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

@ghasley , great rationale; makes perfect sense.  As an aside, I wonder why Innuos does not support AES as the others do.

@davespencer thanks for posting. Is the above info sourced from Grimm/Roon?

 

If so, the superior Roon user experience is separated from all of the audio functions/stream, which are now handled by the Grimm? That would seem to validate the listening impressions of alot of us out here who are hearing something special via Roon through the Grimm even though our Innuos - "Roon" experience prior to Grimm ownership was better through Sense than through Roon. Thanks again.

@nyev

As an aside, I wonder why Innuos does not support AES as the others do.

I’m going to put on my business hat and remove my hifi hobbyist hat and say its a combination of they are probably playing to their perceived strengths. If they believe they know more about usb or that they believe it is an easier interface to monetize, then that makes sense. With one type of output to try to optimize, they are probably better at focusing development resources in one direction. Support and the resources necessary to do it well is also optimized...

 

Since the reclocker came up in earlier posts, monetizing the usb as a business trying to make money is far easier. If your product puts out a fantastic aes signal and your clocking is optimized...how many $4k ADD ON boxes can you build and sell to hifi enthusiasts?

 

Anyone ever seen an AES/EBU optimizer? Linear power supplies that take said optimizers to amazing new heights? Neither have I. There is an established standard with aes that no one evidently disputes. Additionally, Innuos is smart to focus on the interface most likely to be fragmented...so its easier to gain market share and penetrate it. USB presents that opportunity. DSD 1024? yep. PCM 24/3072? Yep!

 

Its easier to sell a product with a moving target, where you can OBJECTIVELY differentiate yourself from the competition. If someone says box A sounds better than box B, that can be debated. If some says "we are capable of 24/3072 resolution and our competition isn’t"...thats quantifiable, printable and repeatable but the secondary question rarely gets posed...does it matter?

“DSD 1024”

@ghasley

You’re on a roll today…LOL! I am catching up to your posts…As you might know the main DAW in the world for recording in DSD is max out in 256. That’s Merging’s Technologies Pyramix. If I am not mistaken all of the DSD 512 or 1024 stems from the original 256 recording. I believe any file sourced from an original master, regardless of its resolution is capable of sounding incredible on a well appointed system. Whenever I’m buying a download, I always check its provenance and DR measurements.

I concur with your assessment on Meitner DAC. I had the similar experience hence my reason to dump it in favor of my current DAC which is exemplary in its execution of digital files, local and those stream from Qobuz. Just like Grimm, Merging is highly regarded in the professional recording and mastering studios. I happen to own many recordings that were produced, mastered with Merging Clock. If you’re still collecting DSD’s, check out TRPTK and Turtle Records. You’re in for a royal treat my friend.

Back to your post, I concur with your assessment on Innuos focusing on USB. However it appears they are missing out hence their decision to include AES, SPDIF connectivity on newer Pulse series. If I recall, limited connectivity was one of the reasons why I never considered Innuos Statement at its release.

Almost forgot to mention, Total DAC is another DAC that was high on my list to try but I never really got around. So many great sounding components to choose from and not enough resources :-)

PS: I was quite surprised to see you moved away from all Shindo system (pre/amp and Mr. T). Someday, I am going to built all Shindo system around WVL or Horning’s. 

I am currently running NUC -> MU1 -> Tambaqui where the NUC is serving as the Roon server.  Very happy with that configuration.  Have not done A/B between Roon server on NUC vs MU1.  Believe question of which piece of hardware to run Roon server on was brought up in MU1 audiophilestyle thread.  I recall conclusion was it shouldn’t matter.  Btw - good discussion/contributions.