Lumin P-1
 

As there is not a Lumin-specific forum, thought I'd post this here...

...the new Lumin P-1 arrives tomorrow! Woot! :banana:

https://photos.imageevent.com/puma_c...ng-right2.jpeg

https://photos.imageevent.com/puma_c...P1-rear-2.jpeg

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Interesting product. Trying to appeal to many groups? A streaming DAC, HI-FI Hub or 2 channel plus TV system.

I'm sure there are other products out there but the 2channel plus TV system (many HDMIs) is new to me. I see it being considered by those who have a 2-channel system AND a TV BUT do not want to mess around with a AV receiver/processor.

Reviewing?

:lurk:

Nice, congrats [emoji106]

Yup. I think it's much in the vein of the Linn Klimax DSM/3 kinda thing, Doug.

the P1 is here....

https://photos.imageevent.com/puma_c.../Frt-Panel.jpg

And...I will say it was pretty cool to be able to connect it with not one, but TWO less digital cables...no need for an Ethernet nor a USB cable.

Went straight into the optical port via fiber with my SFP optical transceiver.

"Yeah, baby, yeah!" - Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery ;)

:lurk:

So...I plugged in and set up the P1 last night. Set-up, unlike the Linn (which has NO manual...what the hey?), was easy-peasy. As easy as setting up an Aurender, which is about as easy at it gets. :thumbsup:

Got my Qobuz subscription entered and linked into the Lumin app, and also added as a zone to my Roon Core. I'll also install MinimServer per Lumin's recommendations as the best music server to use but that'll no doubt take some time to implement.

It's going to take a number of hours to get this bad boy fully burned in, but even using Roon to get things going, I am already WAY impressed.

The P1 is VERY transparent, with excellent clarity and it's also very, very quiet. Inner detail is outstanding.

More to come, but listening to the P1 is already a pleasure.

Go ahead, twist my arm! :music:

So, I've had the Lumin P1 playing continuously last coupla three days, even when the wonderful Constellation Inpiration integrated is turned off, and I estimate the Lumin P1 has about 60 hours on it at this point. And....it is sounding really wonderful, even at this fairly early point. My guess is it will continue to improve with more hours, and I'll cycle it off for a spell tomorrow to help with forming the caps, but so far...I am very impressed. It has superb transparency, clarity, inner detail, a natural, lovely, tonal palette and excellent rendition of timbre and texture, along with a spacious and wide soundstage (wider than the Linn, for example). And like the excellent Aurender N20 streamer/server, the P1's stereo image has excellent 3-dimensionality and "palpability" to the instrumental and vocal "voices"; there's weight and body to the images and vocals.

Peter Lie of Lumin has been helpful for arranging for me to get the L1 music server as well, so I'll add that in to the mix when it gets here.

I haven't heard all that many "all-in-one" 1-box streamer/DAC/preamp combos, most notably the Linn Klimax DSM/3, and the P1 fully holds its own with the Linn on pretty much every front, and actually presents a wider soundstage. And for 1/4 the price.

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.

https://photos.imageevent.com/puma_c.../Frt-Panel.jpg

https://photos.imageevent.com/puma_c...ront-Panel.jpg

More later, count on it, but in the meantime, I'm goin' back to listening to some pretty wonderful music. :music:

Just an update on my Lumin P1: I now have >400 hours of burn-in on my Lumin P1 (which replaced my First Sound preamp, SOtM network bridge, and Lampizator Baltic 3 DAC), and just as the nice folks at Lumin have said, once you get past 400 hours on the P1, things get considerably better. I honestly didn't understand how that was possible, but sure enough, once I got past 400 hours, what was already a VERY impressive integrated streamer, DAC, and preamp just..."EXPLODED" with a notable increase in overall audio quality: increased resolution, clarity, depth, imaging, soundstage, detail, articulation, dimensionality, presence, and most importantly, unparalled expression of tonality, timbre, and musicality. I continue to be "blown away" by just how good the P1 is...and, from what I've read, it will continue to improve past 500 hours. I know my comments appear to be "waxing poetic", but...goddam! :banana::music:

I had a good audio buddy over a couple weeks ago, before I had 400 hours on the P1, and he is very knowledgeable about music and very discriminating, and I let him listen to tracks of his choice, and he remarked that he heard things in the presentation by the P1 on tracks he knew really, really well that he had literally NEVER heard before. So, he left VERY impressed, as well.

