Lumin introduces Lossless Volume Levelling

Audio Gear Talk Lumin
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It’s time for High End Vienna 2026.

I’ll talk about our latest firmware feature being developed - Lossless Volume Leveling.

The concept is simple - take the Replay Gain metadata from Tidal / Qobuz / Plex and adjust the built-in preamp/DAC volume, instead of digitally manipulating the music before feeding the built-in DAC. This requires a streamer with built-in DAC for analog output. If you have been using Lumin app to control the Lumin volume for different tracks, then this feature works exactly like Lumin firmware automatically doing this for you.

As far as I’m aware, I don’t see any commercial streamer achieving this. Or if someone did it, they did not publicize the care they made to maintain bit perfectness to the DAC.

This feature will be available on Lumin X2 and all Lumin ES9038PRO and ES9028PRO models.

U-series (or the above models but switched to digital output) will also have Volume Leveling, but we’ll apply Leedh Processing Volume for digital output to external DAC.

This feature works with Lumin app playback of Tidal / Qobuz, and Plex playback. It does not work on Tidal / Qobuz Connect, and does not work with files tagged with ReplayGain from UPnP server. (If you use Roon for volume leveling to Lumin, although this works it is not using the feature in this post, and it will not be lossless.)

Spotify Audio Normalization also gets an upgrade as I replaced the standard normalization implementation with Leedh Processing Volume.

Users who would like to participate in beta test of this feature please let me know your Lumin model, which output (Analog / USB / SPDIF), and which service you use (Tidal / Qobuz / Plex).

7 Likes
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Thank you for yet another update.

I am a roon user exclusively and have M1 and U2X. Will I be able to take advantage of this feature? I assume not for M1 or at least for now.

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Peter,

I’d be glad to test it. I have the X2, use analog output and subscribe to Qobuz.

Michael

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Right on cue, my iOS app for Lumin updated today in preparation for the lossless volume leveling firmware.

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Wow! I just installed the firmware and it seemed to supercharge the sound quality! As you’ll see from my screenshot I’m using “normal” vs “quiet.” I guess the quiet setting diminishes the volume level. I might end listening more via the Lumin app vs Roon. I need to do one additional experiment. Many thanks, Peter!

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Peter,

I would like to test it also. P1, analog output (XLR) and Qubuz.

Wim

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To compare against Roon, please set Lumin Volume Leveling to Normal, Roon Volume Leveling to -14 LUFS with adjustment for unknown loudness -5 dB.

Lumin Volume Leveling Quiet is -19 LUFS to follow Spotify.

Since the overall volume is decreased when using Volume Leveling, please turn up the volume by at least 10 steps in Lumin app, or at least 5 dB if using a preamp.

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Thanks, Peter.

I was already using Roon volume leveling with these exact parameters, so the comparison with the Lumin app with the new volume leveling set at normal still is a pleasant surprise. I was, of course, expecting the same volume levels from Qobuz track to track but, for whatever reason, the overall sound quality of music from the Lumin app seems to have increased substantially.

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Lumin Firmware 23 includes Volume Levelling. It will gradually be released to all models.

Volume levelling output is lossless to X2 internal DAC or internal ESS DAC: P-series X1 T3X T3 T2 D3 S1.

It works on:

  • Lumin app playback of local FLAC files that have replay gain tag(s)
  • Lumin app playback of Tidal
  • Lumin app playback of Qobuz
  • Lumin app playback of Amazon Music
  • Plex playback to Lumin hardware

To compare against Roon, please set Lumin Volume Levelling to Normal, Roon Volume Leveling to -14 LUFS with adjustment for unknown loudness -5 dB.

Lumin Volume Levelling Quiet is -19 LUFS to follow Spotify.

2 Likes
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Just installed the new firmware on my X2. The volume leveling beta worked well, so I will continue to enjoy it in the formal release. Thanks, Peter!

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Hi,

I installed today the firmware 23 in my X2, activated volume leveling and I noticed the music sounded different. I realized it was sounding in fact better: more bass, greater stage, more details, less harshness. Thx LUMIN. Greetings, Bernardo

1 Like
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That was my experience, too.

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Thanks for this upgrade!

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Maybe the lower output volume of the X2 is now better matched with the input sensitivity of my amplifier ? I use XLR output and accuphase e800s integrated. Gr. Bernardo

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A better gain match can improve volume control resolution, reduce noise floor interaction, prevent input-stage overload, and make the sound feel more relaxed, less forward, and more controlled. So it’s possible that the X2 and your Accuphase are working nicely in tandem. Peter Lie can also help you with exact matching of your system to prevent clipping.

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Please set Lumin analog output level to Low.

To prevent clipping when playing the loudest tracks, in Lumin app you may set Max Volume % to 50 for Lumin X-series / P-series / T3X / T3 / T2 / D3 - XLR output to Accuphase E800s. This is calculated according to Accuphase E800s input sensitivity.

If you use the MAIN IN XLR (bypass integrated preamp) of E800s, set Max Volume % to 84 - make sure you set Lumin volume to a very low value before playback.

(For preventing clipping with a Lumin connection to Accuphase E-4000 / E-480 / E-470:

XLR : set Maximum Volume % to 60

RCA : set Maximum Volume % to 72

MAIN IN XLR (bypass integrated preamp): set Maximum Volume % to 95 - make sure you set Lumin volume to a very low value before playback)

1 Like