⌈ In 2013, LUMÏN broke into the pantheon of global audio file player manufacturers by offering DSD file playback. Its first player simply named Lumïn was a challenge to the competition. A lot has changed since then, and the offering has been significantly expanded. Its latest addition is a device called the P1 Mini. ⌋

THE LUMIN COMPANY WAS CREATED WITH THE THOUGHT of playing audio files, primarily DSD. This was the genesis of the first device in the company's history, bearing the name Lumin, still without a letter and a number, and so it is today. Devices from this company have never been especailly expensive compared to the rest of the market, although they were not among the cheapest either; one could say that they were “in the middle” in this respect. Over time, both more expensive and cheaper products appeared, but that trait of reasonableness that characterized that first product remained.

Testing this player in October 2013, I didn't know it yet. It seemed to be another company from Asia, with an interesting idea, a lot of knowledge and their very good implementation, but one that would shine like a meteor and be gone. It has become quite different. Today, eleven years later, you'll find five players and two file transports, a server with a LAN switch, a power amplifier, a power supply, a control application and accessories in its product line. Little did I know that I would also be using its products myself. First it was the T2 player, and for some time now the T3, and soon it will be joined by the L2 server.

⸜ The Lumin P1 Mini during the High End 2024 exhibition

When I asked Mr. Li He, the man behind the entire project, about their plans on the occasion of this first test, he replied that their goal was simple: “The best possible sound, without looking at the cost,” with an exclamation point at the end. But he immediately added that since not everyone can afford such an expensive purchase, their next step would be to scale the design of the first Lumin down and preparing a more affordable variation of it. “We hope,” he said, ”that we will be able to present a smaller version of our player within a year. And so it happened (the whole review → HERE).

No wonder that, when we met during the exhibition → HIGH END 2024 in Munich, Mr. Lie On pointed to a small but nice device called the P1 Mini and said that it was their most important product. And yet it was neither the most expensive nor the most impressive player in their room. It's small and doesn't even use the chassis with which the company's top devices are equipped, but a simpler one with a flat sheet of aluminium on the front, sharing it with products such as the D3 file player and the U2 Mini transport.

Underneath this modest casing, however, are solutions originally prepared for the X1 transport, filtered through experience gained in the construction and sale of a device called the P1 - the prototype of the P1 Mini. For it is not only a file player, but a fully-fledged preamplifier, with an RCA analog input and convenient-to-use knobs for input change and volume control. Admittedly, the volume change is done in the digital domain, but an advanced algorithm offered by the French company Acoustical Beauty is at work there; for more on how it works, see the article titled Lossless Digital Volume control AES 2020 Vienna Presentation by SUPSI (University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland) on Leedh Processing Volume algorithm evaluation, more → HERE.

And with this very product, right after the exhibition, Mr. Li He, Product Manager at Lumin, and Angus Leung, head of sales came to me. Incidentally, Angus is also the owner of WestmisterLab, and his preamplifier and amplifier were honoured by us with the Statement in High Fidelity, Polish Edition 2023, more → HERE ˻PL˺. We talked about the P1 Mini, and then listened to it in my audio system.

⸜ The Lumin P1 Mini during the High End 2014 exhibition

However, all this was preceded by listening to CDs and SACDs. And I guess there was something special about this listening for both of my guests, because after the visit Angus said that he absolutely had to pull his vintage Marantz player on Burr-Brown PCM63 chips out of the closet and dust off his CD collection that he had never sold. But first there was a conversation.

Mr. LI ON and ANGUS LIEUNG are interviewed by WOJCIECH PACUŁA.

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WOJCIECH PACUŁA First of all, I would like to ask about the exhibition in Munich – was it successful for you?
ANGUS LIEUNG Yes, it was a really successful event. A lot of people, a lot of listeners. I think it was the most crowded High End exhibition we have attended, at least after the Covid pandemics. We had new products to show, many potential distributors were interested in working with us, so for us it was an important exhibition.

WP Did it differ anyhow from the previous ones?
AL I think this year we experienced high visitor energy levels. I know that you see it a little differently, as a quiet exhibition, but for us personally everything was as if “pumped up”. We never had so many potential cooperators from all over the world, so for us - an important exhibition.

WP You mentioned new products – as I understand it, this is primarily about the P1 Mini.
AL Indeed, we are mainly talking about our new P1 Mini player.

