Lumin D2 or U1 Mini
I'm not familiar with the sound of the Benchmark. But if you are happy with it, I would go with the mini. That is what I did and it was a very nice improvement over the Node 2i. My take on it is this. Since the D2 is only 300.00 more than the U1 mini, you can't be getting a world beater of a DAC. The D2 probably exists for those who want a one box solution. My vote is for the Mini. Oz |
I've read reviews stating that the U1 mini paired with another DAC provides better fidelity than the D2. As @ozzy62 indicated, the DAC in the D2 is probably not a world beater based on the tiny incremental cost alone. I suspect the U1 paired with the Benchmark would sound great. I have a Bluesound Node2 paired with a Benchmark3 and I'd be very curious how it performs paired with a better streamer like the U1 Mini. |
Also, your Benchmark DAC has a preamp with 2 x RCA stereo pairs and headphone amp where I can not find any specifics about the D2 analogue stage only the output specs of XLR balanced, 4Vrms, pin 2 Hot and 1 x RCA unbalanced, 2Vrms which is standard line level outs... Got an outboard preamp? Not sure how that would play out to your mono blocs... |
Get Lumin D2. If you listen to Tidal Hifi, D2 will give you full MQA unfolding.... your Benchmark DAC3 HGC is pretty good DAC, but it won’t unfold Tidal MQA.... U1 is only transport streamer so you will need external MQA DAC with it in case to decode Tidal HiFi..... D2 has that MQA DAC on board already. |
I started with a D2 and switched to the mini with a r2r Dac. I believe the mini is essentially a U1 in the D2 housing. It offers better technology. I found the D2 to be overly bright with some vocals and too analytical. The U1 with my dac sounds very close to my analog side. I’m finally satisfied with the digital side of my system. |
I thought i should report back my first impressions with the Lumin. I got the Lumin U1 Mini a few days ago and hooked it up to the Benchmark 3 HGC. Speakers are Dynaudio Sapphire fired by AVM M30 Monoblocks. Connection through USB and SPDIF Coax sounded the same, as expected. The sound is clear and clean. As compared to the Bluesound Node 2i the Lumin reveals One more layer of music, it is more detailed, bass has more shape, no blurring. I find the Bluesound having a bit more drive and overall a bit more relaxed, suited more to Rock and Pop. For more complex music the Lumin has the Edge over the Bluesound. |
I am resurrecting this old thread because I am in the same position, considering upgrading my streamer (Node2i) and I use a Musical Paradise MP D2 DAC I like a lot. Jorgjean's response seemed to indicate for Pop and Rock he perhaps liked the Node 2i better? Has anyone else purchased the Lumin U1 Mini as a Node2i upgrade and what has your findings been. Was it worth it. Also, I am considering another very nice digital transport, the Moon Mind 2, at the same price as the Lumin and made in Canada, 10 year warrantee... nice to support our local economy and easy servicing if required. Any users here?. |
alvinnir2 - I was in the same situation as you but now it’s somewhat changed. I purchased and installed a power board upgrade modification for the Node 2i. My Node 2i can now use a linear power supply but I haven’t done that yet because the upgrade included a MeanWell medical grade SMPS and I’ve been very impressed with the sound quality after the new power board and the SMPS burned-in. It took 100 to 120 hours of audio play time in addition to leaving the Node 2i on 24x7 (i.e., not powered down). I logged the music playtime because I was curious how much burn-in would be required. I heard similar improvement as described by people who switched from the Node 2i to the Lumin U1 mini. Better bass definition and much more detail. In addition, I hear much more “fleshiness” between the speakers, better imaging, much improved soundstage depth. It’s definitely not rounded off. In fact, it really needed the burn-in period to sound organic. Bass guitar has an incredible leading edge and cymbals shimmer. I’m trying to decide if a Lumin mini would add much more or if I should just get a LPS and call it complete. And then the burn-in required for a LPS. The Sbooster on my DAC took a long time. I couldn’t listen to it for the first 50 hours. It’s a great product when finally burned-in! |
I had the D2 and changed to an Ifi Stream and Topping D70 MQA. Very happy with the results and if offers far greater flexibility with the dac. The D2 will not work with Tidal connect. https://luminmusic.com/streaming-services.html Id focus on the dac but ensure the streamer will deliver the possibilities you require in terms of streaming services. |
