LUMIN Revives the S-Series: the $8,990 S2 Puts X1 Architecture in One Box — and Adds Digital Inputs

LUMIN has revived its S-Series. Announced in early October, the LUMIN S2 is a network music player that takes the dual-mono ESS DAC and Lundahl-transformer output stage associated with the company's former X1 flagship and fits them, along with a dual-toroid power supply, into a single chassis. It is priced at US$8,990 / €9,990, and it is the first LUMIN network player to accept external digital sources.

Where the S2 sits

LUMIN's model-differences page currently lists four network music players: the D3, the T3X, the S2 and the X2. StereoNET places the S2 between the T3X and the flagship X2, and frames its lineage carefully: rather than borrowing from the X2's fully discrete design, it draws on the architecture of the X1, which StereoNET refers to as the former flagship. The X1 does not appear on LUMIN's current model-differences list.

LUMIN's own product page leads with the headline "The S-Series Returns!" and describes the S2 as an evolution of the X1 architecture built around the company's latest processor.

Digital conversion and output stage

Conversion is handled by a pair of ESS SABRE32 ES9038PRO chips running in dual-mono configuration — one per channel — according to both LUMIN and StereoNET. Behind that sits a fully balanced analogue output stage using dual Lundahl LL7401 output transformers. Best of High-End describes this as the same output stage found in LUMIN's top-tier players.

Analogue outputs are quoted at 6Vrms on balanced XLR and 3Vrms on unbalanced RCA. There is also a USB digital output, which LUMIN's spec sheet lists as supporting native DSD512 and PCM from 44.1kHz to 384kHz at 16–32-bit, for owners who would rather feed an outboard converter.

Timing comes from dual femto clocks with FPGA-based distribution, and volume is handled by Leedh Processing, LUMIN's lossless digital volume implementation. StereoNET notes this allows the S2 to be connected directly to a power amplifier without a separate preamp in the chain.

The headline change: digital inputs

The genuinely new element here is connectivity in the other direction. The S2 has one coaxial RCA S/PDIF input and one optical TOSLINK S/PDIF input, each accepting PCM from 44.1kHz to 192kHz at 16–24-bit, plus DSD64 over DoP. Both Audio Venue and Best of High-End state that this is the first time a LUMIN network player has offered digital inputs, meaning an external source — a disc transport, a television, a games console — can be routed through the S2's converter and transformer-coupled output stage.

For a brand whose players have historically been strictly network-in devices, that is a structural change in how one might be used, and it widens the set of systems the S2 can sit at the centre of.

Streaming, formats and services

For network playback, LUMIN quotes DSD512 and PCM up to 384kHz/32-bit. StereoNET adds that upsampling options are available, to PCM 384kHz or DSD256. The LUMIN spec sheet also lists MQA Full Decoding.

On the service and control side, LUMIN lists TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify Connect, Amazon Music, KKBOX, AirPlay and Roon, with the S2 being Roon Ready. StereoNET adds JPLAY and Audirvana compatibility, while Best of High-End's listing also mentions TIDAL Connect, Qobuz Connect and QQMusic. Control is via the LUMIN app for iOS and Android.

Network and power

Networking is more generous than the category norm: alongside Gigabit Ethernet on RJ45, there is an SFP optical port for a fibre connection, and StereoNET reports that both can operate simultaneously. Fibre is of interest to listeners chasing galvanic isolation from the rest of a home network.

Power is where the single-box premise is tested. The X1 architecture the S2 inherits is associated with external supplies; here, LUMIN uses a dual-toroid arrangement with separate analogue and digital rails, now shielded and housed inside the main chassis. That is the trade-off the S2 asks a buyer to weigh: one box instead of two, with the supply brought in-house and screened rather than physically separated.

Dimensions, finish and price

The chassis measures 350 x 380 x 107mm (W x D x H) and weighs 8kg. Two finishes are offered: black anodised and raw aluminium.

• US$8,990
• €9,990
• £8,495 — quoted by Best of High-End only

Availability is the one area where the published accounts do not agree. StereoNET says pricing and availability for further regions are still to be confirmed, while Best of High-End describes the S2 as available through LUMIN dealers. We are not treating either as a confirmed shipping date; what is firmly established is that prices have been announced. LUMIN's own product page carries the full specification but no pricing.

What to watch

With no reviews or measurements published, the S2 is for now a specification and a position in a range. The questions worth following are how the internal dual-toroid supply compares in practice with the separated supplies of the architecture it descends from, and how much use listeners make of those coaxial and optical inputs now that LUMIN has finally fitted them to a network player.

This article was written by an AI system from Into The HiFi AI Desk, generated from the following sources, with no human editing pass before publication: StereoNET — LUMIN S2 Packs X1 Architecture Into A Single Chassis, LUMIN — S2 product page, LUMIN — Model differences, Best of High-End — LUMIN S2: New S-Series Streamer with X1 DAC Technology, Audio Venue UK — LUMIN S2 listing.