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LUMIN D2 - The New Kid on the block to beat


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LUMIN-D2-black-inside-2.jpg

 

Encapsulated transformers, good (assuming it's not hiding a SMPS in there).

 

Appears to be sharing one power source, bad.

 

Clean signal paths, good.

 

Can't see the oscillator so it's probably some tiny budget junk.

 

Balanced topology, good.

 

Wolfson 8741s, good.

 

Output stage seems kind of anemic, but it's a real output stage so overall good.

 

Reasonably priced ($2,200), good.

 

MQA decoding, good.  

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11 minutes ago, GUTB said:

LUMIN-D2-black-inside-2.jpg

 

Encapsulated transformers, good (assuming it's not hiding a SMPS in there).

 

Appears to be sharing one power source, bad.

 

Clean signal paths, good.

 

Can't see the oscillator so it's probably some tiny budget junk.

 

Balanced topology, good.

 

Wolfson 8741s, good.

 

Output stage seems kind of anemic, but it's a real output stage so overall good.

 

Reasonably priced ($2,200), good.

 

MQA decoding, good.  

have you ever heard a Lumin ?

The Truth Is Out There

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4 hours ago, beerandmusic said:

like i always say...different strokes for different folks.......i would prefer sexy and saxy

 

maxresdefault.jpg

But that is suxy.

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I contacted LUMIN support and asked them what kind of clock they use and if they have galvanic isolation...and this is what they responded....

 

Does this mean anything to anyone...it's gobley-gook to me....

 

 

They are not a consumer electronics company.  They are a commercial grade broadcast reception company in both audio and video.

 

From on line sources: 

 

  1. To support 44.1–384kHz PCM/DXD and DSD, the Lumin runs four separate ultra-low phase-noise clock crystal oscillators from Japanese maker Nihon Dempa Kogyo. One NZ2520S Series clock is for 44.1/88.2kHz, one for 48/96kHz, one for 176.4/352.8kHz/2.8MHz and one for 192/384kHz.

 

  1. Since LUMIN plays PCM audio files from 44.1khz to 384khz and DSD files, LUMIN uses 4 units of NZ2520S Series Clock Oscillator. 1 for low frequency 44.1khz and multiples, 1 for low frequency 48khz and multiples, 1 for high frequency 44.1khz multiples, and 1 for high frequency 48khz multiples.  The NZ2520S Series Clock Oscillator is used due to their ultra-low phase noise property. Together with a circuit board designed specifically for audio application, we believe the combination gives the best audio performance.

 

Lumin power supplies are so quiet (broadcast grade), and their board designs and architecture are “closed end systems,” therefore eliminating the need to use any type noise suppression.  That would defiantly add noise to the system, not reduce it.  If you want clarity, you do it in proper design  and  systems engineering, not through filters or suppression.   The M1 and D1 are completely different architectures for different application use.   The M1 uses a TI architecture for D/A conversion and the D1 uses Wolfson. 

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The power supply is internal now, thus avoids all the complicated questions and compliance for external power supplies, would have driven Lumin nuts fielding the questions. Heh, it's a switch-mode, SPS (switching power supply). To enclose the PSU in a box, certainly stops the crud getting out and really, there's not much load and therefore power needed for an all in one like the D2.

 

DSD128 over Ethernet is very welcome. Suits me fine, since I don't have any music files higher than this.

 

Impressive enclosure, and welcome in black.

 

At least 4 stars even without listening :)

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51 minutes ago, beerandmusic said:

I contacted LUMIN support and asked them what kind of clock they use and if they have galvanic isolation...and this is what they responded....

 

Does this mean anything to anyone...it's gobley-gook to me....

 

 

They are not a consumer electronics company.  They are a commercial grade broadcast reception company in both audio and video.

 

From on line sources: 

 

  1. To support 44.1–384kHz PCM/DXD and DSD, the Lumin runs four separate ultra-low phase-noise clock crystal oscillators from Japanese maker Nihon Dempa Kogyo. One NZ2520S Series clock is for 44.1/88.2kHz, one for 48/96kHz, one for 176.4/352.8kHz/2.8MHz and one for 192/384kHz.

 

  1. Since LUMIN plays PCM audio files from 44.1khz to 384khz and DSD files, LUMIN uses 4 units of NZ2520S Series Clock Oscillator. 1 for low frequency 44.1khz and multiples, 1 for low frequency 48khz and multiples, 1 for high frequency 44.1khz multiples, and 1 for high frequency 48khz multiples.  The NZ2520S Series Clock Oscillator is used due to their ultra-low phase noise property. Together with a circuit board designed specifically for audio application, we believe the combination gives the best audio performance.

 

Lumin power supplies are so quiet (broadcast grade), and their board designs and architecture are “closed end systems,” therefore eliminating the need to use any type noise suppression.  That would defiantly add noise to the system, not reduce it.  If you want clarity, you do it in proper design  and  systems engineering, not through filters or suppression.   The M1 and D1 are completely different architectures for different application use.   The M1 uses a TI architecture for D/A conversion and the D1 uses Wolfson. 

These aren't OXCO types, and given the quantities Lumin use the price would be well into the 5 figures. Doesn't mean to say the SQ is lousy, would be far from it. 

 

On the question of galvanic isolation, the main input here is over Ethernet, so long as you don't use shielded Ethernet cables, it's all good.

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1 hour ago, beerandmusic said:

I contacted LUMIN support and asked them what kind of clock they use and if they have galvanic isolation...and this is what they responded....

 

Does this mean anything to anyone...it's gobley-gook to me....

 

 

They are not a consumer electronics company.  They are a commercial grade broadcast reception company in both audio and video.

