Lumin L2 & Lumin X1

ozzy

ozzy

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2014
Messages
332
Location
USA Michigan
I have a Lumin X1 connected via fiber from an Ether Regen. I have an 8TB external hardrive connected to the back of the Lumin X1 via a USB cable.

I am not sure what I would gain with adding the Lumin L1/L2 over just using my external hard drive.

Can anyone explain what would be the advantage?

ozzy
 
ozzy said:
I have a Lumin X1 connected via fiber from an Ether Regen. I have an 8TB external hardrive connected to the back of the Lumin X1 via a USB cable.

I am not sure what I would gain with adding the Lumin L1/L2 over just using my external hard drive.

Can anyone explain what would be the advantage?

ozzy
Click to expand...
LUMIN USB Storage

"Browsing of USB storage is limited to simple Folder Browsing where you can navigate through your folder structure on the drive. All folders are visible (even if they don't contain music) and artwork thumbnails for folders will be the first embedded artwork found directly in the folder."
 
ozzy said:
I have a Lumin X1 connected via fiber from an Ether Regen. I have an 8TB external hardrive connected to the back of the Lumin X1 via a USB cable.

I am not sure what I would gain with adding the Lumin L1/L2 over just using my external hard drive.

Can anyone explain what would be the advantage?

ozzy
Click to expand...

From Lumin's L2 webpage:

4 PORTS
With 4 network ports LUMIN L2 can simplify your wiring and remove the need for cheap (and electrically noisy) switches around your hi-fi.

FIBRE NETWORKING
2x SFP ports allow optical fibre networking input and output, completely electrically isolating your hi-fi from the rest of your network.

LOW-NOISE DESIGN
Shielded, low-noise power supply, thick and rigid CNC aluminium chassis, and spacious layout all help provide untouched data to your network player.

Also, from the web page, it's designed for ease of set-up and use:

UPnP Openhome music server
ZERO CONFIGURATION
Simply add music to LUMIN L2 via USB or over the network and it all gets served automatically. No complex installation or setup steps.

LUMIN SERVER SOFTWARE
Our bespoke server software is specifically designed for the demands of LUMIN owners - featuring rock-solid stability, rich tag support and, of course, high resolution PCM/DSD support.

BUILD QUALITY
Silent, vibration-free design offers the same thick shielded CNC chassis construction as our high-end P1 music player. Available in the same black and silver finishes, LUMIN L2 is the perfect accompaniment.
 
Thanks for the reply posts, I have read all of the info on the Lumin L2 unit. But I'm sorry I still don't see its purpose.

My 8TB hard drive is easy to access connected to my Lumin X1 and via the Lumin app. And my Lumin X1 is already connected via a fiber cable to my Ether Regen/ clock/ power supply. Another fiber connection just seems to be redundant.
What am I missing? The Lumin L2 just seems to be a fancy hard drive.
Is there any type of sound quality improvement?

ozzy
 
As described using usb hdd you can browse your library only by folders while using L2 (or any other mediaserver running on a nas) you can browse the library by the tags that are embedded in the music files (you need to manage them of course)
 
The Lumin L2, or a NAS or computer with Mimimserver installed, is a music server and not a hard drive mounted either locally or remotely as a disk volume.

It's like the difference between accessing a website that shows you a bunch of photos on webpages, with search capability and metadata information. Versus opening a folder on your computer that shows all the individual photo files as names and directories. Certainly in both cases you can find and select a photo to look at, but the former provides a lot more convenience and functionality.

Also, as a server, it can be accessed and used from multiple places simultaneously. You can do the same with a network share of a mounted directory, but that's not possible if you are just connecting a hard drive to a single device (e.g. the Lumin X1) which does not export network shares.
 
I found that usb access was sometimes slow on my Lumin A1 and it always had to boot up when I turned on the A1 which took what seemed like a variable amount of time from not too long to kind of long.

I got an L1 this year and installed it connected to my router. Now all the music on it is always available and it may well sound more dynamic and I think it also sounds identical to streaming the same content from Qobuz, for example now.

The other feature that I LOVE is that it can be accessed by any audio streamer that uses the UPnP protocol. So I keep it attached to my router in a location where I access it with my Vitus amp's built-in streamer.

Even better is that there's an option to access the L1 remotely so when I'm where my Lumin A1 resides, my music is accessible there, too.
 
Thanks Neko and Christian, those were very informative replies. Something I may consider getting at some point is an L2.

Cheers, gents.
 
So, the cost to be able to access with other devices in the home (which I don't) and perhaps a little more information about the music being played is $5000+ for an 8TB Lumin L2? Over just using an external hardrive (about $150) and using the X1 to stream from Qobuz ? Come on.

