Lumin digs the dial – and that’s a good thing. The latest addition to the digital forge allows you to do things the classic way. This makes streaming even more fun.
Anyone who buys a Lumin for its looks has my full understanding. The design with the dynamically curved and aerodynamically inclined front is superb. For good reason, the streaming specialist from Hong Kong hasn’t changed a thing about it to this day. Apart from the introduction of a lighter housing for the more affordable models – although the core elements of the brand look have not been touched: a covered connection panel for a clean look and a front without controls. A Lumin is operated via app. Period.
Well, those days are over now. Meet the Lumin P1 Mini. With this new model, Lumin is rethinking the idea of a full-featured digital control center. The Mini is the company’s first preamplifier/DAC/streamer to be given physical controls by the design team. To the left of the familiar monochrome display is now a source selector switch, to the right a volume control. In between, there is a push-button on/off switch and an IR sensor. The remote control – an official IR transmitter with comprehensive functionality, not an alibi solution in the omnipresent Apple design – is within easy reach in the packaging. I am very impressed. Talk about winning the customer over with haptic charm!
The controls grab me right away. They were actually long overdue, as Lumin has been making a real effort with the adjustable analog output for a long time. One of the most sophisticated digital volume controls is at work here, also found in devices from the top brands Metronome and Soulution: the lossless algorithm from Leedh-Processing. Of course, nothing changes technically when the level is controlled in the app by swiping. But the rotary encoder makes an exclamation mark and helps the sophisticated technology get the attention it deserves: “Look, I’m a fully integrated digital source! All I need is a power amplifier or a pair of active loudspeakers!
Like its big brother, the Lumin P1 without the Mini, the new model is an extended version of the company’s combined streamer/DAC with an analog input and an impressive number of digital interfaces. Although the Mini is only half the price of the P1, it is hardly reduced in terms of features. It lacks the balanced analog input and a handful of HDMI inputs. The optical network interface has been retained, as has the linear power supply (which has been slimmed down to one toroidal transformer instead of two). In terms of audio, it corresponds to the mid-range network player called T3. However, it differs from this in terms of the clock generators. The P1 Mini uses two large-volume Crystek oscillators, each oscillating at different frequencies. Together with a controller stored in an FPGA component, they form a module that is very similar to the clock generator in the top-of-the-range Lumin X1. The ES9028Pro D/A converters from ESS Sabre, which operate as a pair in mono mode, convert all PCM and DSD formats. The MQA codec is also recognized and fully “unfolded”. The balanced output stage is equipped with ICs; the fine Lundahl transformers from the P1 would have broken the bank.
I know Lumin devices to be all-rounders, and the P1 Mini is no exception. Basically, there’s nothing it can’t do. Only operators of extensive analog equipment parks will not be able to get by with what is on offer. The phono preamp finds its connection via the analog input, the TV connects to the HDMI interface. The old CD player is given a makeover via S/PDIF coaxial or optical. Bluetooth is not on board, but AirPlay 2 is, which should close the functional gap in most cases. WiFi is not integrated, but the network connection can be made both electrically via an RJ45 socket and optically via a Gigabit SFP connection. Both network interfaces work in parallel. It is therefore fair to say that the P1 Mini has an integrated switch. If I were equipped accordingly, I would access the network via galvanically isolated SFP and connect my music server directly via an Ethernet cable. Yes, that would be technically really elegant.
The Lumin app is a powerful tool. This is where the complete configuration of the device, which offers countless options, takes place. The app also enables connection to the most popular streaming services and access to your home music library. The P1 Mini can access Tidal and Spotify directly via Connect protocols. Like all Lumin streamers, this one is also Roon-certified. Experienced users can make use of a special treat: an officially undocumented operating mode called “Roon Only”. Curious users can find everything they need to know about this in a thread on the Roon forum, which is well maintained by Lumin. Unfortunately, this exciting feature, which deactivates everything in the streamer that is not directly related to the execution of Roon, will not be developed further.
Now I’ll praise the new feel one last time: Lumin doesn’t call the P1 Mini a “preamp” (despite the P in the name), but a “hub”. Think something along the lines of “control center”. The rotary encoders make the complex P1 Mini control center much more intuitive to use. According to Lumin’s mastermind Angus Leung, he wanted to make the P1 Mini “less intimidating”, i.e. more accessible for all those who do not see themselves as digital natives and have reservations about software. And he succeeded.
