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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
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,543 posts
 

Yes, we all have differing sonic priorities so what one finds less enjoyable completely immerses another. Love this hobby!

I owned the Phoenix USB reclocker with my Innuos Zenith 3, and while it improved transparency, I ended up selling it as I preferred the more relaxed and organic sound of my Mojo Audio dac without it. Just a reflection of my preference.

I will say this again as I feel it is important. Try a SR Purple fuse in your server/streamer before making any kind of final decision. Let it burn in for 48 hours and then listen. This one tweak has improved the sound of my streaming front end more than any other single network upgrade. No joke. Yes, more than my switch, filters, LPS and other network upgrades. A revelation in my Zenith. Regardless of your feelings on fuses, be open minded and try one. They offer a 30 day return policy. Don’t judge the sound until in place and run in for 48 hours. Get one rated about 25% higher amperage than the stock fuse.

All sonic parameters improved. All of them. Music is also released more from the speakers in a magical way. I have tried many fuses over the years and the Purple one is just so special in my Innuos server. It’s like I upgraded to a far more expensive server.

Charles, I am going to put the Purple fuse in my Tron dac as my only tweak 🙂. We will see if it also brings the magic with this dac or not.

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 

@grannyring Charles, I am going to put the Purple fuse in my Tron dac as my only tweak 🙂. We will see if it also brings the magic with this dac or not

Bill, I’m genuinely interested in the outcome with the excellent Tron DAC. Did you find the SR Purple fuse to be directional? The builder of my new DAC said listening confirmed to him that wire is directional in orientation.  He knows that this is a controversial position, he doesn’t care.

Charles

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,543 posts
 

Yes indeed Charles. The fuse is certainly directional.  I have found all fuses to be directional.  Innuos has a fuse flow diagram on their site. The Purple flows from S to R on the label and when placed according to the Innuos flow diagram the fuse sounds best.  

Post removed 
nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

@grannyring , for sure have read yours and other’s accounts of the improvements fuses can bring. I definitely plan to follow up on this when I get to the tweak phase. I’m sure based on the many accounts out there that the fuses would lift both the N20 and my Innuos gear. But my thinking currently is to see how I find each server on equal terms first.

I’m a terrible audiophile and really fell into this path not for the sake of the gear, but rather by my obsession with music as a teen, and struggling to find a stereo system that I didn’t find utterly grating and destructive to my enjoyment of music. I found I couldn’t spend $5k (decades ago) on a full scale system and have it be enjoyable. I tried everything I could going to dealers and found everything to be grating in some way. I succumbed to a $1,200 Yamaha mini system that actually sounded rather good for what it was, and wasn’t grating like those $5k full systems sounded to me. My daughter now has it in her bedroom after my sister gave it to her after I had given it to my sister.

The quest continues, but yeah, for me personally music comes first.

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