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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...

 

 

nyev
nyev OP
1,026 posts
 

I've only tested my MU1 with the generic power cable and with my Audioquest Hurricane so my experience is limited.  But I can hear a very big difference going from generic to the Hurricane. 

As an aside, I've read a few initial accounts of the sound of the Innuos Pulsar on WBF, as this product is finally available.  Of interest to me, is that a few have said the sound is dense, "bottom-up", full-bodied. One poster compared it with his Zenith Mk2 + PhoenixUSB and also supported that finding. 

Which I find very interesting as 1) I've found that I don't think I gravitate to that particular profile, based on my preferences, and 2) That is not how I'd characterize the Innuos Zenith Mk 3 + PhoenixUSB at all (light-on-its feet, airy, expansive when compared to others I've had in my system).

 

 

nyev OP
1,026 posts
 

@metaldetektor , I’d be interested in your assessment of how the new PBD differs in character from the MU1?  Those would be interesting to compare. But my journey on this front is over….for now!

 

metaldetektor
148 posts
 

Hi @nyev - I don’t have anything to add to the Hifi Advice comparison of the Grimm and Playback Designs piece, other than to say it’s consistent with my experience. I’ve been using the Playback with a stock Roon Nucleus and I’ve been very happy with it. Both the Grimm and Playback are excellent, I’m glad to hear you are having a good time!

buickwilson
4 posts
 

Hi @nyev - Sorry if this was stated previously, but I am wondering if you were comparing the MU1 (running Roon) to the Innuous Zenith’s native player or Zenith running Roon?

Reason for asking is I find the running Roon (core or end point) to be a bit smeared and narrow sound stage on my Zenith Mk3, and the Zenith native player to be more 3D, wider, deeper and a tad bit of mid range dip with vocals enhanced and out front, which I think you noted in one of your posts, so I assumed you were comparing the MU1 with Roon to the Zenith with native player.

And given your conclusion that the MU1 was the keeper has prompted my interest in testing the MU1 too, as I like Roon for additional music information presented and clicking through for music discovery and would rather be using Roon as my primary player.

Thanks, Neil

carlsbad2's avatar
carlsbad2
1,382 posts
 

Just bought an MU-1.  I've only had it 36 hours so I'm going to refraim from drawing conclusions but initial impression is very, very positive.  

I spent most of the morning reading this thread quickly and there is so much information in it that I had to skip over some of the bunny trails it goes down and will probably go back through it a bit later.  But great info here.  I especially appreciated the discussions by @nyev and @ghasley .

My old streamer is an Innuos Zenith MkIII.  My DAC in a Chord DAVE and with the old streamer I use the Chord M-scaler so count me in the pro-upscaling camp.  I'm not going to sell this gear yet as initial impressions can fade.  I'll put it back in service in a week or so and that should confirm.  Of course with the MU-1 I don't use the Mscaler.  Interestingly I was able to remove the following equipment from my rack:  1.  Innuos streamer.  2  Chord Mscaler.  3  NUC with Roon core running on it.  4.  Farad LPS for M scaler.  5.  LPS for NUC.  

I don't have a good AES cable so I'm listening to a $50 amazon cable I could get overnight.  I decided last Sunday to look at the Grimm.  60 minutes later I decided to try one, and 2 hours later I had bought one used. It shipped Monday, arrived Wed, and I'm posting this on Fri.  I have a better cable from DH Labs coming tomorrow but will look at higher end cables.  But just the step up to DH Labs from amazon should be big.

I pulled the fuse and the Grimm has a 500mA input fuse which is very small (sizing of fuses by OEMs is more Kentucky windage than science).   It is my opinion that this one is sized very tight to the load (even though the load is very small).  That's the long way of saying that I recommend a fuse upgrade.  I upgraded the fuse this morning and the improved detail and dynamics was obvious. 

I'll post more after I've had more time to listen.  I updated my system in my profile this morning so you can see what other gear I'm running if you care.

Jerry

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