I have listened to Lumin X1, I think the Devialet DAC is very good, and up to standard of certain current high end DAC (at least in the way I use it with an external 10mhz clock), although may not be as natural as the top MSB or Playback Design DACs. I don't have very good impression on Lumin X1, I don't think Lumin DAC will overall beat Devialet.
As mentioned by others, Devialet converts RCA signal into digital anyway, so what you have gained with Lumin DAC in between is the sound signature of the Lumin DAC. In doing so, inevitably you will lose out in transparency as signals are going through a lot more unnecessary paths. I don't suggest gaining sound signature that way, it is a far more efficient way to tune the sound signature via power treatments (power supply and power cables) and speaker cables. FYI, Devialet responses very well to power products, I use Audioquest Niagara 1200 with Nordost QV1 and QK2 to tune the sound to my liking.
Also how do you connect to Devialet? Network cables and play via Roon? Personally I don't use Roon and I don't like the Roon sound, although I love the Roon interface. I am only using Devialet 400, and play through a computer with a Matrix Element H USB card and then go through a DDC and go to Devialet via AES from the DDC. I also connected an external 10mhz clock to the DDC, somehow the clock is passed to Devialet DAC via AES and improved the overall sound. In terms of vocals, details and soundstage, I don't think I can have any complaints on the Devialet DAC, it is still up to current high end DAC levels. The only thing it is lacking compared to current high end DACs is the naturalness from DACs like Playback Design, giving a close to LP feel.
As mentioned by others, Devialet converts RCA signal into digital anyway, so what you have gained with Lumin DAC in between is the sound signature of the Lumin DAC. In doing so, inevitably you will lose out in transparency as signals are going through a lot more unnecessary paths. I don't suggest gaining sound signature that way, it is a far more efficient way to tune the sound signature via power treatments (power supply and power cables) and speaker cables. FYI, Devialet responses very well to power products, I use Audioquest Niagara 1200 with Nordost QV1 and QK2 to tune the sound to my liking.
Also how do you connect to Devialet? Network cables and play via Roon? Personally I don't use Roon and I don't like the Roon sound, although I love the Roon interface. I am only using Devialet 400, and play through a computer with a Matrix Element H USB card and then go through a DDC and go to Devialet via AES from the DDC. I also connected an external 10mhz clock to the DDC, somehow the clock is passed to Devialet DAC via AES and improved the overall sound. In terms of vocals, details and soundstage, I don't think I can have any complaints on the Devialet DAC, it is still up to current high end DAC levels. The only thing it is lacking compared to current high end DACs is the naturalness from DACs like Playback Design, giving a close to LP feel.
