Mount Huxley stands in Aotearoa’s Southern Alps, located on the boundary of Otago and Canterbury. At 2505m, the summit is strictly for capable alpinists. Yet the lower reaches are accessible with routes in via the Ahuriri, Temple and Huxley catchments. Follow these sometimes challenging paths and you’ll be rewarded with some undeniably beautiful scenery; small hidden blue lakes only revealed by scrambling up scree slopes, alpine herb gardens and pure crystal clear streams.
The view from the top (or at least as high up as you are willing and able to climb) is what it’s all about. This is where you gain perspective, in the right conditions getting a 360 degree view, you can see where you have come from and where you are going.
The high end in home audio components offers a chance to stand on the summit of musical enjoyment. Without a high point to aspire to, we’re just crashing about in the bush with no real direction or purpose.
Getting off the beaten track of the mass market does take a little research and effort. But once you take these first steps, you’ll get to enjoy your music in new ways. The air is clearer the higher you climb. We’re here to guide you though the terrain. Just as you can become practiced at spotting little orange markers, cairns or even deer trails, it’s experience that keeps us on the right path.
When we get away to these special places, life is suddenly a whole lot simpler. We want our audio choices to be simpler too. A key concept is to understand the importance of the source component; the better the sound you put into any system, the better the sound you get out. Different formats offer varied routes; the analogue LP and record playing systems are like taking a slightly different track every time. Streaming follows the digital path originally mapped out by CD but keeps climbing.
Now let’s step past the metaphor and have a serious look at our best source components; the Lumin Network Players and Transports.
Both Network Players and Transports are streaming components – they connect to your home network and allow you to access both music from the internet via services such as Tidal, Qobuz and Spotify, and also stored music on devices in your home. A Player incorporates and internal DAC so has analogue outputs whereas a Transport only has digital outputs.
The new Lumin X2 network music player is an undeniably high end audio source component and at NZ$30,000 will be something only a few truely enthusiastic music lovers get to take home. While the X2 towers above the landscape of streaming components, the work and expertise that have enabled this model, allow more affordable and accessible variations. The view from the top may be the most panoramic but there is plenty of beauty to be found in the foothills of the Lumin range.
Just how good is the Lumin X2?
“The X2 combines saturation with speed, beautifully nuanced soundscapes and combining this with clear shaping of instrument bodies. We get a beautiful, wide and very deep soundstage with very low bass.” highfidelity.pl
There are twin peaks in the Lumin range, with the other being the U2x Network Transport (introduced June 2025- NZ$17,000). These two components look almost the same but a quick inspection of the rear panels will show the differences; the X2 has digital inputs and outputs plus both balanced and RCA analogue outputs, while the U2x being exclusively digital, assumes that owners will have a similarly talented DAC or digitally enabled amplifier.
“The U2x made me excited again. Excited to listen and keep listening, selecting new and old albums that take me out of the real world and catapult me into another world through sonic excellence.” Audiophile Style
Having the U2x on the ground since June last year means there are a good number of reviews which you can read here.
Within the broader Lumin range there is a choice at each level between players and transports. If you already have a system that you are happy with, the choice between player and transport will come down to the inclusion, and quality of, a DAC with that system.
The Lumin range also has a simple 3-step division in terms of affordability – entry level models at under NZ$5000, the more serious ‘sweet spot’ at just under $10,000 and as we’ve already alluded, the very best models from $17,000 upwards.
What is important to know is that all these models share the same core operating software and app. They are all assembled in the Lumin factory in Hong Kong. As we move up the range, almost all the differences have only one goal, the maximisation of sound quality.
So how does this apply in the context of your own system? And more importantly, what will you hear?
The reviews will give you some insight;
“That’s why we listen to music with the Lumin X2 every time as if we were hearing it for the first time. Because it’s surprising and interesting. Surprising because it’s different, and interesting because it has so much energy and desire to play that we want to be a part of it.”
These comments are just as relevant for the Lumin D3 and the every day listener – most reviewers are coming in from a rarified level where a system is painstakingly refined and optimised, so it gets harder for them to find something appreciably better.
“…we get a surprisingly realistic reproduction and an almost physical materialization of the performer in our listening room, which, considering the very affordable price of the D3, is worth emphasizing and fully deserves compliments.” Sound Rebels.
Yet for the rest of us, the leap from ordinary streaming to Lumin’s introductory models is just as much, if not more of a revelation. And you don’t need a super expensive system to hear this. It’s demonstrably obvious with our most affordable NuPrime amplifier and some cheap and cheerful shelf mount speakers.
Within the relatively short time we have been dealing with Lumin (since 2021) there have been significant improvements across the entire range, both in operating software and the physical players. Existing owners have benefited from the free updates of the former.
All of the improvements have been driven by developments at the top end of the range. And this is why we need the High End; it’s at this level that the clearest perspective is gained and so this is what Lumin expects their downstream models to be compared to. While there will be compromises, these are thoughtfully managed. We all appreciate the core qualities found in every model – while it’s hard to avoid cliche we’ve found all the Lumin models to share a musically satisfying quality, avoiding a clinical approach. Yet still setting the standard for digging deeply into any recording and revealing layers that you simply couldn’t hear before.
So really the question is just how high do you want to climb? As we’ve explained, you don’t have to achieve the vertiginous heights of Lumin’s very best in order get into some pretty nice territory. The hard part might be just taking that first step but that’s why we’re here – we know the way and whatever the level you feel comfortable getting to we’ll ensure the journey is smooth and rewarding.
