I also don't want to stray too far afield from the OP, but am wondering if anyone's had a chance to do some critical listening on the Innuos Stream 3. We carry other, earlier Innuos products at Alma Music + Audio (Sterling, VA and San Diego, CA), and they've all sounded pretty great, but the Stream 3 no sooner hit the store before someone snapped it up!
Upgrading streamer transport Lumin U2X Vs. Aurender N20
My current streamer is a Lumin U2 mini with a LHY Linear power supply. My Dac is a Weiss 204 with a Modwright Linear Power supply. Seeking to upgrade my dac to a Berkely Alpha Series 3 with their USB audio interface. I am used to the operation of my Lumin U2 mini that works with Qobuz. Is there anybody that has compared the sound of the Aurender N20 to the Lumin U2X . I did call Aurender and they provide phone support. Spoke to a rep who is out of Minnesota who was very knowledgeable and helpful. Lumin provides a Hong Kong number, but not sure the quality of their support. The Lumin retails for $11,000 and the Aurender $13,500.00. Any thoughts would be appreciated. By the way, Aurender provides storage that I don't need.
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With USB, data clocking is handled BY THE DAC, so (IMHO) you will not get better SQ from streaming by spending $$$ on the digital source. The best engineered DACs have isolation of the input, reducing noise etc. and buffer the data stream, which is then clocked into the actual DA processing by the DAC's clock, which, with USB, is independent of any timing errors of the input stream; hence, provided the streamer sends correct data to the DAC the sound is 100% dependent on the DAC (gasp), NOT the streamer. I believe, and it is my experience, that putting one's $$ into the DAC beats spending large sums on the streamer. Others will probably disagree but with my Esoteric K-01XDSE, with a Rubidium external clock (feeding into a very highly resolving LA4, XA25, Atria II setup) there seems to be no dependence on the digital source component. My preferred streaming service is Presto which is supported by the Eversolo T8. Before Presto's streaming was turned on I was downloading from Presto into an Aurender's SSD. I have lost no SQ moving to the T8. Presto does not indulge in any processing of the digital data; other services may perform loudness normalization and even dynamic range compression. |
Everything @nubiann is saying is true regarding Lumin. I was introduced to their products by an audiophile friend of mine. I am currently running a D2, T2 and X1 in different systems. Rock solid performance. Sonically stunning. Plays at the apex level. Updates so fast and often even Roon can't keep up with Lumin at times. Go to Lumin's web page and click on "support", under that click on "firmware release notes". Every update they have ever done is listed and explained. You are already a member of the Lumin family. Sometimes we want to try something else. Your call. Yes Peter Lee (I think that is his name) is not local but as stated they respond so fast. Basically what I see Lumin doing is making the absolute best products they can without all of the "extras". They are cutting edge. They cut to the chase. And they are extremely transparent in all that they do. Take care and happy listening! |
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