WP Is it simply the P1 in a smaller chassis, or are there more differences between the devices?
AL If we look at this device from the functional perspective, I would say they are similar products. In the P1 Mini, we kept most of the features that people loved the P1 for, like the analogue input, HDMI input with ARC, etc. But we put it all in a smaller chassis and added physical controllers – it's those two knobs on the front panel. The device is less intimidating thanks to this, more traditional, not only for audiophiles, but also for the whole family. And all this for half the price.

So we get almost all the features of the P1, Streaming Lumin software, a great app and sound at a much lower price. It opens the door for us, as we see it, to many people who are not audiophiles, but who would like to have something really cool.

WP But it is still an expensive product, isn’t it?
AL On the one hand - yes. But on the other hand, let's look at the TV-related market. There we can find soundbars for 2000 or even 5000 euros. And here all we need is a pair of active speakers and you have a system for your TV that is from a different league than any soundbar. So, it is not an expense that would be a problem for many people.

WP The P1 Mini is the latest product – do you divide devices at Lumin regarding the subsequent generations of the streaming platform?
AL It's a bit like this. With new products, starting with the U2 Mini, followed by the D3, T3 and now the P1 Mini, we have migrated to a completely new SoC platform (SoC is a single integrated circuit that contains all the essential components of a computer system, such as the processor, memory, graphics, communications and sensors – Editor’s note). This has opened new doors for us, we can now do much more, because the potential of the new solution is much higher.

WP Who in Lumin decides on development directions and specific solutions?
AL (smiling and poking Li On, who is sitting next to him) It’s Li who decides about everything :)

LI ON The P1 Mini is big progress for us, at least compared to older devices. As Angus said, it's simply the P1, with all the features, etc. The P1 is not a cheap device, so we wanted to offer similar solutions in a much more affordable product.

So, the P1 Mini was, in a way, the natural effect of our attitude towards the market. In fact, this can be seen from our previous developments - we had the U2 and then the U2 Mini, and the same is true now. My intention was what has already been mentioned: first to develop solutions for an expensive product, and then to offer them at a much lower price; this expensive product in a way “sponsors” a cheaper one.

WP When scaling down the P1, did you have to give up or simplify something?
LO The most important change is visible – the chassis. It is usually one of the most expensive elements in audio devices.

AL In fact, in the company we think about it differently – not that we have removed anything from the P1, but that we have added something to the T3. So, our job was not, in fact, to find savings, but to equip the T3 with more features. We didn't remove things but added them. The devices share the same core, that is, the transport, processing, and DAC sections. We added a module with inputs, and we changed the power supply.

WP Speaking about power supply, it is one of the most important elements in audio. Do you design your own power supplies?
AL Yes, all power supplies are designed by us. However, in the P1 Mini you will find not a switching power supply as in the T3, but a linear one. We simply needed a more powerful power supply because we added a lot of new modules, and each of them required additional amplifier power.

WP What problems do you have to deal with in switching power supplies?
LO To tell you the truth, these are not problems as such. We think that this type of power supplies is very good, especially if the voltage is multi-stage stabilized – first we have a switching power supply, and at each circuit the rest of the voltage stabilizing element.

In the case of the P1 Mini, however, we needed something different, because with so many circuits we have to deal with high noise. In our other players, however, you'll usually find switching power supplies. We don't see them as inferior to linear ones. But in this particular case, we thought the components would blend together nicely. We find solutions with specific applications in mind.

AL The P1, or “large” version, obviously has a much more complex linear power supply than the Mini. This one is a bit simpler due to its smaller chassis and lower price.

WP How is the case of the main streaming platform – what was the reason for its change compared to your previous devices?
AL Our main concern was that it should be “future-proof”, i.e. that it should be prevented from ageing. The SoC, which we used in the E1 is already a rather old solution. The chip, moreover, has already gone out of production. So, we looked around for a new platform - we compared them with each other. Most of them were not what we were looking for. In the end, we decided on a new NXP chip, for which the manufacturer provides at least ten years of service and support.

For us, this is some kind of anticipating the future. As you know, the platform invented for the E1 was updated, receiving new features, better software, and consequently better sound. And for years that was enough. But, in my opinion, Lumin is different from other companies in that we are very interested in making sure that our products are future-proofed through updates.

WP Are upsampling, Leedh Processing, etc., done in the SoC chip?
LO Yes, all the algorithms are saved in the main SoC circuit.

