Just looked at Innuos zenith. I would not buy this under designed, under specified server. Other than a linear PSU it doesn't offer much. Lampizator offere much better specs for same money.
Servers at 3 price points.
- Thread starter spiritofmusic
- Start date
SK £7600 inc SSD
Ze £5000 inc SSD
I'm sure the SK is better if the budget is there but don't say 'same money'
I think point is I would stay at 1ish k till I figure out which to buy in the 5ish k region - It could be Ze, SK, Aurender N10 used, Antipodes, Melco. Except for antipodes most can be demmed quite easily. At the budget Marc is considering (which is same as mine, for the streamer) - I just wouldn't put out that outlay till I know.
And yes, I do agree that Lumin is possibly the best match for his application.
And yes, I do agree that Lumin is possibly the best match for his application.
Ked, agree completely, the difference between servers in the lower to mid end is much less obvious a return usually than in the quality of dac or even supporting ancillaries like pc and signal cables and isolation. Digital is super sensitive to resonance and an area of maximum return on investment.
Best bang for buck IMO is in being able to add in renderers like the sotm ultra in between the server and the dac to significantly upscale in terms of musical magic.
Best bang for buck IMO is in being able to add in renderers like the sotm ultra in between the server and the dac to significantly upscale in terms of musical magic.
Ok guys, I need a pitch for the Lumin S1.
Yes, I like its one box simplicity, saving money on unnecessary USB cbl and second pwr cord, and second isoln platform.
But I'm not seeing any Roon Ready capability, and this I really believe is crucial for one of my red lines, ability to curate a library and laterally search for music.
A big part, in fact maybe the most critical part of me getting into streaming, is to find new music/explore new and current genres, and Roon really needed for this.
I've already dismissed Aurender due to lack of Roon, how about Lumin and Roon?
Yes, I like its one box simplicity, saving money on unnecessary USB cbl and second pwr cord, and second isoln platform.
But I'm not seeing any Roon Ready capability, and this I really believe is crucial for one of my red lines, ability to curate a library and laterally search for music.
A big part, in fact maybe the most critical part of me getting into streaming, is to find new music/explore new and current genres, and Roon really needed for this.
I've already dismissed Aurender due to lack of Roon, how about Lumin and Roon?
6900 Euro. £5000 = 5580 euro. Difference of 1420 euro... Not exactly the same but close.
Lumin S1s big thing is the DACs are built-in. I thought you don't need that...and yes it does Roon. The U1 makes more sense if you have already a "chosen" DAC. However, these devices stream only it seems (you can connect external HD or USB stick though).
Ok, I've been a bit scattershot w my info, not helping anyone offering advice in my direction.
Currently run a system w tt and cdp, cannot use my cdp as a dac section for a streamer.
Making the big decision to add to (not replace) my sources with a streaming option, and break my uber reluctance to enter the Cloud.
While all of you float twds the Cloud and view it as a lovely fluffy thing that looks pretty, I view it as a potential storm cloud likely to rain in my parade LOL.
Ever the positive thinker, me.
I've been musing options of dacs and streamers, and has whittled my options down to a Denafrips Terminator R2R dac at £4k and a choice of streamer that's become a tad open ended, from Aries at £1.5k, thru Innuos Zenith Std £2.2k, Zenith SE £5k, and in the long run if streaming takes over my life, SGM £16k.
Now the Lumin has been thrown at me, w the warmer, more analogue like A1 at £5k to incl free Tablet, and slightly more detailed, bolder S1 at £8.5k.
I've made no decision to buy the Terminator dac yet, I've a good chance to hear it in a few wks, and so here are my price points, obv w the Lumin being more vfm by not needing USB or second pwr cord
Lumin A1 £5k
Terminator plus Auralic Aries £5.5k
Terminator plus Innuos Zenith Std £6.2k
Lumin S1 £8.5k
Terminator plus Innuos Zenith SE £9k
Terminator plus SGM £20k
---
What is attracting me a bit twds the Lumin are the handful of reviews on Audioshark and Positive Feedback highlighting the analogue-like tone and heft, natural warmth of the various Lumins, w many references to tt presentation.
My Eera cdp has taught me to value tone, palpability, texture over uber resolution, spacey imaging etc.
And no doubt the Pixel Magic Corpn engineering provenance of Lumin strikes confidence in me.
I have an interesting choice at this £5k-9k section of the market.
Currently run a system w tt and cdp, cannot use my cdp as a dac section for a streamer.
Making the big decision to add to (not replace) my sources with a streaming option, and break my uber reluctance to enter the Cloud.
While all of you float twds the Cloud and view it as a lovely fluffy thing that looks pretty, I view it as a potential storm cloud likely to rain in my parade LOL.
Ever the positive thinker, me.
I've been musing options of dacs and streamers, and has whittled my options down to a Denafrips Terminator R2R dac at £4k and a choice of streamer that's become a tad open ended, from Aries at £1.5k, thru Innuos Zenith Std £2.2k, Zenith SE £5k, and in the long run if streaming takes over my life, SGM £16k.
Now the Lumin has been thrown at me, w the warmer, more analogue like A1 at £5k to incl free Tablet, and slightly more detailed, bolder S1 at £8.5k.
