Network Audio Players/Servers

As I mentioned in our review, Lumin's Ethernet and fibre network connections can be used interchangeably. You might need a little extra hardware to do this if your NAS doesn't have a fibre connection, but this is a connectivity option I have been using for some time in my own system with excellent results. I deploy little Ethernet to fibre converters (from about £30, though you'll now find 'audiophile' versions for much more!), inexpensive LC fibre-optic cable (think about £10 for a 10m run), and an LC/SPF converter, which also start from about a tenner.

It's an inexpensive experiment to try, and one I've found brings appreciable benefits in clarity when compared with the potentially 'noisy' conventional wired connection. And there's a further benefit: the low cost of the fibre cable makes it easy to store your NAS remotely and avoid its fan/drive noise impinging on your listening. A 20m run of LC/LC cable will still cost you less than £20, and even longer runs are a steal compared to extended lengths of decent Ethernet cabling.