I’m a bit confused by the Lumin T3. The only input is ethernet and USB storage. If you have additional digital input requirements you still need an external DAC?
Sitting here listening to my T3, I’m a bit confused what else you would want to plug in to it?
I thought it might serve as a stand alone DAC as well as a streamer so would include the usual digital inputs - USB, optical , etc
They make transports (streamers) and network players (streamer/DAC), so all you need is an Ethernet input. Don’t think they’ve ever made a standalone DAC. Linn and Auralic are much the same. The P1 has more inputs, similar to Auralic.
Streaming is about playing music from the Ethernet or stored files, it’s what most people do, I’ve not had another digital source for 13 years.
No way anyone could have come up with improvements in just 13 years. Nope.
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Okay. Thanks. This is starting to make sense. Until a few weeks ago I hadn’t given my streamer a second thought so I’m still getting familiar with the landscape.
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Aha!
I suspect most people who get a decent streamer set up soon abandon the need for other digital sources - you know - those shiny little coffee coasters.
This was my first streamer/DAC back in 2010. Ethernet in, analogue out. No other options. The Lumia T3 is much the same, with the luxury of a usb input.
The current Linn machine 13 years later is much like the Lumin P1, but still no usb. Those obstinate Scots!
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The reality is 99% of my listening is and will likely remain streamed. But I do have a TV optical out and a modest but growing local library (that any Lumin could probably handle via onboard or USB storage). But I suppose that’s why they also offer transports - for those who also want a full featured DAC.
usb is vital for local libraries and people who keep their music in usb sticks. I have a lot of downloads that are not on streaming services.
The DAC in the T3 is as good as I would ever want.
“I suspect most people who get a decent streamer set up soon abandon the need for other digital sources - you know - those shiny little coffee coasters.”. You are probably correct…however most of those folks will be missing out on the glory of using a good transport married to the same Dac as the streamer. A high quality transport is probably one of the best values in Hi Fi. It opens up the possibility to making streaming seem silly.
Those shiny little coasters are selling for a $1 to $5 a piece. Screaming value for Audio Nirvana close to Vinyl.
I’ve never had a standalone transport and haven’t played a CD for 13 years. Even though a UK company (Cambridge Audio) issued the first ever separate transport + DAC separates, they’ve always been fairly esoteric and rare beasts. More common were cheap CD players with a digital output that could be paired with a higher quality DAC.
" … missing out on the glory of using a good transport married to the same Dac as the streamer" … My DAC and streamer are in one box and it does not have a digital input for connecting a transport. All my CDs are ripped as WAV files and streamed over fibre.
$1 to $5 might be the price for old stuff no one wants, but I listen to lots of new recordings and those available on CD cost $13 to $18, and most are released on digital only.
Streaming is the future, more practical and convenient. I have the Cambridge edge NQ. Preamp, Dac and Streamer in one component. I gave up my Audinet G2 CD player and AMR CD 77 and bought a small but nice CD drive from Projekt CD Box RS for my existing CD collection. The Edge NQ has almost all the connections you need. And she sounds verry good.
In my opinion, streaming sounds just as good as CD. Even better with a reasonable switch in front of the streamer. Although some might not believe it, the right cabling contributes to the sound. Because streaming sounds so good and is also more convenient, I got rid of the very good CD players.
Greetings Andrew
It all depends on the quality of the transport, just like a higher quality turntable can isolates noise and vibrations better for a better sound, so does a higher quality digital transport with better parts and power supply can sound much better than a transport with lower quality parts and power supply. My streamer is of another calibre compare with my PST and shows it with a much higher performace sound wise. Even my USB cable which cost 3 times more than my AQ Dragon sounds like it is in another level. When I rip a SACD and play it through my streamer, The resolution is much higher than the SACD played back on the disc player if you can believe it, but it does cost much more than the disc player.
Forget the cables, but I can understand that. The last CD player/transport I owned, why I never actually used, was a Tascam CD200, a standard unit with a $40 transport by TEAC called the 5020A. Many millions were made. Tascam/TEAC was part of the same group as Esoteric, that made the famous VDRS transport, the cost $3,000 as an OEM part.
So I asked them what the difference was:
They eventually replied:
So they basically said that,
(1) if you are going use a transport, a good one is better, but the difference probably inaudible
(2) transports create a problem that you don’t get with streamed files.
That is direct from the manufacturer of, at the time, the worlds most popular budget transport and the best high-end transport available.
I hadn’t used a CD player for 5 years, but that reply made me never think of using one again. I gave the Tascam away to someone who would use it.
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I’m with Steven on this (and I can attest that the Tascam CD200 makes an excellent transport, and also has a nice big clear display of track number etc. etc. that Mrs. Joma appreciates on the rare occasion she uses it).
DACs are getting better and better at ignoring/cleaning up/reclocking jittery components on a digital data stream (as opposed to an asynchronous USB link), which ironically should make the “quality” of the transport less and less relevant 
Edit - but streaming (in my case mostly of local files) rules, doesn’t have transport-wobble-induced jitter, and saves me getting up from the sofa, hence the CD transport gets used perhaps an hour or two each day, whereas the streaming input is used all day.
Edit 2 - I just looked it up, and the Tascam has a “Anti-shock memory (10 seconds)”. Not sure whether it always plays from this buffer or just switches to it when the CD blurts, I shall try and find out
As you know I’m recently loving MSB products, mostly known for their DACs. Following this brand philosophy they are thinking that going separate is the right way:
- a power supply in a separate chassis (pretty common)
- a Digital Director also in a separate chassis, as per MSB this solution can isolate the component more affected by noise (digital inputs and first signal processing) from the mere conversion from digital to analog.
3 chassis are very expensive and require more room on the rack but I tried the Pro USB module (a little external box with USB input and fiber output) and it works very well. This solution, as per MSB again, could reduce the impact of the server and allows a location of the noisy server even 20 meters far from the system.
Maybe the DAC design is more important than the server/streamer if well configured. I found for instance the clock upgrade a remarkable improvement over the power supply upgrade, sonically speaking.
The TSS project is very promising following this route.
Additional boxes require additional cabling, vastly longer signal paths and more exposure to noise.
I have a phono pre-amp with an external power supply because phono signals are measured in mV and extremely sensitive to power supply noise.
However, for many a really good internal linear power supply is probably preferable for most digital source electronics and Class D amplifiers, as long as it is well designed and well shielded.
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Tascam are of course a Pro brand and the CD-200 range were very popular with DJ’s. They could be thrown about and they needed a good display for use in the dark. Probably explains the anti-shock memory. They did of course have a digital output.
For you a large boombox may be the ultimate solution.
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Like some others I assume, I have my CD transport as well as my TV plugged into my Auralic Altair G1, as I did with the Cambridge CXN V2, as I did the Schiit Bifrost 2 Multibit DAC.
It makes for switching between them easier, plus they all get the benefit of going through a good DAC, especially the DAC in the G1.