I've made no decision to buy the Terminator dac yet, I've a good chance to hear it in a few wks, and so here are my price points, obv w the Lumin being more vfm by not needing USB or second pwr cord
Lumin A1 £5k
Terminator plus Auralic Aries £5.5k
Terminator plus Innuos Zenith Std £6.2k
Lumin S1 £8.5k
Terminator plus Innuos Zenith SE £9k
Terminator plus SGM £20k
---
What is attracting me a bit twds the Lumin are the handful of reviews on Audioshark and Positive Feedback highlighting the analogue-like tone and heft, natural warmth of the various Lumins, w many references to tt presentation.
My Eera cdp has taught me to value tone, palpability, texture over uber resolution, spacey imaging etc.
And no doubt the Pixel Magic Corpn engineering provenance of Lumin strikes confidence in me.
I have an interesting choice at this £5k-9k section of the market.
Auralic came out with their G2 series streamer at RMAF. They seem quite happy about the improvements and apparently is the result of 5 years of development. I know zero about what that means but next gen is usually an important consideration with these quickly changing kinds of things. Just to add to the potential confusion...
Lumin is a great option
I've had the Lumin S-1 for almost three years. Works great, sounds terrific and is easy to use. And, it does MQA, DSD, streams Tidal and is Roon supported.
I have an Esoteric K Series CD/SACD player that stays unused most of the time, the Lumin gets a lot of play time along with my VPI Avenger.
I've had the Lumin S-1 for almost three years. Works great, sounds terrific and is easy to use. And, it does MQA, DSD, streams Tidal and is Roon supported.
I have an Esoteric K Series CD/SACD player that stays unused most of the time, the Lumin gets a lot of play time along with my VPI Avenger.
And here's a nice review of the flagship Innuos Zenith SE
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2017/10/richer-sounds-with-the-innuos-zenith-mkii-se/
I've had one of those in the store briefly, but I hope to be able to get another one (they're only making 100 of those)
cheers,
alex
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2017/10/richer-sounds-with-the-innuos-zenith-mkii-se/
I've had one of those in the store briefly, but I hope to be able to get another one (they're only making 100 of those)
cheers,
alex
Ron, the man wants to go digital, why suggest something out of left field where he'd be limited to 30 tapes at 500 a pop...
Once you go digital and streaming you never go back. Your collection jumps to tens of thousands of songs and is ever growing. New album out? you got it. What to check out the more expansive catalog of an artist - you got it. And with Tidal, want to hear MQA? you got it.
Also, the ramp up time is incredibly quick. Once everything is dialed in and you're used to the interface, sit back with a good drink, click and listen away!
Also, the ramp up time is incredibly quick. Once everything is dialed in and you're used to the interface, sit back with a good drink, click and listen away!
sbo6, you may think I’m crazy, Hell i KNOW i’m crazy, but for me this still doesn’t act as deal breaker.
I still buy BluRay discs, despite Netflix and other streaming services having films on demand etc.
Things may change, I’m due to revisit Blue58 who has really improved his system with introduction of Java Triple Shot optologic preamp and Denafrips Terminator R2R dac, via his well established SGM server and AG Duos horns.
However, I feel like I’m drifting away from going streaming, and rumours Tidal may go belly up aren’t helping.
Rest assured I’m not going down the tapes route. Sorry Ron.
I still buy BluRay discs, despite Netflix and other streaming services having films on demand etc.
Things may change, I’m due to revisit Blue58 who has really improved his system with introduction of Java Triple Shot optologic preamp and Denafrips Terminator R2R dac, via his well established SGM server and AG Duos horns.
However, I feel like I’m drifting away from going streaming, and rumours Tidal may go belly up aren’t helping.
Rest assured I’m not going down the tapes route. Sorry Ron.
I'm late to this thread but had had some thoughts about a server recently. I'm actually quite happy with my Mac/Audirvana + NAS outputting to my Meitner DA2. I don't want to spend big bucks. I don't need a DAC integrated with the server so f I can get something with a good PS that can handle 2X DSD (ideally 4X DSD), eliminate the USB connection to my DAC, and take advantage of Roon, that would be a reasonable target to shoot for. I'm thinking the Lumin U1 could be attractive as I've seen them used for under 3K. BTW, I had a Auralic Aries for 24 hours and couldn't return it fast enough. It was a total disappointment. So, where's the love for Lumin?
Innuos Zenith, $3299.
http://innuos.com/en/catalog/go/zenith-mk2-std
There's nothing wrong with USB, as long as it's properly implemented.
Yes, the Aries is definitely not for you
cheers,
alex
http://innuos.com/en/catalog/go/zenith-mk2-std
There's nothing wrong with USB, as long as it's properly implemented.
Yes, the Aries is definitely not for you
cheers,
alex
Marty, Our interests are very similar. I have a thread going below that tries to look at some usual suspects:
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?24608-Suggestions-SOTA-Ethernet-Server-for-a-DAC-Renderer
The Lunin is good stuff but IMO the U1 is better through it other connections to the DAC not ethernet. It has only one ethernet connection that I believe is designed to go to the network requiring a switch or modem connection to the DAC which many believe is a bad thing.
Similar threads
