Finally, assessing the P1 Mini as a streamer only hits squarely at Lumin's historical strength so it won't be a surprise that the streamer was a joy to use. Despite not having a dedicated filtered USB A output—for that you'd want the $5'000 Lumin U2 streamer—it had no problem out-resolving the Aurender at each turn. Unlike many other categories of components, a streamer is judged on its functionality as much as on sound quality. In this area the Lumin wants for nothing. It starts very quick and its network connection is very stable both via conventional Ethernet or optical, a striking difference to the Aurender A10 which takes forever to start and requires regular forced reboots to become discoverable on my network. Connecting an external drive with over 1TB of music also highlighted a speed difference. The P1 Mini indexed the full drive and played music in less than 2 minutes. The A10 took five times as long to complete the same task. I know that both components are a couple of generations apart but still didn't expect such a profound difference.

Lumin accommodate not only Tidal, Qobuz and Internet Radio natively which is quite common but also KKbox, Spotify, Plex and Roon certified. The Lumin App is slick, its design reminiscent of their trademark sobriety. It provides all the flexibility your heart desires, even allowing MQA passthrough and core decoding if you still care for that. Overall, what this detailed commentary on the P1 Mini's varied functionalities still misses is just how enjoyable the Lumin was in daily use when not agonizing over details and nuances. It's frankly been a while since I had a component which I just listened to and enjoyed this much. I mentioned in the intro how the P1 Mini was obviously voiced by a designer who shares my sonic proclivities. This made my time with the P1 Mini far more enjoyable than I ever expected. Powerful bass with a touch a bloom, realistic and open midrange tone, superb resolution and imaging with enough microdynamic drive to be interesting but not fatiguing –  this is a designer after my own heart who strove to and succeeded in making every aspect of the P1 Mini's use as rewarding as s/he could. I expected major compromises involved in downscaling the €10k P1 to the €5K Mini. To give myself some wiggle room, I expect there to be some if you listen to both side by side. But on its own the P1 Mini delivers a full package that is not just practical but above all one of the most enjoyable one-box streaming solutions I've heard in a long time.

Paradoxically, coming in at a far lower price than the original P1 has made Lumin's competition fiercer not easier. Eversolo, HiFi Rose and Auralic for just a few have all released streamers with DACs which match some or most of the P1 Mini's features. Depending on what subset you need, they may be a better feature bargain, with some even including R2R analogue volume for significantly less than the Lumin. But in the end the Lumin's understated elegance, ease of use and sonic prowess designed to appeal to most make quite the statement. Whether at the start of your audiophile journey looking for great sound without complexity; or at the end of your meandering looking to get back to simpler times without sacrificing musical enjoyment – the P1 Mini is the solution you will not regret purchasing.

I only debated about a P1 Mini award because Eversolo's A10 exists. That packs all of the Lumin’s features and more but costs 25% less. That's a significant decider. Just so, I have heard enough Eversolo gear to know that its voicing is brighter and harder than I like and I don't fancy their busier industrial design either. So even with that price difference, I'd personally buy this Lumin over any Eversolo every day.