Lumin - Ethernet vs Direct USB

Yoga

Yoga

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Has anyone spent any time comparing the two? All the reviews seem to be with a NAS.

I have a Lumin A1 inbound and am looking at silent single bay NAS enclosures (in which to use SSDs). Being single bay, perhaps a USB enclosure would be more cost effective.

So the question is, is the sound as good if using direct USB connected drives? Or is ethernet the way to go?
 
The Lumin L1 sounds best to me, followed by my NAS and then a external HD. I haven't used it often, but a USB stick sounded pretty good. But, for some odd reason, the L1 sounds best to me.
 
I agree Mike. It makes no sense to me, but it does sound a touch better.

As and aside: When I had a Naim NDS streamer, I was using a lot of usb sticks, and dang it, there was a difference in sound from different manufactures of usb sticks. This was noticed by many many people. I have never tried this with the Lumin so I don't know if this is true with it. But my hunch is that it is.



Mike said:
The Lumin L1 sounds best to me, followed by my NAS and then a external HD. I haven't used it often, but a USB stick sounded pretty good. But, for some odd reason, the L1 sounds best to me.
Click to expand...
 
the professor said:
I agree Mike. It makes no sense to me, but it does sound a touch better.

As and aside: When I had a Naim NDS streamer, I was using a lot of usb sticks, and dang it, there was a difference in sound from different manufactures of usb sticks. This was noticed by many many people. I have never tried this with the Lumin so I don't know if this is true with it. But my hunch is that it is.
Click to expand...

The prevailing (I believe) explanation is that even though digital data is transmitted 100% correctly with error correction, noise and/or electromagnetic interference are also involved, affecting the digital to analogue conversion (DAC) hardware.

For those who believe in this theory, there are Ethernet and USB isolation products as well as audiophile grade cables. There are also people who think Ethernet - optical - Ethernet conversion (with LPS for each converter) helps reduce noise.

For those who do not believe in this theory, there are tests that measure no difference from the use of different cables, and blind tests that disprove everything. :lol:
 
On the subject of the theory of noise/interference affecting DAC hardware there was one Lumin user claiming that turning off the front panel improves the sound. Perhaps people who have free time can try this. At best this is a free upgrade. At worst it wasted some of your previous time. :rolleyes: (I didn't try it because I like the front panel display, and I don't think I have good enough ears and system to discern any minor differences.)
 
I have turned the S1 display off since day 1 because I listen at night in low light, and I hate having displays searing into my eyes. I also use a direct attached USB to avoid the mentioned potential issues with Ethernet. Anyway, I have no quarrel with the sound. Sounds great to me.
 
for my opinion the ethernet is better than the usb,
I have lumin S1 and I use Audioquest Diamond ethernet cable to Qnap 470pro.
but in the future i upgrade the nas to Qnap fanless and 2 SSD at 2TB each and linear power supply!
I recommend also supply the router with linear power supply
 
Thanks for the feedback!

I'm close to pulling the trigger on the silent QNAP 251 with SSD.

Side note - the second hand Lumin A1 looks to be a fraudulent seller (paid 50% and the delivery details are sketchy to say the least), so I've just ordered the Lumin D1 with upgraded linear PSU.
 
my long experience with Micro-PC audio with HQpalyer and his NAA (is another minimal PC that acts as a buffer reading),
tells me that, minimal hardware better sound.
Qnap NAS now has the old HS251 and the new HS251 +
Then, could the more power of 251+ be worse than the old and less powerful of 251 ?!?!?

obviously both always better than my Qnap NAS 470 pro
 
krellz said:
Qnap NAS now has the old HS251 and the new HS251 +
Then, could the more power of 251+ be worse than the old and less powerful of 251 ?!?!?

obviously both always better than my Qnap NAS 470 pro
Click to expand...

HS251 uses a dual core Celeron @ 2.4GHz while HS251+ uses a quad core Celeron @ 2.0GHz. Note that both are weaker CPU than the i3-3220 in the 470 pro.
 
Mike said:
The Lumin L1 sounds best to me, followed by my NAS and then a external HD. I haven't used it often, but a USB stick sounded pretty good. But, for some odd reason, the L1 sounds best to me.
Click to expand...

Can multiple L1's be connected together?
 
Mike said:
Yes. Add as many as you want to your network.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Mike.
Are they considering larger capacity drives?
That would sure make things easier.
For backup purposes, could one connect one external drive to one of the daisy chained devices?
 
Rnrmf said:
Thanks, Mike.
Are they considering larger capacity drives?
That would sure make things easier.
For backup purposes, could one connect one external drive to one of the daisy chained devices?
Click to expand...

No and no.
 
Anyone did try fiber optics + converter ? [emoji2]

6a46ceb30f4e9eeec48666e48b270987.jpg
 
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