that should happen.

In addition, there are at least two vendors who supply external LPS kits for U1 MINI and D2, although we do not encourage the use of those.

[SoundRebels]

Multifoon Hifi publshed on FB some photos of booster implementation.