There seems to be very little info about actual sound quality improvement, except for "maybe"? I love my Lumin X1 primarily due to its sound quality. The Lumin L2 seems to be a swing and a miss...$$$

ozzy
 
Or, Minimserver Starter for $0 on your existing computer (if you have one) / Minimserver Full for $28 GBP. Personally I think using a music server instead of manual navigation of a directory structure to be significantly better, even if you only have one playback device and/or are only using the Lumin app, from a functionality perspective. But of course everyone should use whatever is best for themselves.
 
Yes, as always, please install the free MinimServer to a NAS or computer instead of using a USB drive connected to the Lumin. I have been saying this repeatedly for as many years as I'm here.

Especially if the L2 is considered to be expensive, please consider fanless NAS instead.
 
Thanks for the added comments. I still can't understand why the Lumin L1 is so expensive. It is basically a hard drive or perhaps a NAS unit.

ozzy
 
The new Lumin L2 is the only server in the industry (Currently) that has a combination of:
1. Dual bays for 2, SSD storage units
2. Integrated low noise and isolated network switch.
3. USB PC interface
4. 4 accessible network ports, 2 fiber and 2 Ethernet. Therefore, with Lumin's high end digital switch you can feed 4 different networks off of the L2.
5. You may want to visit: LUMIN L2
6. Zero config required. Broadcast grade electronics used as compared to consumer electronics grade.
 
mgeso,

Thank you for your post.
I have read all the info that I can find on the Lumin 1&2. It has a lot of features that frankly doesn't mean anything to me. Nor does it help anyone who already owns a Lumin X1 and an attached quality external hard drive. Other than perhaps adding another $$$ piece of equipment, that will require additional cabling, shelve space etc.

I must sound like a broken record, sorry, but I still don't know how the Lumin L2 will better my Lumin X1 connected via fiber from an Ether Regen. My recorded music is connected on an 8 TB Hard drive to the Lumin X1. And, the music is easily accessed via the Lumin App.

ozzy
 
ozzy said:
mgeso,

Thank you for your post.
I have read all the info that I can find on the Lumin 1&2. It has a lot of features that frankly doesn't mean anything to me. Nor does it help anyone who already owns a Lumin X1 and an attached quality external hard drive. Other than perhaps adding another $$$ piece of equipment, that will require additional cabling, shelve space etc.

I must sound like a broken record, sorry, but I still don't know how the Lumin L2 will better my Lumin X1 connected via fiber from an Ether Regen. My recorded music is connected on an 8 TB Hard drive to the Lumin X1. And, the music is easily accessed via the Lumin App.

ozzy
Click to expand...

Hi Ozzy -

I totally understand the search for answers on new gear. But I wonder why you are trying so hard to be convinced you need the L2?

It sounds like you are fine with what you have. Why not just be happy with that and stop wanting to be convinced about the L2?
 
It caught my interest because I am really impressed with the sound and functionality of my Lumin X1 and I thought that perhaps this device would be a good add on.

That is until I saw the price. I have seen the 8TB version selling for $8000!
So, I kept trying to figure out why, and what it does that makes it cost so much money.

ozzy
 
ozzy said:
It caught my interest because I am really impressed with the sound and functionality of my Lumin X1 and I thought that perhaps this device would be a good add on.

That is until I saw the price. I have seen the 8TB version selling for $8000!
So, I kept trying to figure out why, and what it does that makes it cost so much money.

ozzy
Click to expand...

The L2 is $5500 with 8TB. It’s not just storage. With a 4-port audiophile-grade network switch on board, its two optical fiber SFP ports and two RJ45 copper ports, the L2 can streamline and enhance your network.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
"With a 4-port audiophile-grade network switch on board, its two optical fiber SFP ports and two RJ45 copper ports, the L2 can streamline and enhance your network."

Mike, How? What more will it be able to do (music wise) over what I am already using the X1, hard drive, Ether Regen, fiber cable for? Can I use the 4-port switch for my Apple TV video connection?

I have seen it priced $5500-and $8000. Nice to know the lower price is more accurate.

ozzy
 
ozzy said:
"With a 4-port audiophile-grade network switch on board, its two optical fiber SFP ports and two RJ45 copper ports, the L2 can streamline and enhance your network."

Mike, How? What more will it be able to do over what I am already using the X1 & hard drive for?

I have seen it priced $5000-and $8000.

ozzy
Click to expand...

Why don't you go listen to it for yourself rather than asking others to tell you?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top