 

From on line sources: 

 

  1. To support 44.1–384kHz PCM/DXD and DSD, the Lumin runs four separate ultra-low phase-noise clock crystal oscillators from Japanese maker Nihon Dempa Kogyo. One NZ2520S Series clock is for 44.1/88.2kHz, one for 48/96kHz, one for 176.4/352.8kHz/2.8MHz and one for 192/384kHz.

 

  1. Since LUMIN plays PCM audio files from 44.1khz to 384khz and DSD files, LUMIN uses 4 units of NZ2520S Series Clock Oscillator. 1 for low frequency 44.1khz and multiples, 1 for low frequency 48khz and multiples, 1 for high frequency 44.1khz multiples, and 1 for high frequency 48khz multiples.  The NZ2520S Series Clock Oscillator is used due to their ultra-low phase noise property. Together with a circuit board designed specifically for audio application, we believe the combination gives the best audio performance.

 

Lumin power supplies are so quiet (broadcast grade), and their board designs and architecture are “closed end systems,” therefore eliminating the need to use any type noise suppression.  That would defiantly add noise to the system, not reduce it.  If you want clarity, you do it in proper design  and  systems engineering, not through filters or suppression.   The M1 and D1 are completely different architectures for different application use.   The M1 uses a TI architecture for D/A conversion and the D1 uses Wolfson. 

 

Okay, so these appear to be teensy-tiny baby simple oscillators with no form of accuracy/stability control (VC, TC, OC, etc). I don’t disbelieve them when they say that they’re low phase noise and that’s good....but the real reason why they chose them was because they appear to cost $1 a piece lol. A Crystek 957 runs $25. A Vectron OCXO can run over $100.

 

They are using two clocks, one for each rate family (44.1 and 48 kHz). That’s the proper way to do it, too bad they cheaped out monster-style on the silicon.

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1 hour ago, One and a half said:

The power supply is internal now, thus avoids all the complicated questions and compliance for external power supplies, would have driven Lumin nuts fielding the questions. Heh, it's a switch-mode, SPS (switching power supply). To enclose the PSU in a box, certainly stops the crud getting out and really, there's not much load and therefore power needed for an all in one like the D2.

 

DSD128 over Ethernet is very welcome. Suits me fine, since I don't have any music files higher than this.

 

Impressive enclosure, and welcome in black.

 

At least 4 stars even without listening :)

 

SMPS....and into the trash it goes. Seriously they did a lot right from what I can tell, would it have murdered them to put a linear power supply in there?

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7 hours ago, GUTB said:

SMPS....and into the trash it goes.

Not all SMPS are cheap and bad.  My $10K Aeris DAC comes with an outboard SMPS.  The only available upgrade is an $8K ultracapacitor PS.  Oh, it also has a VCXO which you said was bad.  I guess you think Jeff Rowland doesn't know how to make good design decisions.  I think implementation is important.

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i7-6700K/Windows 10  --> EVGA Nu Audio Card --> Focal CMS50's 

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9 hours ago, GUTB said:

 

SMPS....and into the trash it goes. Seriously they did a lot right from what I can tell, would it have murdered them to put a linear power supply in there?

 

SMPS don't seem to have done Chord much harm, as Rob Watts elaborates here

 

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-dave.766517/page-270

 

and please don't bother making any comments unless you can back it up with your own listening experience, with DAVE for example...

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Support also stated this about their ps ....for whatever it is worth....

 

Lumin power supplies are so quiet (broadcast grade), and their board designs and architecture are “closed end systems,” therefore eliminating the need to use any type noise suppression.  That would defiantly add noise to the system, not reduce it.  If you want clarity, you do it in proper design  and  systems engineering, not through filters or suppression

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2 hours ago, GUTB said:

BTW I have no idea what a “closed system” is in relation to power supplies. 

Perhaps that no noise escapes or is let in as the most optimistic reply, reality of course can be radically different.

 

The Lumin is remarkably well sealed physically , so emitted noise shouldn’t leak, so that only leaves conducted noise to worry about. If there are HDD directly attached, there’s another issue altogether.

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On 11/18/2017 at 1:30 AM, GUTB said:

 

SMPS....and into the trash it goes. Seriously they did a lot right from what I can tell, would it have murdered them to put a linear power supply in there?

LOL.

Where is your trash can located?

 

"The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought", Sir Thomas Beecham. 

 

 

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FWIW...

I had a long conversation with a knowledgeable dealer yesterday (Ciamara - as a sponsor of CA, I will mention his name) about Lumin and the Lumin product line.

 

The T1, A1 and U1 were all included in the conversation as well as the D2.

 

Do you know which product was recommended? The D2.

 

The only mention of $$ was when I said that the S1 was out of my price range. I think that speaks volumes for the D2.

 

The D2 is definitely on my short list for an upgrade to my digital kit.

 

 

 

"The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought", Sir Thomas Beecham. 

 

 

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2 minutes ago, randyhat said:

I wonder if the D1 with an aftermarket external PS (like the SBooster) sounds better than the D2 with it's internal PS?

The D2 has a processor that can cope with DSD128, so it will easily work with PCM at least 'a little better', less overhead less noise doctrine. At the lower end of the model line up, the D2 has to work, since it pays the bills. 

I daresay the other Lumin models will also be revamped, eg the T1 to decode DSD128 to fill the gap.

 

For the size of the microrendu and others like it that can handle DSD512, it seems the Lumin is lagging in the processor front, so this is dependant on the layout and software that runs the device. So maybe a renderer and a conventional DAC would win over the Lumin keeping in mind, there's a lot more hardware to support the outboard renderers and the spaghetti that goes with it, which a lot of people will have resistance to. 

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