Lumin X1 dont see many virtual audiogon systems with this?

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

I use an etherregen, as it facilitates the optical connection.  Beyond that I am not sure what the hell it does.  But I can't figure that out because I'd lose the optical connection ability if I remove it.  Maybe I should go back to coaxial or RCA and avoid optical.  But then wouldn't that introduce lots of noisiness from the outer world.  I really like optical as it probably reduces noise.

I got the X1 because of the dac and its ability to get along with the lumin.  I hate the idea of dealing with all the various separate dacs out there. So many rabbit holes.  And also wanted to avoid all the connectivity challenges and rabbit holes.

It's a fine streamer dac.  There are so many other places worthy of more attention in my system.

Has anyone compared the X1 to the upper Linn DSM units like the Akurate or Klimax?