Auralic vs Lumin and other questions
 

Ok, so now that I have been using Roon/Tidal for nearly two years and Qobuz more recently, I do not see myself ever giving up on that streaming model (let's hope the model succeeds long term for the streaming services).

So the time has come to split the system and my trusty Bryston BDP Pi will see use in another system.

As such I will be "upgrading" my streamer.

I actually have no complaints with the Bryston BDP Pi. It has served me very well and will continue to do so. I have compared SACD vs streaming of the same albums on Tidal and Qobuz and do not hear a meaningful or significant enough to my ears difference!

I am a bit skeptical that a new and much more expensive streamer will give me that much more over the Bryston but am willing to roll the dice... :D

As I mentioned, I primarily use Roon and have a lifetime subscription. I will continue using Roon for my main and desktop-late night headphone listening station.

In my main system I can continue using Roon or I can try alternatives.

It has been suggested by a knowledgeable party that Roon is not the best sounding interface and that a Aurender app sounds better. I cannot agree or disagree as I have never experienced Aurender app interface.

Looking to stay at $6k tops for the new streamer as I don't want to be stuck with an expensive and outdated equipment a few years down the road.

The digital gear evolves way too quickly for me to feel comfortable spending more than the mid four figures (or $6k and preferably a bit less!)

So what is the general consensus on the Auralic Aries G2 vs Lumin U1

Both of them fall right into that price range I am considering.

Which way to go? I have no experience with either and probably will not get a chance to audition anytime soon. So diving in blind with this one.

Your input is much appreciated in advance!

Hello Serge,

I'm exactly at the same step; I use Roon and Qobuz; and I used until last month 2 "streamers" : Squeezebox Touch with a separate power from Tedy Pardo and via DAC McIntosh MDA1000, and the other one is a 1500 euros Pioneer N70 AE streamer which has a ESS SABRE 9016 embedded.

I am hesitating going the way of Lumin/Auralic for exactly the same reasons then you.

I wanted to test the 13000 euros dCS Bartok, but I've procrastinated for the moment.

Last month, I bought a 550 euros Bluesound Node 2i which is able to handle the 192 kHz, and which has a very good DAC to my ears since I use it.

I did many tests comparing the 3 streamers using MDA 1000 and Pioneer's DAC, including the Bluesound DAC.

For the moment, I cannot hear a big difference, if any, between these combos.

I am very happy with the Bluesound, itself or via Pioneer's Sabre or via MDA1000.

So I stay tuned and am very interested in your experiences to come.

Jean-Marc, I will do some research and hopefully others will chime in. Let's see what develops. :thumbsup:

The Lumin U1 mini has caught me eye and started flashing "value" signals at me. :D

For less than half the price of the Lumin U1 and Aurelic Aries G2, the Lumin U1 mini offers the following:

Transport-only unit combines the best of LUMIN U1 and LUMIN D2
Identical processor supports DSD256 and 384khz playback
Quad native clock system for precision timing
Low noise shielded switching power supply
5 types of digital audio output including USB
MQA Decoding
Resamping to every supported format up to DSD128
Supports DoP (DSD over PCM) for Optical, Coaxial RCA, Coaxial BNC & AES/EUB SPDIF

The U1 mini still has an attractive enough aluminum chassis and a well shielded switching power supply.

At $2100 vs $6200 difference, I can live with the smaller, less fancy but still good looking chassis of the MINI. :yes:


The $4k saved will buy a new, dedicated ROON core vs my aging computer and there will be money left over for an REL sub I have been thinking about adding to my system. :D





The German Lite magazine awarded the Lumin U1 mini 97 out of 100 points.

https://www.lite-magazin.de/2019/06/...1wCCvQMlN8uT_Q










http://www.luminmusic.com/images/gal...k-inside-1.jpg



http://www.luminmusic.com/images/gal...lver-front.jpg


http://www.luminmusic.com/images/gal...black-rear.jpg

Auralic vs Lumin and other questions
 

I can’t speak to the sound of either specific unit, although I’ve heard several Auralic products over the years and they sounded very good. They both get good reviews. LUMIN started out as a knockoff of Linn’s streamers, who really were the pioneers in high-end streaming along with Logitech. Both Lumin and Auralic use the OpenHome protocol originally developed by Linn and now open source. Both have their own apps, although Linn’s app and many other UPnP apps will also work with them. None of the apps can compare to Roon in terms of usability and features.

Along with my Linn streamers, I also use an Auralic Aries Mini, an UltraRendu, and a Squeezebox Touch. I’ve used Linn’s Kazoo server software, Logitech Media Server, JRiver, MinimServer and Roon. Before Roon, Minimserver was my favorite because of its flexibility and configurability, but as long as streaming was via Ethernet or Wi-Fi from server to streamer, I’ve never heard a meaningful or repeatable difference in sound. The server and networking hardware have had a much bigger impact, especially getting Roon and LMS onto a dedicated device (SonicTransporter).

Bottom line, Id be surprised if, in the same price range, you’d hear a meaningful difference between those units. I’d pick based on the features that best fit your needs.

Things to keep in mind:
Auralic has committed to IOS, so they don’t have an android control app.
Auralic, like Linn, has also put a stake in the ground re MQA. They say it’s because of the DRM issue, but it may also be because they just don’t want to pay the fees to the Stuart cabal, but if you care about MQA, the Lumin is your choice.

I am not advocating you go spend a ton of money on a dCS, but they are designed to be relatively future proof (with in reason)... they are essentially DAC's that run in software... the hardware part that does the actual digital to analogue work is a technology that's been around since the 80's and not changing anytime soon, so the real changes occur in the sample rate, processing and such.... the FPGA based DAC's, of which there are a few are such DACs..

The Bartok is their latest release and will very likely be supported for years to come... MSRP is about $13K without headphone pre-amp and $14K with but I know a dealer that can soften that blow a bit if you decide to go that way.

Serge, looks like you were finding the solution while I was busy typing. I think that makes a lot of sense: if you’re still using an old computer for Roon, it makes a lot of sense to use some of that budget for a dedicated server. There’s the Roon Nucleus of course, but check out the Sonictransporters at smallgreencomputer.com as well. I’m sure there are others, or you can invest in a NAS that can run Roon and others.

My dealer has both brands you mentioned. The sound quality of both is exceptional. My listening experience is with a NAS drive, not Rune or Tidal. I chose the Lumin, seem to like the app better and depending on which Aurender you choose the Lumin may have a better choice of outputs (coax, balanced, usb, optical). The U1mini is about $2k retail.

Tony, thanks. I have been eyeballing some options for a Roon core and even contemplating building my own. So far I have not experienced any difficulties with running the Roon core on my computer while streaming but the USB to my desktop headphone DAC has occasionally hickuped if the CPU was busy performing some background tasks and I was listening to the 192/24 Qobuz files.

That tells me it is time for Roon core to leave the comfort of my PC and find residence in a more dedicated environment. :D