Agree 100%
Lumin P-1 arrives tomorrow
- Thread starter Puma Cat
- Start date
Agree 100%
Dylan
Member
I want to throw in my two cents here.
I bought a Lumin P1 from Mike at Suncoast Audio about two weeks ago. It replaces the DAC/streamer of my Boulder 866 which I found lacking from a user standpoint. The 866 had replaced a Lumin T2.
I let the P1 play for a week while I was out of town and have now been listening for about a week.
The improvement is shockingly good. I expected it to sound better but not to such a degree. The noise floor is much lower, which lets you hear things you didn’t hear before. Same with separation of instruments- big improvement. Bass is also better. Yet the P1 retains an organic, easy sound. And the remote- a joy to look at, hold and use. The operation of the unit is seamless.
A funny story- I had one quibble with the P1- the volume up/down on the remote only worked in single presses, not continuously. Today a little birdie texted me (thank you Mike) to install the latest update. When I turned the P1 on, it asked me if I wanted to install the latest update. After I said yes, it took about two minutes. And guess what- the volume control operation is fixed. Lumin is truly a first rate company and very good at what they do.
I bought a Lumin P1 from Mike at Suncoast Audio about two weeks ago. It replaces the DAC/streamer of my Boulder 866 which I found lacking from a user standpoint. The 866 had replaced a Lumin T2.
I let the P1 play for a week while I was out of town and have now been listening for about a week.
The improvement is shockingly good. I expected it to sound better but not to such a degree. The noise floor is much lower, which lets you hear things you didn’t hear before. Same with separation of instruments- big improvement. Bass is also better. Yet the P1 retains an organic, easy sound. And the remote- a joy to look at, hold and use. The operation of the unit is seamless.
A funny story- I had one quibble with the P1- the volume up/down on the remote only worked in single presses, not continuously. Today a little birdie texted me (thank you Mike) to install the latest update. When I turned the P1 on, it asked me if I wanted to install the latest update. After I said yes, it took about two minutes. And guess what- the volume control operation is fixed. Lumin is truly a first rate company and very good at what they do.
Puma Cat
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #23
Hi Dylan,
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I fully agree with your findings. The noise floor is really low, and as such, the P1 has superb transparency, clarity, and inner detail. It also has a very fine rendition of the subtleties of tone and timbre.
"Yet the P1 retains an organic, easy sound."
Yes, agreed 100%. Hans Beekhuizen would use the term, "relaxed", here. And, he'd be right.
With respect to your experience of being able to download an update for the remote, I'm not surprised at all. It's been very clear since I got in, installed, and starting using the P1, that Lumin thinks things through very thoroughly, and then, executes at a high level.
Puma Cat
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #24
Absolutely, 100%, agree. Also, Peter's knowledge and domain expertise are first-class, also. Moreover, Peter arranged for Lumin to get an L1 for me to use in conjunction with the P1 review for TAS.
I'm super impressed with Lumin...these guys have got it...goin' on.
Puma Cat
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #26
I'm not sure what your question is exactly as it's worded unclearly.
The X1 is a network music player, including DAC functionality. The P1 is that as well as a stereo preamplifier.
As for comparing the sound quality between them, I can't say as I have not heard the X1. The P1 is superb.
I notice that some differences in the hardware: the X1 has different DAC, solid chassis, and outboard power supply while the P1 has an internal power supply. The P1 also possesses some features from the X1 to include optical networking, Femto clock, and Lundah transformers. My question is that is there any technology which is only reserved for the flagship X1, and is not implemented in the P1?
Puma Cat
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #28
They're different products with different features and functionality and different intended use-cases, so I'm not sure I would classify one as a "flagship".
Your best would be to ask Peter with respect to any "technology" that is in the X1 that is not in the P1.
Not sure what you mean by "solid chassis".
Cheers.
Someone bring their P1 over and we'll compare!
Not sure if it's as simple as, if you don't need pre-amp functions or multiple inputs, the X1 seems to fit the bill. If you do have those needs or may down the road, then it's the P1.
Pricewise the X1 is still more $, and offers "less" functions and a separate power supply so I think it stands to reason there could be some engineering advantages. Whether those manifest in superior SQ, I tend to doubt it, at least beyond what most of us would discern.
Not sure if it's as simple as, if you don't need pre-amp functions or multiple inputs, the X1 seems to fit the bill. If you do have those needs or may down the road, then it's the P1.
Pricewise the X1 is still more $, and offers "less" functions and a separate power supply so I think it stands to reason there could be some engineering advantages. Whether those manifest in superior SQ, I tend to doubt it, at least beyond what most of us would discern.
Functionally, P1 (using dual ES9028PRO) is an X1 (using dual ES9038PRO) with added conventionl analog and digital inputs (so it can be used with a CD transport or TV), and the linear power supply placed inside. The remote is standard for P1 but an optional purchase for X1.
P1 is priced lower than the X1. So P1 is a great value.
Puma Cat
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #31
Update regarding the Lumin P1...
I've been racking up more and more hours on the Lumin P1, and I continue to be more and more impressed with it. I estimate I've got 100 or so hours of burn-in on it, as i sometimes leave it on overnight, with the integrated amp powered off, but the P1 on with music files running through it.
