Lumin S1 network player
The Lumin A1 network player has been my go-to net player since I reviewed it in Issue 248. It did everything I wanted a digital component to do. It pulled audio files from external digital sources like my NAS; it could handle a multitude of formats including 32-bit/384kHz PCM/DXD, as well as standard DSD; and it offered Tidal support. Then Lumin dropped by with its flagship, the S1, and all bets were off. Although the S1 is virtually indistinguishable from the A1 on the outside, pop its hood and the damning evidence presents itself in the form of four ESS Sabre 32 Reference DAC chips (16 DACs per channel in parallel). Every part of the system was tuned to complement the new DACs, including a revised clocking system, an enhanced external dual-toroidal power supply, plus dual Lundahl LL7401 output transformers; the S1 also added DSD128 support. Sonically, it has a warmer, weightier, more open, airy sound (and that’s saying a lot next to the A1). Bass was well nigh pitch-perfect and rich in complex textures. Upper harmonics and decay characteristics were more naturally resolved, and perhaps most telling was the even more richly dimensional soundstage. The S1 draws the listener closer to the recorded event than ever before.
