Think ill just go with a lumin


Starting out anew. reading all of the post into the wee evening hours, and getting more and more confused, I think I may just get a Lumin DAC/streamer combo. D2 or T2 i suppose, maybe an S1 if i can find one a little cheaper and I scrimp and save a little more.

My situation is rebuilding from scratch, so waiting for pieces to come together. Going with a Mac MA 352, and a pair of devore o96 speakers. Smallish room, just plan on streaming and putting a turntable onto the system, but nothing else. Figure i will just subscribe to tidal or Qbouz for the convenience, although anything appl conected is a plus. Will have a hard wire connection and decent wifi. I suppose i am most worried about how technology may change, and whether I should go R2R, but that rabbit hole started to make my head hurt.

If anyone has some opinions, either it wont work or seems like a solid approach, views are much appreciated.

 

skiforbagels

It’s a great choice, from many angles.  And when after a few months or a year you start to wonder if there is something better sounding, there may be but it’s not worth it.  The T2 is awesome for a ‘modest’ system.  I’ve had about 10 DACs/streamers since I had the T2, and I could easily go back to it.  The big question is the preamp and you mentioned a turntable - a bit more expensive but you might want to look at something like the Mytek Manhattan, which can do those too ands sounds good.  And headphones….  But even after a few years on the market I think the Lumin is still at the front of the pack for quality, features, reliability, etc., and at the price.

@skiforbagels  I would just get the KRELL K-300i integrated. Plug in your wired Ethernet cable and fire up ROON on you iPhone to stream from Tidal and Qubuz. I do that in my bedroom. The sound is incredible. Just read up the many reviews on this unit. I just bought a separate KRELL 175 XD amp because I liked the amp section of the K-300i so much.

https://www.krellhifi.com/products/k-300i-integrated-stereo-amplifier/

Chances are the KRELL will sound just as good or much better than the MAC you are considering. You cannot get any simpler than this.

In my setup I actually have 2 streaming inputs. The built-in KRELL Network streaming (RJ45 Ethernet) and a external Fibre optical streaming to an external DAC. The external streaming was only added because I had an extra DAC and streamer that was not needed in another system. Prior to that change, I was happy with the single box solution built-in KRELL streaming. 

There are other integrated amps with similar features as the KRELL.

BTW - I think Fibre optic streaming is where you get the best results. However, there is much to be said for a single box, that sounds incredible, and is not complicated to use. My Fibre streaming setup is more complicated and I only recommend that to people that are comfortable dealing with software and home computer network issues.

The D2 is a sleeper… excellent product. 
there is a lot of whining about the app, but if one take the time and learns it, and also has good skills on music library organization, it works perfectly and sounds excellent. $$  it open box items exist. 

I own the LUMIN T2 and am very pleased with the sound and easy to navigate app on my IPad. This was a noticeable improvement from my previous setup which was a Benchmark DAC3 and Bluenode 2. 

I love the convenience of streaming so much that I rarely use either the turntable or CD player. So you may consider skipping the turntable and spending the savings on a higher end DAC/streamer.

I purchased a Lumin D2 about 2 years ago and liked Lumin so much that I upgraded to the Lumin T2 last month.  I highly recommend the T2 as a starting point based on several factors: Improved soundstage and musicality over the D2, fantastic app that allows easy access to Tidal and Qobuz, knowledgeable support direct from the US importer/distributor (in case your dealer gets stumped).  I use the Lumin daily and couldn't be happier with the versatility offered.

Good Luck!