During the burn-in phase, I utilize the full set of the P1 Minis capabilities: It streams, it converts and it drives my Rowland power amplifier directly via an XLR-balanced connection. The result is impressive. The sound is extremely fine and highly resolving. This is followed by its use as a streaming DAC as well as a source for my Aqua La Voce S3 D/A converter. Gradually, an overall picture emerges. And that is, as you would expect, extremely pleasing.
The Lumin P1 Mini is a source that takes things very seriously. Could it be due to the way the good Sabre DACs are conducted by the elaborate clock module? One would almost like to think so, because the sound that emerges here breathes air and life. And neither can be achieved without accuracy in the conversion process. After all, what is the impression of authenticity if not the perfect placement of the finest transient noises?
I will mention two recordings here as examples. Anner Bylsma was a great, perhaps the greatest baroque cellist of the 20th century. Fortunately, Wolf Erichson was responsible as producer for a considerable number of his recordings. The realism of his productions, especially of baroque orchestras and small classical ensembles in acoustically perfectly matched rooms, is unsurpassed. I hear Bylsma with cello concertos by Luigi Boccherini, accompanied by the Tafelmusik orchestra under Jeanne Lamon. The musicians enter and the strings shimmer so openly and brightly, the room vibrates so airily that you can’t help but sit spellbound and become intoxicated by the music and sound – even if Bylsma doesn’t achieve intonational perfection here, the atmosphere is full of tension and the production, which is not edited to death, is simply a stunner. For the Lumin P1 Mini, it’s a breeze to break up the overtone fireworks and separate the soloist from the orchestra, integrating both in turn into the wide-open space.
Another genre: jazz. To be precise: Jazz At The Pawnshop. A classic. I’m playing Volume 2, and the first track “Over The Rainbow” begins with 36 seconds of live atmosphere in the very Stockholm jazz bar that was previously a pawnshop and then served as the recording venue for a legendary jazz session. That is: real. Quite simply real. A quick check with my Aqua DAC on the Lumin’s USB digital output – yes, it’s warmer, sweeter, but if you’re honest, it’s actually very slightly blurred, unpolished. The Lumin puts the saxophone in the middle in an incredibly realistic way, makes the vibraphone sparkle and the bass creak. Quite outstanding. I play a bit with the Lumin app. To be precise: with the options offered to convert the incoming digital signal into any PCM or DSD sampling rate. You need to try this out! Tip: The highest number does not necessarily sound the best. My favorites are the medium DSD formats, which produce a nice flow.
What a bargain: Lumin’s smart all-in-one package combines streaming, a DAC with all the bells and whistles and a more than usable preamp in an extremely slim housing.
And what’s even better: with separate components, you would have to budget considerably more to even come close to the P1 Mini. Perfect!
Accompanying Equipment
Turntable: bauer audio dps 3 | Tonearm: bauer audio Tonarm | Cartridge: Lyra Kleos | Phono preamplifier: Hagerman Trumpet Wood | Step-up transformer: Consolidated Audio Silver/Nano | CD player: Electrocompaniet EMC 1 UP | Music server: Innuos Zenith Mk III | D/A converter: Aqua La Voce S3 | Switch: Silent Angel Bonn N8 | Preamplifier: Silvercore linestage two | Power amplifier: Rowland Model 2 | Speakers: Ayon Seagull/c, Diptyque DP 140 Mk II | Power conditioner: AudioQuest Niagara 3000 | Cables: Fadel Art, Phonosophie, AudioQuest, Solidcore | Accessories: Creaktiv racks, granite bases
Preamplifier/DAC/Streamer Lumin P1 Mini
Concept: streaming DAC with digitally variable output | Analog inputs: RCA | Digital inputs: S/PDIF (RCA), optical, USB, HDMI | Analog outputs: RCA (unbalanced), XLR (balanced) | Digital outputs: S/PDIF (BNC), HDMI (ARC) | Network: LAN (RJ45), fiber network (SFP optical) | Formats: PCM up to 24/192 (AES, coaxial, optical), 32/384 (USB), DSD512 | HDMI interface: 2.0, loops 4K picture, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision and DTS passthrough | Special features: Femto Clock, Lumin app (Android/iOS) provides access to the setup and controls the (multi-room) streaming functions, compatible with MQA, Roon, Spotify (incl. Connect), Tidal (incl. Connect), Qobuz, AirPlay, TuneIn radio | Finish: aluminum black or silver | Dimensions (W/H/D): 40/8/32 cm | Weight: 7 kg | Warranty period: 2 years (3 years with registration) | Price: around €4990
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