There are always surprises in life - positive, negative, lasting and also quickly fading away. However, the deeper you delve into a subject, the rarer unexpected events become. But when they do occur, they weigh all the more heavily. This happened to me in relation to the topic of »streamers«. When the first devices in this category appeared on the market, we still had to be tolerant when it came to sound quality - we had already experienced this with the introduction of CD players. »It will get better« was the reassuring phrase. And it did, but I still wanted little or nothing to do with streamers. Fortunately, there was and still is a dedicated colleague at i-fidelity.net, André Schwerdt, who lives and breathes the topic.
But then my consistent abstinence from streaming came to the attention of IAD product manager Krey Baumgartl. He is also familiar with the negative experiences with these components. His clever move, disguised as a suggestion, was that I should test my judgement with a streamer from Lumin. No sooner said than done, and I was pleasantly surprised - that's the short version of what I've experienced with the T3 since then. Word has got around that Lumin devices offer exemplary convenience. However, if you then click through the various categories of streaming providers such as Tidal or Qobuz, you will be delighted to realise that sound quality plays an even greater role with Lumin.
The Marantz SA-KI Pearl SACD player has been a familiar and frequently used piece of equipment for over a decade. When you've known something for so long, you know its strengths and weaknesses down to the last detail. In terms of sound quality, the Marantz never had to fear a streamer.Of course, it was no match for a dCS Bartók, but it also costs seven times as much. At 4,990 euros, the T3 from Lumin is also more expensive than the Marantz, but the difference is much smaller. I still remember that evening a few months ago when I listened to both devices in comparison. The intro to the film score »The Falcon And The Snowman«, written by Pat Metheney among others, was playing: a choir followed a young boy's voice as bright as a bell, and this recording was inspiring with an incredible degree of airiness. It was with a heavy heart that I had to admit to myself at the time that the Lumin's performance surpassed that of the Marantz in almost every aspect.
So this T3 streamer has managed to change my judgement of this device category. What really surprised me, however, was the origin of the Lumin. This high-quality streamer does not come from any of the renowned audio manufacturers, but from a relatively young company from Hong Kong that has made a name for itself with the production of high-quality images. The story of Lumin begins with a company called Pixel Magic in Hong Kong - and that's where i-fidelity.net went in search of clues.