I calculated the other day that by using the P1 with a direct fiber optical l connection, I was able to eliminate a significant number of "devices" from the streaming reproduction chain: no need for an Ethernet switch in the main rack, no need for an LPS for that Ethernet switch, no need for a network bridge, so no need LPS for the network bridge, AND...no need for power cords for those power supplies, AND... no need for an Ethernet cable or a USB cable. That’s…six, count 'em six, fewer “components” overall in the signal path from music server to DAC.
Just yesterday I put all the "networked music server" components onto a Shunyata PS10 power distributor in the "remote music server room", and that brought about a significant increase in audio quality. Things have come a long way since the venerable little Hydra 4.
Anyhoo...the P1 continues to impress me with it's performance for any and all high-end audiophile attributes that we tend to "geek out" about.
More to the point, it just makes MUSIC, and in a most wonderful way, indeed.
Paired with the luscious Constellation Inspiration integrated amp, which I'm still listening to as my dual-mono power supplies for my First Sound preamp only arrived just today after being upgraded with Shunyata's latest CCI-X noise filters, this combination makes for an exceedingly musical "perfect pairing", if you ask me.
More later, count on it, but in the meantime, I'm goin' back to listening to some pretty wonderful music.
I've been racking up more and more hours on the Lumin P1, and I continue to be more and more impressed with it. I estimate I've got 100 or so hours of burn-in on it, as i sometimes leave it on overnight, with the integrated amp powered off, but the P1 on with music files running through it.
I calculated the other day that by using the P1 with a direct fiber optical l connection, I was able to eliminate a significant number of "devices" from the streaming reproduction chain: no need for an Ethernet switch in the main rack, no need for an LPS for that Ethernet switch, no need for a network bridge, so no need LPS for the network bridge, AND...no need for power cords for those power supplies, AND... no need for an Ethernet cable or a USB cable. That’s…six, count 'em six, fewer “components” overall in the signal path from music server to DAC.
Just yesterday I put all the "networked music server" components onto a Shunyata PS10 power distributor in the "remote music server room", and that brought about a significant increase in audio quality. Things have come a long way since the venerable little Hydra 4.
Anyhoo...the P1 continues to impress me with it's performance for any and all high-end audiophile attributes that we tend to "geek out" about.
More to the point, it just makes MUSIC, and in a most wonderful way, indeed.
Paired with the luscious Constellation Inspiration integrated amp, which I'm still listening to as my dual-mono power supplies for my First Sound preamp only arrived just today after being upgraded with Shunyata's latest CCI-X noise filters, this combination makes for an exceedingly musical "perfect pairing", if you ask me.
More later, count on it, but in the meantime, I'm goin' back to listening to some pretty wonderful music.
Audiophon
New member
Hi Jim,
I had the possibility to "live" with and test the P1 for nearly 3 months in my system. I was also greatly impressed by the overall performance of the Lumin. I also exchanged with the local importer about the design differences between P1 and X1.
For me the X1 still remains the absolute reference point due to its no-compromise design: billed chassis (important for HF/RF shielding) and even more important for his external XP power supply. Lumin says that the integrated power supply of the P1 is "designed similar" to the one of the X1. However, I'm not sure what that means... (and I did not open the power supply in the P1).
The difference in the used DAC chips 9038 vs. 9028 is soundwise imho less crucial (the difference in actual cost should be absolutely negligible for a 10.000 USD unit). Even the Crystek ("Fremto") clocks used in both unis are just "ok" but not great, but what really counts is the design concept and the whole package - and not single parts (e.g. you can find the same DAC chip and clocks in DACs costing much less than 2000 USD).
I was also happy that Lumin decided to take over the optical input from the X1. In my system with two cascaded switches, connected via an optical cable, it further blackend the background when using to optical connection to the Lumin.
The P1 is a great product and I really enjoyed it in my system. However, if you have the money I can only recommend to invest in a separate analoge pre-amplifer which gives instruments more body and better separation. But this is not Lumin P1 specific, as it is also the case with my TAD D1000 MK2 player-DAC.
Cheers
Martin
Puma Cat , if i remember correct then my Lumin X1 needed around 500 hours before being stable. When i first listened to it i was shocked how bad it sounded when i compared it to my memory of a broken in Lumin X1. Also the updates brought really good bonuses to the sound. I do think that Lumin is really under rated...i also just recently switched to fiber and waouu that is really good , and now there is no black , but only the instruments and performers.
But fiber also puts my interest into improvements in the conversion from ethernet to fiber unit...can it be done even better ?
But fiber also puts my interest into improvements in the conversion from ethernet to fiber unit...can it be done even better ?
Don't convert. Find a switch like SoTM that has a fiber transceiver (SFP) port, and go fiber all the way. I use a Meraki today but keeping an eye out for a SoTM.
BlueFox
New member
My X1 sounded great right from the beginning. Better than the S1 it replaced, which also sounded excellent.
I find the Ethernet > Fiber in my system since replacing the speakers and amp. I’ve been using fiber since day 1 with X1 and was the main reason why I opted to get a unit that supports it.
If you are using a FMC, you can try either giving it a LPS or replacing the FMC by a SFP switch.
The cheapest SFP switch range from Trendnet (there are multiple successful reports, but one report of incompatibility), Cisco SFP (not SFP+ ) switches all the way to the higher priced SOtM switch.