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...
@benzman I heard that Innuos was showing off the Pulsar (although not a functioning demo?). And yes, I wouldn’t expect that we’d be quite at the level of analog enjoyment in the digital world quite yet…. Maybe one day, maybe never! |
Hi, Different sources, different sounds. It's that easy. Just as not all dacs sound the same, and not all turntables sound the same, the different sound formats will have their own imprint and each one is free to choose the one they like best. Which and in summary is a matter that in many cases is subjective and there, particularly, I do not enter
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The digital link is crucial. It's the first thing I would address. I personally wouldn't invest in a high end dac and server, and not have a reference digital cable. Maybe the digital AES cable people have tried on this thread were all on the same level. The digital cable I am using made all other digital cables I've tried sound broken. When I first heard it, my jaw dropped. I thought to myself, how is this even possible, when it's just digital bits? @woots You should have compared the Grimm to the new Lumin models with the new processing engine. It's a huge step up from the older Lumin models. |
Appreciate feedback @macdude still demoing the Grimm.but leaning towards a purchase. One major item that The Grimm MU1 offers is that there is significant simplification in the set up. Ethernet to the Grimm then AES to my Nagra Tube Dac. With other solutions I needed a NUC or Nucleus+ then through Lumin as Streamer and then to Nagra. It was set up with out the Nagra initially but I wanted a better dac and landed here with the Power Supply. Before adding the Nagra it was just my Nucleus + and Lumin. But there is no comparison in SQ, soundstage, bass on and on with the Grimm. Total game changer and much simpler set up. I will also add that I have had 0 issues with Roon since I started demoing the Grimm. Not exactly sure why but that’s another discussion in another forum. Woots |
