PS Direct Stream Vs. Lumin X 1 Sound quality difference?

My X1 took well over a month even to start sounding good, and really 2-3 months before becoming exceptional. I have had it now for about 9 months and, seriously, I'm sure it is still improving. I've never before experienced such a dramatic change from running in of any component I have had, and over such a long time. After the first month I still wanted to sell it, and now I cannot imagine how a digital component could sound better.

I tried the isoacoustic footers with my X1 and I also found that it made the sound worse - sucked out the bass and lower midrange and made it sound thin. I just leave it with the stock footers.

I also prefer the ethernet input to the fibre optic cable, which I find a little artificial sounding. I use an Uptone etherRegen with a DH Labs ethernet cable which I found did make an improvement. And I also prefer native file resolution - no upsampling.

Wow! It keeps improving past 9 months! 
Thanks for that info.

ozzy 

Charlie Watts on Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out- "Sympathy For Devil" is just insane!!! Love this version. His drumming, especially after Mick stops singing is sublime...

My hats off to all that contributed to this great thread.

I am contemplating a couple of upgrade options:

1) Lumin X1 stand-alone streamer/DAC 

2) Lumin U1 streamer and an Audio Mirror Trubadour SE III tube DAC.

I also prefer the ethernet input to the fibre optic cable, which I find a little artificial sounding. I use an Uptone etherRegen with a DH Labs ethernet cable which I found did make an improvement. And I also prefer native file resolution - no upsampling

I have a similar setup, I have an ER before the X1 too.
What kind of SFP’s did you try?

First I had Planet single mode SFP modules in them and that was really worse than the Ethernet from the B-side of the ER. After that I tried StarTech multi mode SFP’s recommended by Peter Lie from Lumin, and that sounds even better than the LAN from the ER...it’s hard to believe but these modules really sound different.
BTW, it is very promising that it is still improving after 9 month, mine is about 1 month old now.

Note sure what the SFPs were - whatever I could find at my local computer store. I might have to try different SFPs, though at the moment I'm very happy with the X1 and don't really want to mess with it.
I have generally found that ESS based DACs take a long time to run in - but usually weeks not months! I suspect it is the output transformer which is the major difference with the X1 and which takes a long time to burn in.

While I have owned the X1 I have also compared it periodically to my Mytek Manhattan II (also a great DAC). At first - during the first month - I preferred the Mytek. The X1 sounded rather two dimensional and muddled, with rolled off highs. Over time the highs extended, the bass extended and tightened, and the sound stage moved back further and further. The delta with the Mytek became greater and greater. Recently I did the comparison again and the X1 has moved further ahead, with the kind of holographic presentation and sense of realism and presence that it barely hinted at during the first month or two.