Long, long time ago, when a new player arrived at the market and the first file player, or streamer, hit the stores bearing the Lumin logo, I was, similar to most streamer lovers, very intrigued, and once I heard it, I was delighted. But before I reached the decision to make a purchase, in the portfolio of the Asian manufacturer new models appeared, like mushrooms after a heavy rainfall, seemingly very similar to each other. This “fertility harvest” confused me a bit, and for as far as I know, I was not the only confused person in the world, as many people thought, there were too many products offered. It is the old embarrassment of riches theme, fertile soil for many kinds of nervousness. If you do not believe me, then please look at this: currently in the Lumin catalog we find 5 (yes, five) file players (X1, S1, A1, T1 and D2 – the successor to D1) and since recently two transports (U1 and U1 Mini), a network amplifier (M1), a power amplifier (AMP) and a file server (L1). Enough? I think absolutely more than enough. From this pool of products we chose the newest one, the U1 Mini, which was supplied to us for a longer test due to kindness of the Wroclaw based distributor, Moje Audio.
The Lumin U1 Mini looks exactly same as the, reviewed earlier, D1 and currently the D2, and similar to the D2 the power supply was integrated inside, so you do not need to search for a place for the ugly external PSU and additionally you can utilize a better power cord. And here is some information for all people, who were a bit worried with the “hood” extending to the back of the unit – the three pin IEC socket accepts plugs like the Furutech FI-28R without problems, so you should be able to use any similar competition too. As I started the description from the back end, let us continue there, as even with a big cable plugged in, we still do have enough space to reach the power switch, what is not always the standard. Besides the section devoted to power we have a variety of digital interfaces encompassing AES/EBU, BNC, coaxial, TOSLINK optical and two USB. There is also an Ethernet port and a grounding bolt.
The fascia is typical for a front end – a thick slab of brushed aluminum with a centrally placed black-green display and a modest logo under it. The chassis is made from two sheet profiles placed atop of each other, with the top one extending to the back creating the mentioned hood. It cannot be denied, that the aluminum colored version looks very modest compared to its black brethren, so it is really worth to confront both versions before making the purchase.
The inside of the transport is quite completely filled with a blue PCB with a processor identical to the older brother (U1) capable of handling DSD256 and PCM signals up to 384kHz and a shielded power module. In short a very aesthetic, tidy and complete (at least in optical terms), especially when compared to the very “sparsely” used space inside the recently tested Auralic Aries G1. But the Aries ties with the quality of its chassis, which Lumin can only envy. If you want to track things further, I encourage you to visit the pages of the respective manufacturers, who have posted pictures allowing for more in-depth comparisons.
Regarding functional and handling issues – its is not only good, as it was before, but better, much better. Since last February, when we tested the U1, the R&D department of Pixel Magic Systems Ltd. finally got wiser and stopped ignoring the users of Android devices and presented a worked out app allowing it to have full Tidal support. Also Master pieces, coded in MQA, are fully supported, what is very nicely marked and after “unpacking”, and upsampling if needed, it is being presented to the external DACs in a form acceptable by all of them. If you are wondering why I am talking so much about this, quite simple, thing, then please compare the prices of tablets and phones from both major players on that market, and think about the legitimacy of buying something with the half-eaten apple logo at 1/5 of the price of the tested streamer, just to use it as a remote…
As usual with new products, the tested unit arrived freshly from customs, in a completely virgin state (as if this state could not be complete), wrapped in foil, sealed and having a factory smell. Despite the time (it was almost midnight), and not following my voice of reason, and my annoyed Wife, instead of waiting till morning, I unpacked the transport, plugged it into my system, playing already for a few hours, and just shrugged. The U1 Mini played, but having in mind the very euphoric tales of the distributor as well as some initial descriptions in the Internet, somewhere in my subconscious I counted on … I do not really know what, but at least to be dazzled. Yet it was OK, but just OK, somehow conservative and without a clear character.
From a sense of duty, not from curiosity, I listened for maybe a half an hour more and without too many emotions went to sleep. But I left the Lumin switched on and with an active internet radio. And that was a very good idea, as after a dozen hours of warming up, the miniaturized U1 showed a much nicer face. First of all, finally we could talk about the proprietary – known from other models – analog maturity, and secondly instead of the first three planes, we got a true depth of scene. To be able to assess it I did not need to reach for Michel Godard and his brilliant “Monteverdi – A Trace of Grace”, as even the seemingly lazy, ideal for a sunny Saturday morning, album “Turn Up The Quiet” Diana Krall was able to pin me to my listening chair. Of course I also listened to Godard, because a day without him is a day lost, but let us concentrate on jazz-like chillout. In big approximation the mentioned album is based on sensual vocals of Krall, gold shining piano, a smudge of contrabass and whisk stricken cymbals rustling from time to time. The orchestra accompanying this trio is mostly on a far, unified and negligible plane. Yet the smallest Lumin was able to show its full potential, while leaving it at a suitable distance from the listener, selectively picking individual sections and due to that construct a phenomenal depth of the presented spectacle. And this was only the beginning, as each and every day I observed how step by step, the reproduced spectrum increased. The treble as well as the bass moved further and further. This is the reason, that every two-three days I returned to the same material and verified the eventual changes. And to my surprise, during the first week such changes were there, so the “Khmer” Nils Petter Molvær was going deeper, to the next hellish depths, as well as Klezmer Brass Allstars – “Brotherhood Of Brass” went up, to higher levels of brass clatter. What is important, the whole remained coherent and proportional, so there were absolutely no distortions like in a mirror cabinet in a circus.
