Grimm MU1 Streamer - Really "The Best"?
I've recently become interested in the Grimm MU1. While reviews of top end players from Innuos, Aurender and Antipodes and others are typically all very positive, the tone of the many pro reviews of the Grimm MU1 go far, far beyond, with some reviews resorting to using superlatives and gushing of positive system transformation and not being able to stop listening to material, etc.. HiFi Advice and Steve Huff (actually calls it "magic") have such reviews.
Given the delay in availability of the Innuos Pulsar which I'm told will be better than my current Zenith Mk3 + PhoenixUSB reclocker, I am interested in replacing my streaming setup with a one-box solution that includes a high-precision clock. The new streamer will continue to feed my Gryphon Diablo 300's DAC module, which I have no interest in replacing.
I'm actually a fan of Innuos, after they improved the sound of my Zenith with firmware updates and after I added their PhoenixUSB reclocker. I appreciate this commitment to improving sound quality which is why I was so interested in the Pulsar.
The trigger for considering an upgrade is not for improved sound, but rather, to solve some issues I have with too many Audioquest power cords coiled and clumped together. I will get to lose one of them and one of my USB cords with a one-box streamer. I've noticed my sound is very sensitive to positioning of my AC cords and find I often need to re-adjust the PC feeding my amp to get proper sounding vocals at center stage. One of my subs also seems to be picking up AC noise when the crossover is set above 60Hz. The second trigger is simply system simplification, removing one box. All that said I don't really have any complaints regarding sound, and the PhoenixUSB reclocker truly did improve the sound of my Zenith.
While the Grimm MU1 has it's 4X upsampling up it's sleeve with reviewers absolutely glowing over this feature and it's extreme ability to separate tones to the left, right, front, and back far better than the rest, I don't see that Grimm has gone to any lengths with regard to power supply management in the way other brands do including Innuos. The MU1's ultra-simplistic interior doesn't bug me, but the lack of transformers and power management makes me wonder....
Are there any updates from folks who have directly compared the MU1 vs similarly classed streamers from the competition? Did you find it to be as revelatory as the pro reviewers found it? And, how does it compare to other streamers with it's 4X upsampling disabled? Does it sound like it suffers from it's lack of power management? I do see that the clock should be very good...
While I appreciate your posts, but I’m afraid you’re not going to change the closed-off mentality of folks like @malibu457. Most people know it is the provenance of a file that is of utmost importance over a particular format. There are plenty of files over streaming that sounds better over downloads, CD or Vinyl and vice versa. Just read some of @malibu457 posts on other streamer threads,
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I hold out hope that if we are patient with one another and just share what has worked for us, the curious will see for themselves….or not. Either way, posts like I just shared with @malibu457 might be applicable to him/her/they or it might be applicable to someone who might visit this thread next week or next month or next year. LOL…or not.
I recognize that not everyone is after what I’m after…but I hope that my posts in reply to malibu’s posts were a kind nudge to communicate what I and many others are trying to accomplish isn’t remotely close to what he’s trying to accomplish. Happiness can be found on both roads by different people…we’ve been down his road, he hasn’t been down ours. |
thanks for the reply, could be that i should look at a new streamer. friend sells Arunder. i have an excellent Denafrips DAC and a Rega integrated, but could look into their latest offerings. i attend the Symphony even though its a 3hr flight from where i live out in the country. and yes i even my aging ears can tell the difference between live musicians. so their is still hope. |
@malibu457 I’m envious that you have access to wonderful live music and I’m further impressed by the effort you must make to do so. Kudos to you!
Seriously, if you are happy and content with your sound then you are doing it right. If you are curious though, the Aurender streamer/servers are terrific. There is no substitute for hearing it in your system. I believe your gear, depending on your speakers, should show you the next level of performance that an Aurender could deliver. Do make note, and I apologize for redundant info if that is the case, but if you utilize Roon then the Aurender will not run with Roon. The Aurender has a proprietary interface and software, which they believe sounds better.
Best wishes and even though our hearing evolves, sometimes in unwelcome ways, there is so much enjoyment with music played back through great gear that there are more discoveries in your future. For the record, I found that my hearing began to suffer greatly on my wedding day and has degraded precipitously since that time. Best wishes. |
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