Try playing this track—which I know quite well—on your system and listen within the first few seconds to the sound in your left speaker. It’s the sound of a chime/bell, which is startling in its accuracy. On my previous X1, the sound was there but it was ever so slightly smeared. It’s these micro-details, the increased sense of air around instruments/voices, and the relaxed nature of playback that has me entranced with the X2.
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I tried this on several of my environments. I could not hear smearing on any of them. This was a FiiO K17 playing into Genelecs, a Linn Organik-based DAC playing into Wilson Audios, and even an Eversolo DMP-A6 playing into KEFs.
To me, this sounds as if you found a fairly serious issue with the X1 which begs the question of why you stuck with the brand. Did you consider any alternative brands that don’t have a tendency to “smear”?
I’ve always thought highly of the X1, and owning the L2 as well probably makes my bias toward Lumin obvious. My use of the word “smear” wasn’t meant to imply a flaw — the X1 was consistently superb in my system. What I’m hearing from the X2 is a step toward greater clarity and articulation, not a correction of a deficiency.
Chris Connaker in his Audiophile Style review summed it up perfectly in his X2 review: the X1 didn’t get worse; the X2 simply opens a new chapter with its bespoke architecture. That aligns exactly with what I’m hearing.
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Thanks for clarifying. “Smear” still doesn’t sound great but we’re not here to judge one another’s subjective experiences. What matters is that you’re happy and it sounds like you are.
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Didn’t you hear that it’s very obviously a Triangle, or were you just missing the proper term for the instrument?
You’re clearly fluent with all the audiophile jargon, though … 
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Yep, probably missing the term! 
I wasn’t aware that “smear” was an audiophile term. Perhaps it’s mentioned in the “Audiophile Style” review that Michael mentions. I’m not familiar with the publication, though I’m more of a jeans and t-shirt sort of guy and I’m likely not their demographic.
I am more familiar with “smear” as a component of the term “pap smear” which, in American English, at least, is a common gynecological procedure. There’s also a Yiddish word “schmear” (essentially “to spread”) which Americans have co-opted and converted into a noun to describe cream-cheese mixtures that are spread on bagels.
So I now have three uses at my disposal:
- A gynecological procedure
- A concocted spread applied to bagels
- An acoustic artifact introduced by the Lumin X1 in specific scenarios
Language is fascinating.
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Winner. 10 char.
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Sorry for the continued OT. Smear is also the name of a card game.
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Glad to hear the X2 does it even better. Is the degree of improvement huge, or more subtle? I’ve held off doing a demo as I am not listening enough to the system to warrant contemplating a multi-thousand dollar upgrade, and I’ve been enjoying vinyl as of late.
Did you cross shop anything in the Lumin’s price range, like DCS Bartok Apex or other? I liked the Lumin X1 over the non-apex Bartok, but at the current retail, I might consider a range of options, including partnering with a Lumin streamer only and a third party DAC. My X1 was a demo acquired for a great price with a decent trade in, making it a no - brainer but it might take a while to see these available at lower prices.
And comparing the T3x in my second system to the X1, the T3x was very very close to the X1, and those details you mentioned were similar to what I heard in the X1 over the T3x - not possibly enough to make me motivated to upgrade.
I am also susceptible to gear acquisition syndrome so I know if I don’t listen to the X2 I am unlikely to buy it. 
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Hudson, I’ll be honest — I didn’t think the X1 could be meaningfully bettered. I’d lived with it long enough, and in my system it always felt like the point where further upgrades would drift into diminishing‑returns territory. But after spending time with the X2, and reading through the wave of reviews over the past few months, I have to admit I was wrong.
The degree of improvement isn’t “night and day,” but it’s also not subtle in the way I expected. What the reviewers keep highlighting — and what I’m hearing — is that the X2’s fully discrete dual‑mono DAC, the new femto clock architecture, and the external dual‑toroidal PSU drop the noise floor in a way the X1 simply never did. That lower noise floor shows up as more stability, more dimensionality, and a kind of unforced clarity that makes the X1 sound slightly more mechanical by comparison. Multiple reviewers have said the same thing: the X2 feels calmer, more resolved, and more natural without tipping into hyper‑detail.
And then there’s QRONO d2a. On the X1 it was a nice option; on the X2 IMHO it’s a genuine design‑level enhancement. Reviewers have been calling it one of the most musically convincing implementations of digital filtering they’ve heard, and I agree — it adds space and decay in a way that feels like a real upgrade, not a DSP trick.
As for cross‑shopping: I didn’t. Not because the Bartók Apex or other DACs aren’t excellent, but because I already own the Lumin L2. The L2 → Lumin DAC/streamer pairing is one of those rare cases where the ecosystem advantage is real. The synergy is obvious, the optical link is dead quiet, and the whole chain behaves like a single, purpose‑built component. Splitting brands would have meant giving up that integration for a maybe‑gain elsewhere.
And I’ll admit something else: I’m a fan of how Lumin operates. Their customer support is consistently excellent, and their firmware updates aren’t the usual “bug fixes” — they’re real feature additions that extend the life of the hardware. That long‑term commitment matters to me more than spec‑sheet jousting.
So yes, I went in thinking the X1 was already close to the ceiling. The X2 proved me wrong. It’s not about fireworks; it’s about refinement, ease, and a sense that the system is finally operating at the level the L2 always hinted it could.
My guess is that if you ever demo the X2… well, let’s just say your gear‑acquisition instincts might wake up fast.
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I’m relieved you were able to hear what the reviewers heard. I’m also relieved that the reviewers were able to hear what the other reviewers heard. Just imagine how dumb everyone would feel if they couldn’t hear what the others were hearing. I’m glad nobody has to deal with that.
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I’ve recently had the chance to really listen to X2 again for tracks that I listen to regularly in a setup I’m familiar with - Hans Zimmer, Max Richter - The New Four Seasons, etc. I can reconfirm what I wrote elsewhere - there are so much more microdetails, and I can now hear weak musical notes in the background that I’ve never heard before, or with more clarity.
X2 sales are doing well despite the difficulties in today’s economy. I think this implies buyers really like what they hear.
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happily enjoying mine for the last 6-7 months.
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In the July/August The Absolute Sound, reviewer Neil Gader opines that the Lumin X2 represents a major leap for the brand, delivering musicality so strong that it outshines typical technical metrics. Even without hearing every ultra‑expensive competitor, Gader is confident the X2 could challenge far pricier digital front ends and deserves to be considered state‑of‑the‑art.
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