Thanks for your kind words
Iam already using a Lumin U1X and cannot praise it enough. It sounds superb. It some how adds a sense of richness and clarity to the proceedings. My streamer search is definitely over. Lumin always consistently deliver with their well thought out features and implementation. That alone is drawing me towards the Lumin L2 as a local server. Besides it is a single box switch cum server, so that will avoid the noodle soup with separate switches, FMC's, clocks and power supplies. A review has recently been posted on Audiophilestyle and an other polish site, which I havent seen yet. Will read it today
I follow a youtube channel called "Jay's audio lab". This gentleman brings in some uber high end gear. And in a recent dac comparison between the MSB reference and Dcs Rossini. He commented that the limitation in comparing the abilities of both was not his room or system, but streaming services themselves. He opined that it was pointless spending this kind of money on digital if one is tied to Tidal or Qobuz.
So there is a school of thought out there, that there are benefits to having a high quality local library. And from my own listening habits, I've realized that Iam not much of an adventurist, and I tend to repeatedly listen to a set of my own favourites. So having access to millions of songs on Tidal is pointless for me. Hence the thought of starting a local library with high quality Flac or DSD purchases.
Coming to the issue of switches and FMC's for local library playback, as long as we use a wireless router ( which we have to ), the Router will inject noise ( electrical, EMI & RF ) to its outputs. Thus, we still need some kind of network cleanup after the router. Both the Innuous Zen series and Melco servers, have a option to be added between the router and the streamer with 2 Lan ports for noise isolation from the router. This is hugely beneficial. And is equivalent to a 2 port switch actually. But adding an external switch seems to add further to its inbuilt isolation.
Iam considering getting a wireless router with inbuilt SFP modules, then going Fiber into the Lumin L2, and then a copper cable with inbuilt filtering like the SOTM from the Lumin L2 to the streamer. This will avoid external FMC's, cables and power supplies. But this is just a thought. At the moment, the combination of Melco S100/2 and Melco N50 S38 is at the top spot. Will see if the Lumin L2 reviews convince me enough, as Iam very disappointed with the inclusion of a SMPS in their box.