Because the manufacturer, in its company materials, as well as on the web pages, claims, that the Mini differs from the full U1 only by … size and price, so I decided to look into my archives and try to remember that sound, confronting my memories with the present day. At that time, in a system slightly different to what I have today, I perceived the U1 as slightly darkened, with a tad lower center of gravity, what I would really not say about the U1 Mini. Additionally the session with “Achtung Baby (Deluxe Edition)” U2 showed, that the small unit is not as forgiving as its bigger brother, and when Larry managed to hit the cymbals strongly, I was wondering, how, with all the money they have, he can play using cymbals made from aluminum foil and record them with a microphone found in rubbish. Maybe something was related to the cabling I used during the test, the recently reviewed set of Audiomica (Anort & Pebble Consequence) as well as the Fidata set, waiting for its turn (HFU2 and HFLC), which have much more to offer in terms of resolution and selectiveness than my own Wireworld Starlight or Goldenote Firenze Silver. It was especially clear on “In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral” Branford Marsalis, where the multithreaded reverberation of the sacral building was a full fledged element of the spectacle, and not only a background for the soloist.
Fortunately this attention to detail and nuances did not lead to almost clinical aseptic, but was more of an addition, a bonus to the juiciness and smoothness of the sound; although it was enough to reach for rough and dark Scandinavian sounds like “Runaljod – Ragnarok” Warduna, to feel on your own skin, that the naked truth is not always beautiful with the beauty of playmates, but can also enchant with the smell of salt, shapes lashed with vehement wind and scars gotten during a mad run through the forest, where demons are hiding in the dark.
It could seem, that Pixel Magic Systems Ltd, including in its, already very rich, offering, the transport U1 Mini, makes another step towards, maybe not selling itself cheap, but at least complicating the situation for its potential customers. Yet a closer contact with the tested small unit brings very surprising results. First of all, in a smaller, and thus more modest and cheaper chassis at least 99.9% of the sound of the bigger unit was enclosed. Secondly, logistics was made simpler, as the external PSU was eliminated, and thirdly the U1 Mini is an almost ideal solution for all DAC users from a very broad price spectrum, as the tested device is fairing greatly surrounded by units of its own level, as well as many much more expensive ones, if you remember about using appropriate cabling, allowing it to show its full potential. So if you own a DAC, which fits your taste ideally, and an appropriately refined system, and would not like to lose anything from its class, obviously, while moving to the sea of files and streaming, I would warmly recommend to start your search from this modest transport.
Marcin Olszewski
System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Ayon CD-35 (Preamp + Signature)
– Network player: laptop Lenovo Z70-80 i7/16GB RAM/240GB SSD + JRiver Media Center 22 + TIDAL HiFi + JPLAY; Auralic ARIES G1
– All’in’One: Naim Uniti Nova
– Digital sources selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Turntable: Kuzma Stabi S + Kuzma Stogi + Shelter 201
– Phonostage: Tellurium Q Iridium MM/MC Phono Pre Amp
– Power amplifier: Bryston 4B³
– Loudspeakers: Gauder Akustik Arcona 80 + spike extenders
– IC RCA: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond
– IC XLR: LessLoss Anchorwave; Organic Audio; Amare Musica
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB cables: Wireworld Starlight; Goldenote Firenze Silver; Audiomica Laboratory Pebble Consequence USB; Fidata HFU2
– Speaker cables: Organic Audio; Signal Projects Hydra
– Power cables: Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R; Organic Audio Power; Acoustic Zen Gargantua II; Furutech Nanoflux Power NCF
– Power distribution board: Furutech e-TP60ER + Furutech FP-3TS762 / Fi-50 NCF(R) /FI-50M NCF(R)
– Wall power socket: Furutech FT-SWS(R)
– Anti-vibration platform: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Slim Platform
– Ethernet cables: Neyton CAT7+; Audiomica Laboratory Anort Consequence; Fidata HFLC
– Table: Rogoz Audio 4SM3
– Accessories: Sevenrods Dust-caps; Furutech CF-080 Damping Ring; Albat Revolution Loudspeaker Chip
Distributor: Moje Audio
Price: 9 590 PLN
Technical details:
Supported Audio File Formats:
– Lossless: DSF (DSD), DIFF (DSD), DoP (DSD); PCM : FLAC, Apple Lossless (ALAC), WAV, AIFF; Compressed (lossy): MP3, AAC; MQA
Supported frequencies: DSD do DSD256 11.2 MHz, 1-bit; PCM do 384 kHz / 16–32-bit
Digital outout stage:
USB: DSD256 – 11.2MHz, 1-bit; PCM 44.1–384 kHz / 16–24-bit
Optical, Coaxial RCA, Coaxial BNC, AES/EBU: DSD (DoP, DSD over PCM) 2.8MHz, 1-bit; PCM 44.1kHz–192kHz, 16–24-bit
Streaming Protocols: UPnP AV, Roon Ready, Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay, Gapless Playback, On-Device Playlist
Inputs: Ethernet RJ45 1000Base-T Gigabit, USB – flash drive, USB HDD (FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, EXT2/3)
Dimensions (WxDxH): 300 x 244 x 60 mm
Weight: 3 kg