WP Is it true that the more tasks a given computing chip performs, the worse sound you get?
LO Yeas and no – it’s a bit like balancing between two extremes. It all depends on what we do and what we sacrifice. You have to choose between what we do and what we don't do. This applies to all devices, including Lumin ones. For example, when you turn off Spotify Connect, the sound will be better. Also if you turn off other things – you will get better sound.

AL But it's always a matter of choice – after all, if you need Spotify Connect, use it, don't turn it off. That's what all these facilities are for, to be used :)

WP Maybe it has something to do with the fact that at the last Krakow Sonic Society meeting, the majority of listeners voted for files streamed from Spotify – the less data to process, the better the sound?
AL In my opinion, this should not be the case. But if this is how you heard it, then indeed the problem must lie in computing circuits.

WP The owner of Aavik suggested that it may also be the case a system is built in such a way that one or the other streaming platform sounds better, is he right?
AL Yes, of course, it could also be that it is the system that is “tuned” for a particular sound and after such tuning one or another streaming service seems better.
LO Some systems are very sensitive when it comes to the amount of data. And that can be a problem, too.

WP It was said that your new chip is “future-proof” – what then awaits us in the future?
LO I think the easiest thing to point to is Amazon Music, which will be available from us at the end of this year.
AL There are more and more streaming platforms on the Internet, and sometimes, depending on which chip you use, some of them can cause problems. Each platform has so-called “minimum requirements” and equipment manufacturers must consider them. That's why the new SoC platform is so important to us, because it can handle all these functions.
LO One of these changes is the presence of Tidal Connect in new Lumin products.

WP And what about MQA? As we know, Tidal is slowly phasing it out, right?
AL It’s true, but we have some plans connected with it. I can't say too much about what's going on, but during the exhibition related rumours could be heard. What is known, however, is that the company will soon issue a statement on the matter.

WP As I understand it, MQA is not a dead format?
LO Until recently we thought it was, and it turns out that not quite :) In fact, I believe that MQA is something good. Look, because of it there is still a lot of talk about streaming, which stimulates the market. By the way, it's probably a different master, isn’t it?

WP Well, yes, each streaming service requires different mastering - “Bemol” Ładniak, who prepared Metallica's last album 72 Seasons for streaming worldwide, talked about it with us.
AL Really? Interesting... I guess I need to listen to Spotify because I think we missed something.
LO Spotify also has a great advantage thanks to suggestions and playlists which are very good indeed. This is the service with the largest database, which it can use.

WP A few concluding words?
AL In conclusion, I would like to say that what we are focusing on at Lumin is activities to make more people interested in audiophile devices. It sounds trivial, but that's exactly what it is. The P1 Mini is here to help us do just that.

LO It is something for people who want to have good sound at home, but don't quite know where to start. This can be a good starting point. You can connect a TV, turntable, whatever to it, active speakers at the other end – and you're done. Thanks to this, the device can be used by the whole family. That's where the knobs come from. Being an audiophile is a continuous learning experience, and this can help overcome people's fear of devices of this type. So, it's about attracting a larger group of people to music. After all, it was only thirty years ago that every home had a stereo system. The P1 Mini is a step in that direction.

WP Shall we listen to music?
AL Of course :)

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ANGUS LIEUNG Different people in different countries look for various sound properties. We thought it looked similar everywhere, but it doesn't. Personally, I'm not looking for one type of sound, it's more interesting for me to see how it is in the case of others.

We can also hear choices at your place. First of all, speaker placement is perfect here. The interaction between the speakers and the room is also very good. In Hong Kong we have similar sized apartments, and here it seems to be a good interior. Everything is under control, and we have nice sound. I think the asymmetrical positioning of the speakers could be problematic, but here it works really well. No one has a perfect room, there is no such thing, and here everything comes together very well.

LI ON It is very “strong” sound, there is “power” in it. And the P1 Mini blends into this system very nicely. Even though you have a flat screen TV in the middle, I don't hear that it somehow affects the soundstage.

WOJCIECH PACUŁA It seems to me, too, that your new player, with the output connected directly to the Soulution 710 amplifier, presents a very similar way to my SACD player with the Ayon preamplifier.

LO Yes, the sound colors are very similar, and the Lumin P1 Mini has blended in nicely here.

AL And, importantly, eliminating the preamplifier did not result in a reduction in energy, which often happens. In my opinion, this is why many people use our equipment without a preamplifier, directly with power amplifiers – as they do not lose energy. This was one of our goals with the Leedh Processing application in our devices. I am very pleased with what I have heard here. ●