Roon + Lumen U1 and Vitus Audio SCD-025

A

AlterEgo

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I now received my new gear (Vitus Audio SCD-025) and I am thinking about to improve sound quality of my chain.


First of all a description of the starting point:


I am using Roon 1.3. Roon Core is running on a Mac mini Server late 2012 i7 16 GB located in my workroom. For Roon remote I am using an iPad. Via wired network actual I am using a Raspberry PI Digi+ Pro as Roon endpoint located in my living room which is connected with my Vitus Audio SCD-025 DAC via coax.


Mac mini —> Cisco Switch SG 100-16 (workroom) —> Raspberry Pi (living room / out coax) —> Vitus Audio SCD-025 (CD/DAC)


The audio specifications of the VA SCD-025 are listed below:

attachment.php





Following constellations I am thinking about:



  1. Mac mini —> Cisco (work room) —> Aqvox AQ-Switch (living room) —> Lumin U1 (via USB and/or AES/EBU) —> VA SCD-025
  2. Mac mini —> Cisco (work room) —> Aqvox AQ-Switch (living room) —> SOtM sMS-200 —> Intona High Speed USB Isolator —> VA SCD-025
  3. Mac mini —> Cisco (work room) —> Aqvox AQ-Switch (living room) —> SOtM sMS-200 ultra —> Intona High Speed USB Isolator —> VA SCD-025
The sMS-200 will be powered by a UpTone UltraCap LPS-1.


I also will try the additional usage of HQ-Player in the next weeks.


Any thoughts and/or recommendations would be very welcome. Especially concerning the match between the SCD-025 and the Lumin U1 Also recommendations besides the above mentioned constellations 1. - 3. are welcome.

Hopefully I have choosen the right place in the forum for placing my post. :)

PS: Sorry for the large image. I don´t know how to reduce the shown size. And unfortunately I could not correct the typo of Lumin in the title. :-(
 

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I like the Lumin U1 scenario, assuming you can run minimserver on your NAS (meaning, it's a QNap or Synology ideally). If you have a Lumin U1, you won't need the Mac Mini except for ripping. Are you thinking of using the Mac mini for storage?
 
I use the Mac mini for storage (music files and fotos). I have an internal SSD running Roon and iTunes. The music files are stored on an external 6TB HD connected to the mini via Thunderbolt. I would like to use the Mac mini further on to provide my mobiles with music files (via iTunes) and to support the multiroom solution via Roon/Apple airplay (besides the main audio scenario in my living room). The Mac mini is dedicated only for music and storage - nothing else.
 
In your opinion Mike will there be a difference in SQ using Lumin U1 with a Mac Mini or alternative with a NAS?
 
AlterEgo said:
In your opinion Mike will there be a difference in SQ using Lumin U1 with a Mac Mini or alternative with a NAS?
Click to expand...

To be honest, I never tried serving my Lumin U1 with a Mac Mini. I know the U1 is designed to work optimally with a L1 (Lumin NAS) or a Synology/QNAP NAS. Perhaps the folks from Lumin can chime in here.

What I was thinking about with the Lumin U1 with your SCD-025 is that the U1 is so amazingly flexible as it can upsample/downsample literally anything to anything.
 
Thank you Mike. What do you think will be the best input choice for the SCD-025: USB or AES/EBU?
 
Perhaps a silly question: Is it possible to connect the Lumin U1 to the SCD-025 with USB AND AES/EBU and use the input-selector of the SCD-025 to select one of them. Or will this not be good for the sound quality?
 
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AlterEgo said:
Perhaps a silly question: Is it possible to connect the Lumin U1 to the SCD-025 with USB AND AES/EBU and use the input-selector of the SCD-025 to select one of them. Or will this not be good for the sound quality?
Click to expand...

Hmmm....I can't see why not. They Lumin U1 sends signal through ALL the inputs simultaneously. I would try it both ways.
 
@wklie :hi:

Peter do you have experience with a Mac mini serving a Lumen U1? I would by very pleased to receive your assessment. Thanks a lot in advance.:congrats:
 
AlterEgo said:
Perhaps a silly question: Is it possible to connect the Lumin U1 to the SCD-025 with USB AND AES/EBU and use the input-selector of the SCD-025 to select one of them. Or will this not be good for the sound quality?
Click to expand...

Yes, that is possible as Mike said.
 
Thank you, Peter.

If I want to use Roon with the Lumin U1. What is the solution you will recommend. Using the Mac Mini with a Roon core installation or anything else? I suppose with the Lumin L1 it will not be possible to run Roon Core?
 
AlterEgo said:
Peter do you have experience with a Mac mini serving a Lumen U1? I would by very pleased to receive your assessment. Thanks a lot in advance.:congrats:
Click to expand...

If you're a Roon user, and you already have a setup that runs Roon well for your needs, I think Lumin U1 will work with your current setup. However, it's not clear to me from the spec whether SCD-025 will accept DSD over PCM (DoP) over AES or coax. Does Roon show a lossless signal path for DSD playback when you're using Digi+ Pro coax output to SCD-025?
 
AlterEgo said:
If I want to use Roon with the Lumin U1. What is the solution you will recommend. Using the Mac Mini with a Roon core installation or anything else? I suppose with the Lumin L1 it will not be possible to run Roon Core?
Click to expand...

Lumin L1 cannot run Roon Core. So you'll have to use the Mac Mini (or another computer) for Roon.

Lumin L1 can be used for playback control using Lumin app (instead of Roon app), as an easier alternative to NAS + MinimServer.
 
The SCD-025 don´t accept DSD over AES or coax. I have to use the USB-Input of the DAC. Just now I can not test these scenario because the Digi+ Pro has only a coax output. Playing DSD-Files in this configuration --> Roon shows only "High Quality" and not a lossless signal path.

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That is the reason because I asked for connecting the Lumin U1 with USB and AES/EBU with the SCD-025. I would use the USB-input if I like to play DSD-Files or PCM > 192KHz, if the audio files are PCM with max. 192 KHz I would like to use the AES/EBU-input of the DAC.
 
Although I think there's good chance what you said will likely work, if possible, see if you can borrow a Lumin U1 to confirm the playback of Roon DSD128 -> Lumin U1 output DoP128 -> USB input of SCD-025.

I don't know how much hassle it will be for you to switch the input of SCD-025 every time the format changes. In your scenario I guess it's probably most convenient to use Roon to upsample everything to DSD128, then you don't need to switch inputs.
 
Thanks a lot Peter. I already scanned the Lumin website. Unfortunately there is no German dealer on the website. I sent a email to Lumin some days ago and ask whom I should contact to receive a test gear. Up to now I have not received an answer. Let´s see the upcoming week.
 
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