Honestly, I'd rank the P1 in the top 5 or 6 components I have EVER heard, along with products from Technical Brain, DarTZeel, TAD, Esoteric, and Constellation. And while not inexpensive, I think the Lumin P1 provides an exceptional value proposition, on the whole, especially when one considers they're getting a veritable SOTA streamer, DAC, and pre-amp in a single "box". I used to think that in order to obtain maximal perforance, one needed a seperate streamer/network bridge, DAC and preamp. But...the Lumin P1 proved me entirely wrong on that front. It's not only been an illuminating journey, but an informative and educational one, as well. And, I know some guys will read this and still say to themselves, "Yeah, well, that's all well and good, PC, but...I still need a separate streamer/network bridge, DAC, and preamp."

Look, I get it...I used to think that, too. But the P1 proved me to be completely wrong on that point.

And, now my view is: "No...you DON'T."

Bottom-line: when it comes to a streamer, DAC, and preamp, I'm...done. And...VERY happy.

Congratulations! The P1 looks incredible. Did you have a chance to compare the P1 to the T3?

No, i haven't. Once I heard the P1, I knew I was...DONE.

See all this gear?

All the gear inside the red borders (and even more gear you can't see that are cables) is now...GONE. 15 bits o' gear! Gone! :thumbsup:

https://photos.imageevent.com/puma_c...%20Going_1.jpg

All replaced by the single box on the leff middle shelf....

https://photos.imageevent.com/puma_c...ystem-1ARB.jpg

And...it sounds SO GOOD it continues to blow my mind every time I sit down for an evening of listening (the fully segmented Shunyata Altaira system helps, here, too).

:banana:

Just an update: As mentioned above, I'm now fairly past the 400 hour "burn-in" point for the Lumin P1, and it continues to impress with just how good, no amazing, it is. The Lumin P1 is proving to be not only one of the most MUSICAL audio components I've ever heard, as well as one of the most SATISFYING.

Listening to Mozart's Variations in C "Lison Dormait", K264 by the etraordinary Yeol Eum Son on Onyx, and the P1's abilty to render power, dynamism, scale yet subtlety along with shadings of tonality, timbre, spatiality, hall ambience, and "intimacy", just to name a few musical attributes it presents and delivers supremely well, leave me "gobsmacked", as the Brits say.

https://photos.imageevent.com/puma_c...01.58%20PM.jpg

I'll post a more detailed set of impressions over the weekend if I can tear myself away, but...Good Lord.

Hey Stephen - thought I would move this over to the P1 thread (from the System Integration thread) - your earlier reply re: using the P1 as the system preamp is below -

Question: Do you use the P1 volume control ('LEEDH') also for analog inputs? Have you compare to traditional volume control for analog? Linn does similar for their Klimax systems.

"Yep! Via RCA from the EAR 324 output to one of the P1's RCA inputs. In this application, the P1 functions "merely" as a preamp. Annnd.. it's one a helluva preamp. I have an amazing preamp, the fully dual-mono First Sound Presence Deluxe tube preamp with Paramount SE upgrade and dual-mono external power supplies, and...I use the P1 as my pre.

This configuration lets me toggle between digital music content from the Roon music server in the remote server room via optical to the streamer/DAC section or via the phono stage with the Lumin remote (which is really beautiful, BTW, and made in Austria, IIRC.)"


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Yep, I use it for everything, even when I spin LPs. I have the EAR 324 connected to one of the P1's analog inputs, and use the P1 as my preamp. I set the Inspiration's volume to unity gain, and I use the P1's LEEDH volume control to set final output volume. It's the best "volume control" I've ever used. Can't remember specifically if I posted a reference to the LEEDH technology, which was developed in Europe, so I've linked it again here. That's what I really like about Lumin, they don't suffer from "not invented here" syndrome. If there's a best way to implement a technology or functon for their products, they just do it. Lumin just does not f*ck around. And..it shows in the quality and functionality of their products.

https://www.processing-leedh.com

Here is my LUMIN U1 with the XP1 power supply. Please wear headphones.

Listen with headphones

Why can’t I post a video ?

AFAIK, there is no way to post a video "directly" here, unlike a still photograph. If your video is online, e.g. at YouTube, you can copy the YouTube URL and paste it here.