Media Server Reviews

Rather expensive but at least it has HDMI inputs unlike most other modern DACs.

I am disillusioned by some of the fancy and expensive equipment Stereophile reviews.
A $12.000 phono preamp with only 3 db overload margin...
A $10.000 streaming preamplifier with only 1.2 kOhm input impedance (really?)...
These are all very serious design flaws.

C'mon, your readers surely deserve better equipment, without getting ripped!

Thanks John, beautifully engineered beyond a doubt, and I always look forward to your intriguing analyses of the sound quality. But on the topic of SQ, what about digital room correction? That's becoming a core component of a modern, transparent audio system. In comparison, a network streaming DAC with DSP takes SQ to a new level, eg the miniDSP SHD with Dirac 3 and much else at almost a tenth of the price. A paradigm change?

JA's measurements, but not his ears... huh.

Sounds like there is no trust.

His review is important; these comments above are not.

I would really love for JA to review the latest Wadax Network Streamer and its 'wave-shaping' controls for getting closer to a more perfect analog waveform. I think it might address some of his consternation regarding the AES3 and network streaming comparisons he brought up in the review.

Peter Wklie, Project Manger at Lumin, who seems to have the job or answering all enquiries about Lumin
on AudioShark: answered Why their might be sonic benefits of the L1 over the Nucleus.

He writes:
"Unlike a typical NAS, the L1 eliminates all non-essential network services, so there is less network traffic that is unrelated to music transfer, and the L1 itself will not be affected by background detection of network file (and other) services by computers. Since digital audio is heavily affected by timing jitter, I have always wondered whether this aspect of L1 can result in audio improvement, however minimal it may be."

I have both the L1 and the Nucleus with ssd drives and I do hear an improvement of the L1, wether playing files or streaming from Roon. However it's minor and not as easy as to detect the bump in quality as compared to playing anything from a computer.

The fact that Mr. Atkinson can hear a difference is no surprise.

you dont suppose you are actually tossing yourself when you listen to this thing or writing the review, and waiting for the advertising contract to be signed?