Grimm MU1 Streamer - Really "The Best"?

Its also imprtant to understand what a piece of gear is doing with the stream. The Grimm seems to intercept the stream and then it goes to work. There are no absolutes.

Roon is awful.

IMHO. 

Agree that just because a piece doesn’t support a certain format, player, or output connection, it shouldn’t be judged poorly.  Roon is not the be all and end all for everyone and in many cases doesn’t sound as good as other players (even if it’s interface is great and it’s “radio” mode is simply fantastic).

@metaldetektor , thanks, I would appreciate it!

@fuzztone 

Please don't hold it against Aurender that their gear is unable to utilize Roon.

Aurender gear sounds great and many have found that they enjoy it immensely, same thing goes for Grimm, Taiko, eta al.

How can you include Grimm, Aurender and best in the same post?

One basically plays only Roon while the other plays NO Roon.

No "best" about it.

@ghasley I expect I am not alone in thinking you one of the “best” assets on this forum, always appreciate your contributions and perspective. 
 

OP - I will at some point PM you some names that should help you home demo the Grimm, ultimately it comes down to your ears and preferences.

Most definitely, will be seeing first about a possible demo. I’m still interested in the Innuos Pulsar too but that is delayed….

I checked and there are no MU1’s for sale used. That would have been a less risky option to buy blind (from a reputable seller or dealer) as I could always resell and lose little to no cash.

I did notice there are a few mint/good condition used Antipodes K50’s for sale online.

That said, I’m interested in opinions on the the MU1, even if they are just subjective opinions. Like to hear what others think…

Opinions, and more opinions. I think you need to audition what you can, if you can or buy with return privileges. Living in Big D and traveling 60% of the time I get to audition equipment from all over the world. 
 

This is a chunk of change you are going to spend, I would not use the words here or in a trade rag to make a purchasing decision. This is not a $1000.00 cable. 
 

Just my advice for what it's worth. 

@ghasley , that is good advice. Before I consider a flight, I might check if I can somehow get a demo sent to me locally.

While I do have a good relationship with local dealers, I find that it’s not dealers who help you with issues, but rather the component vendor. I’m not sure I’ve ever spoken to a dealer when I’ve had an issue or question; it’s always been direct to the company that made the component.

Maybe it’s just me but I also have found advice from component vendors to be far more insightful than advice from dealers, provided you understand that advice will from vendors will always be slanted in their favour. I’ve had vendors send me detailed product schematics for example, while teaching me how it works while providing me with advice on how best to use it in my home. Never got anything lat that level of depth from a dealer!

^^^^^ This is very good advice.

The Taiko Extreme is widely acknowledged or advertised as the best streamer but there is no way I'm investing that amount of money in such a small operation.

The Grimm will not give you soaring, razor edged guitar solos, which the N20 will.

Others have other priorities and rightly so.

I love DSD, hate DOP so consider your choices there is no right answer, but I'm happy and so is @ghasley and @charles1dad so that's the most important thing when you can stop worrying about your gear and enjoy the music.

@nyev

I did not directly compare the Grimm with the Statement. The new version wasn’t out when I was in the market, however, I had heard the previous Statement version, which was impressive. The most recent Aurender I listed to was the W20 and I did not compare directly with the MU1.

I will repeat, at this level, it really is a personal preference. They are each terrific. Also, at this price range, you might consider a flight and overnight stay for a prearranged demo at a US dealer. While I recognize that is a logistical and financial commitment, so is buying something to try blind. Additionally, in this price range, purchasing from a dealer who will provide after sales service/support is well worth the money. A great dealer will save you money, especially if they have been there for you with your other gear. The Grimm MU1 is Innuos Statement level performance with a bit different presentation…maybe a little more organic/natural sounding to my ears. The dealer was kindof like “I will sell you a statement or a MU1 or nothing at all but you really should experience the Grimm”. The advice was sound. YMMV and you will find your sweet spot with any one of these units only by listening/experiencing.

Source

Thanks for the thoughts.  I’ll stay to seek out a demo, however there aren’t any dealers in Canada!  Sometimes companies will work with a local HiFi shop to provide a demo when there are no other dealers around, so I will see if I am able to do that.

@lordmelton , what qualities of the MU1 did you find were more suited to classical and acoustic vs other genres?  I don’t really care about DSD and the MU1 is all about the 4X upsampler which is only available with AES, so I don’t think it would make any sense to use USB with the MU1 anyways..

@ghasley , did you directly compare the MU1 to the Innuos Statement (which is undoubtedly great and undoubtedly expensive), Aurender, or other?  If so, can you comment on the differences you noted?

I replaced an Innuos Zenith Mk3 (Amplifi-Network Acoustics Rubicon Switch-Network Acoustics Muon system-Innuos; Innuos-FTA Sinope-Totaldac D1-Tube-Mk3) with a Grimm Audio MU1 (Amplifi-Rubico-Muon-Grimm-Shunyata Sigma v2 AES-Totaldac).

The Grimm is mind-boggling good. Exceptional in fact. I find the Network Acoustics peripherals are unnecessary with the Grimm but heck, I already own them so they are in the chain. The above commenter who says the Grimm is more suited to classical or acoustic music may be unintentionally biased toward his Aurender setup. That’s all fine but I’m afraid I’ve experienced Aurender and Grimm before making the purchase and I made my decision to go with the Grimm. Its also important to point out that I set out to just upgrade to the Innuos Statement following the introduction of the new Innuos power supply improvement intro but was encouraged by the dealer to consider the Grimm. He handles both. It just sounds like music when you play music… regardless of genre.

Like many of us here on Audiogon, we just keep listening to and demoing gear and when we find something that outperforms what we have we switch. I did purchase the Grimm and have no regrets. Unlike many here on Audiogon, I don’t need or seek confirmation bias or approval from the community at large to validate a purchase. Go listen to Aurender, to Grimm or Taiko or whatever. At this level its about what you prefer and then buy the one you like, not the one liked by me or anyone else. I can say that whatever is going on inside the Grimm is very, very good. Good luck.

No, it's not the best and "Pro" reviewers get paid one way or another.

It doesn't do DSD or USB which is pathetic.

I've heard it and it's more suited IMHO to classical or acoustic music.

Get an Aurender N20 a N30 isn't worth the extra $$$.

I haven't heard the Taiko, Lampizator or Pink Faun streamers but I'm more than happy with my N20.

A couple observations here. It’s easy to get a home demo, look at Grimm’s website for the dealer list, a few will simply ship you the unit for trial if you are seriously interested and you can hear it yourself. Highly recommended approach…

1. I hesitate to use the word best and I’m not going to use it here. I will say however that certain dealers who sell more expensive streamers/server options use the Grimm in their own rig and not due to cost concerns. 

2. Lose the “linear power supply is best” stereotype. Grimm uses a very nice switching supply…just like Nagra, Mola Mola and others who have done the appropriate R&D.

Spoken by someone who frankly is skeptical of reviewers / gear polygamists, even those who gave the Grimm good marks…