Lumin X1 dont see many virtual audiogon systems with this?

I’ve got a T2 (direct to my amps) and will likely upgrade to an X1 (or its successor) eventually.

I don’t find the X1s limitations to be problematic. I stream exclusively. I need a streamer and a DAC. I don’t ever plan to go back to physical media (or go through the tedium of ripping all my old CDs) so I don’t need an external digital-in, source selection or separate boxes.

The only thing that gives me pause is I think both DAC/Streamer tech is rapidly advancing, and will warrant replacement every 5 years or so. Doesn’t make much sense to me to upgrade too fast, there’ll be a better mousetrap every 3 years. Oh, and the T2 sounds fantastic.

Also using an X1 making use of the optical in from an EtherRegen. Had a T2 and there's an improvement as it should be.

Cleaning up the ethernet may have been as much an improvement as anything. Hint hint.

I don’t think DAC/streamer hardware is rapidly advancing unless it’s important to you to have the latest high res format, DSD430928 or whatever. Streamers are computers, using 40 year old ethernet. The processing demands of music streaming are practically zero, and software can be updated to support more services. In terms of sound quality, the "advancements" are marginal, if any. R-2R DACs are more popular now than they were 10 years ago. The vast majority of us are still using S/PDIF, toslink, AES, or USB 2.0 as digital interfaces. It took 30 years to get from CDs to Roon and people still swear CD transports sound better.

Hi-fi follows widely adopted mass market technology and refines it, and mass market audio doesn’t demand technological advancements in sound quality, mostly portability, usability, and design. But as audiophiles, we don’t care much about most of these things, like wireless, as they don’t relate to, or improve, sound quality.

Back to the topic at hand, I had an X1 and can say it absolutely competes at its price point. Compared to dCS Paganini + Network Bridge I had at the same time, it produced a notably larger, deeper soundstage with more inner detail, transparency and clarity, but also very liquid. I now have a Bartok, and tried the Mola Mola Tambaqui, and going by aural memory and the transitive property (compared the Paganini + NWB with all of these), the X1 bested those DACs in those areas as well.

Ultimately, the issue I had with the X1 was tonality and timbre. Instruments and voices just sounded more natural and realistic through the dCS, and this is the most important characteristic to me. dCS had a broader color palette and better sense of texture, despite having less inner detail, and better microdynamics. The Sabre-yness of the X1 still came through at its core despite Lumin’s impressive efforts to refine it. It always felt like it was kind of coated with a sheen of liquidity.

If I didn’t listen to so much acoustic music and stuck to rock, pop, electronica, hip-hop etc, I would still have the X1.

@eugene81, that was an EXCELLENT and well informed post!

Thank you. :-)

I am using the X1 direct to my tube mono block amps. Awesome sounding, the LEEDH volume is excellent. Taking the separate Dac, preamp and all the associated cabling out also helped.

I now have the X1 connected to an 8TB hard drive with all my music on it and stream other music from Qobuz. that is connected to a EtherRegen/After Dark with the fiber cable going to the Lumin.

ozzy