Lumin X1 and Upgraded DC umbilical cord for power supply.

Ozzy

Not with the cords you have mentioned but with my Lucas Audio Music Streamer I use a David Laboga umbilical cord.  It was worth it!

Thanks willgolf for your experience, sounds like a worthwhile investment. The Lumin has a 10-pin configuration which seems to make the aftermarket cords limited to just a few companies.

Since I am using a high-end power cord (AQ Dragon) and a Synergistic Master fuse, I guess the natural evolution (for me) would be to upgrade the cord connecting the external power supply to the Lumin proper.

So, I took one for the team and went ahead and ordered the umbilical cord from Audio Sensibilities. There is even a 30-day guarantee!

I should have it late next week.

So, all you Lumin users take note...

ozzy

I am going to demo the Westminster Labs one from a Los Angeles dealer. He first has to round one up. 

I was at one point interested in the X1 so I know that "gleeds" here and on WBF is the guy that is the Westminster Labs dealer. He has a write up over on WBF, but I assume you are already familiar with it.

Thanks for the comments. Does the Westminster Labs cord use better contents than the Audio Sensibilities?

The latter, is said to be made with solid pure silver conductors and graphene etc.

Wonder why the Westminster is so much more expensive? I haven't been to discern its design.

ozzy

The part that interests me is that the Westminister guy and Lumin could be working together on some things. I may have read that on WBF.

@pokey Have you gone over to Excel Audio and listened to the Esoteric SACD players? It is a big drive for me to make.  I got my Lumin X1 for my 2-channel system, but it sounds so incredible on my headphones that I am now using it there.

However, the 2 streaming outputs of the X1 allow me to consider another DAC/SACD player for the 2-channel. The X1's streamer is rather good, including the output streams. I sourced the input stream from fibre optical.

I am looking for opinions on the new Esoteric SACD/DAC players with the FPGA design. How does it compare to the X1?

@yyzsantabarbara - Angus Leong from WestminsterLab does indeed work with Lumin, he designed their power amp for example. The WL Rei power amp is a more advanced design at a correspondingly higher price, yet the Lumin AMP is truly a standout performer on its own.

@ozzy

I have the Audio Sensibilities since the begining so I can’t comment.
I am interesed to know more about the Wesminster Lab ombilical cord with
LuminX1.

And also the Synergistic Research Master Fuse. I have the Blue for my Lumin

And I have the stock Lumin ombilical cord ; and I don’t know what to do with that . It  is not easy to sell.

YMMV and it's been a while but I had this and preferred the stock umbilical cord.

Yeah, it's too bad I couldn't get a dealer to let me try one while I have the Audio Sensibilities cable to compare. I would then follow the sound quality.

ozzy

@ozzy 

From what I have read, the after market umbilical cables change the sound perspective a bit but the jury is still out as to whether they are better. I would be interested to hear your experience when you get yours in. 
I only changed the fuse of my X1 to an orange fuse, the improvement was marginal. The X1 is a really well designed piece of equipment. Has anyone tried new footers? The X1 is really low profile and close to the ground so to speak, I am tempted to try something to raise it up a little while squeezing a little more performance. I would like to know what others have tried. Thanks. 

Found this info from the manufacturer of the cable from Audio Sensibilities.

"The Lumin X1 power supply (PSU) provides five independent DC rails of power (one high current, four lower current). The Lumin X1 power supply cable uses top grade 10 pin Japanese DC connectors. All 10 pins of the connector are used with the required five twisted pairs of wire.

Like all high-end equipment manufacturers, Lumin provides very basic AC and DC power cables with the X1. This keeps the base cost of the X1 as low as possible. The customer can then independently decide if they wish to upgrade either of the stock cables.

The stock Lumin DC cable uses PVC insulated tough pitch copper (TPC) which is of a lower grade than OFC (better) or OCC (best) copper. Estimated cost is $2.00/m.

The Audio Sensibility DC cable uses cryogenically treated Teflon insulated OCC silver. This is the same OCC silver used in premium audio cables such as the Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 8 line.

OCC silver is very expensive and is the primary material cost of our cables. The Japanese DC connectors are also not inexpensive.

BTW: For this DC cable we are currently using Neotech solid core OCC silver wire. Wire use is 115% of the stated length of the cable."

ozzy

The DIY parts alone add up to 2/3 of the price of the AS X1 DC cable.

spenav,

Well now you got me talking. (posting) With my Lumin X1 I am using Critical Mass CS2 1.5" footers on both the power supply and on the Lumin proper. I also have installed the new SR Master Fuse.

Both of these were very BIG improvements and easily a very high noticeable improvement in sound quality.

ozzy

@ozzy

I have ordered a SR Master Fuse F2A - 250v 20mm X 50mm for my
LuminX1.
I should receive it in a week.

Reading these forums  , is getting expensive ;-) .

maxwave,

Probably money well spent.

ozzy

I have been using AV RoomService felt EVP (Equipment Vibration Protectors) under my Lumin X1 and also under the X1 power supply in lieu of the standard feet.  I use them under the body of both, not under the existing feet.

Hopefully tomorrow I will receive the Audio Sensibilities umbilical cord. If USPS comes through...

azwill,

I was surprised that the Lumin X1 power supply would perform better (sonically) with aftermarket footers.

ozzy

ozzy,

It has been over 2-1/2 years since I purchased the EVP's and only a week separated getting shipment of them in for X1 and then power supply.   Your comment makes me think I should check on the X1 power supply with and without the EVP's under it now.   I have made system changes since getting them--server and streamer, modified switch and power supply for it and preamp with another DAC included and settling in with fiber instead of RJ45 for my X1.   I'm currently burning in a new USB cable for the other DAC and would like to get another 50 or so hours on that first, but should get there by end of the week to compare against current USB and against AES/EBU from my streamer.  I then can do some evaluation listening to the X1 with and without the EVP's under the Lumin power supply.   I will follow up here on my impressions.

The Audio Sensibility DC cable uses cryogenically treated Teflon insulated OCC silver. This is the same OCC silver used in premium audio cables such as the Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 8 line.

OCC silver is very expensive and is the primary material cost of our cables. The Japanese DC connectors are also not inexpensive

I can see where a plausible case on behalf of the higher quality materials could result in improved sound quality performance via the DC cable. @ozzy I am interested in your upcoming listening impressions.

Charles 

Here is post from a gent from the What’s Best forum on the subject.

"If I were to rank the umbilical cords on a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 being awful and 10 being perfect (and by definition, unattainable), I would put the stock umbilical cord at a 2 or 3, the Audio Sensibility umbilical at an 8 and the Westminster Lab umbilical at a 9 or 9.5.

The AS umbilical is a HUGE upgrade over the stock umbilical, and as a value proposition, it gives you the best bang for the buck. The WL umbilical is a smaller upgrade over the AS, but it provides, at least in a high-resolution system, noticeably more resolution, deeper bass, more extended highs as well as a greater control over attacks and decays.

It’s the law of diminishing returns -- you get more versus the AS umbilical, but the incremental cost per unit of improvement is much higher than the incremental cost per unit of improvement afforded by the AS umbilical over the stock umbilical."

I just received the cable today. Boy, what a PITA it is to connect the cable to the Lumin proper! What a design! Took a little swearing...

ozzy

Boy, what a PITA it is to connect the cable to the Lumin proper! What a design! Took a little swearing...

ozzy

Isn't it a plug-in connector with pins? What makes it a difficult task ? Just curious. Going from a rating of 3 to 8 is quite the improvement.

Charles

charles1dad,

First the unit has to be turned upside down. Then there is a long rear top overhang that gives little to no room for my fat fingers. Then you have to line up the pins, push the connector in/down and thread the round ring that tightens the connector down.

Requires quite a bit of swearing, my dog is still hiding.

ozzy

@ozzy 

Okay, I understand. Hopefully the sound quality it provides will be more than worth the aggravation of placing the umbilical cable.

Charles 

Well, it's been a couple of days now and the lean sound that was first present seems to be gone. I was a little concerned.
If it is made truly with high grade silver, then I guess some break in is expected. I think Steve said 150 hours.

ozzy

Ozzy:

What do you think of the AS umbilical after 150 hours?  I really like my X1 and wonder if it's worthwhile to upgrade from Purple to Master fuse, and replace the stock umbilical with AS or Westminster.

Btw, have you consider fiber optic cabling instead of copper ethernet?  It's a significant upgrade (especially for a longer connection from server to the X1).

mtseymour,

First off, I have been using fiber to my Lumin X1 for a long time. Pretty big uptick in sound quality over the ethernet cable.

The SR Master fuse also was a pretty good upgrade over the purple.

The dc power cord with the AS umbilical cable was an ok upgrade. Certainly not to the level of the other 2 I just mentioned. I doubt if the Westminister version would be much better, but boy is that one expensive!

ozzy

Ozzy

I'll have to try the Master fuse.  My X1 is sitting on Arya RevOPod footers and sound pretty good.

I've heard mixed reviews about the value of the Westminster DC cable.  The fellow who sold me the X1 said that the Westminster was not a significant upgrade (and he sold it separately).  I guess that it depends on system synergy.

At present, I only have a Lumin T2, But I did upgrade to an SBooster power supply and after about a year I upgraded the stock fuse to a Synergistic Master fuse. I ran it for about 200 hours for break-in and then I flipped it the other direction. Then I heard the sound I was hoping for. The soundstage was much improved in both separation and depth. 

I am toying with upgrading to the X1. It will indeed get a Master fuse installed. 

The Synergistic Master fuse is directional, and it is not subtle. 50/50 shot and I installed it in the wrong direction in DAC. Destroyed my midrange.  Switched direction and wow. Highly recommend.  
 

No, I do not have a scientific explanation.  Sometime trial and error is the best approach. Ask the pharmaceutical companies. 

Thanks markalarsen,

I totally agree. It is hard to believe just a fuse can increases sound quality.

ozzy