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

@metaldetektor , thanks for confirming.  No SPDIF either.  I will pick up the cheapest AES cable I can find.  Don’t care if it sounds good or bad; really just to have it fully set up and burned in (mostly) by the time I’m home on the weekend.  With any luck the Shunyata cables will also have arrived by then.

To me it just doesn’t make sense to put a $10K streamer in front of a $4,500 DAC

That's what I thought too. So I proceeded to upgrade my DAC - Lampi, BA LABO, Linn Klimax, Weiss 501, Pasithea, Bartok, and finally the Mola Tambaqui. With the Mola and its built-in streamer I felt like I was settled for awhile.

[note: I found it confusing that the Mola distributor STRONGLY recommended adding a $6K Auralic server/streamer + a $3K USB cable! The Tambaqui is $14K!! WTF? Why?? It kept niggling at me... ]

Then I got curious about clocks and jitter. Down the rabbit hole of Master Clocks, cascading clocks, USB to AES Clocks, ad nauseum. Oh, and more cables (bnc, 110ohm AES, USB, etc. etc.).

Early mid-2022 I began noticing increasing media coverage of the MU1. Since playing with all my clocks convinced me that there was significant upside on the streamer side of things [note: Now I get it!] I decided to demo the Grimm unit. Paul, my dealer, told me to forget all my clocking paraphernalia - take it all out of the system and just play the MU1 through the Tambaqui - period.

Well I purchased the unit (anyone looking for a clock?). I won't describe the sound except to say all my streaming music sounds very "analog" and I no longer really care what the resolution of a recording is. That alone frees my mind to focus more on... The Music.

 

Adding the MU1 cleaned up bunches PC's, IC's, ancillary boxes, AND MY ROON Nucleus+, returning my system closer to that "straight wire with gain" (well, figuratively speaking).

 

That the MU1 has ROON incorporated is pretty important (and often overlooked) , as Grimm has (with Roon approval) modified the Roon hardware/software to interface and integrate seemlessly with the MU1. In addition to optimizing communication this also serves to eliminate multiple boxes & cables. Let's remember too -  the Nucleus+ with 2tb is $4K.

So now I think I'm settled for awhile. 

I was at the Audiofest show In Toronto Canada a few months ago & by far & away the best sounding server, in at least 2 rooms, was the latest Baetis Reference series.  It sounded like music in a way nothing else did.  I did not run into Grimm server so cannot speculate on that comparison, but not listening to a Baetis server if you're in the market for something of extraordinary audio quality, is a complete non starter. Especially since if you buy it direct from them, they'll upgrade less expensive models to close to the reference level, for a lot less.

“Baetis Reference series.  It sounded like music in a way nothing else did.”

@john1 

What other servers you have heard and compared to draw that conclusion? 

“To me it just doesn’t make sense to put a $10K streamer in front of a $4,500 DAC”

@davespencer , I do get how rationally this may seem unbalanced, pairing a DAC module in an amp to a far more expensive streamer. But in practice I can totally see how this could make sense. The Gryphon Diablo 300 DAC module is absolutely up there with the Tambaqui performance wise, it’s really the nuances in transparency and tone that I’m picking up with the Tambaqui that makes all the difference. I do think it is likely the MU1 will lift my Diablo DAC module and I’m looking forward to testing that configuration despite the fact that I’m really enjoying the Tambaqui.

I agree with you on the multi-box thing. I’m sure that approach yields amazing benefits but thinking about all those cables you were listing, that is not a small cost. If you are at the point where you are out to buy the endgame level of every component and have the funds for the cabling, I can see that making sense. But if not, going for top-tier but fewer boxes makes sense I think.  IF the MU1 and my Diablo DAC module are enough for me, an AQ Dragon cord would be an elegant addition to a minimalist system approach. Certainly couldn’t afford Dragons for an endless number of boxes.  And I really find going up the power cord chain on digital equipment makes a really big difference.

I still have not ruled out the possibility that the MU1 could lift my Diablo DAC module and that I may end up selling the Tambaqui, although I think the chances are small. The Diablo DAC module has a charm with its bolder, “front row” presentation, but not one I’d pick over the Tambaqui. But just maybe, when combined with the MU1 some of the DAC module’s weaknesses will be mitigated. Looking forward to finding out.

Also I should re-emphasize how much I enjoyed the Merason DAC1. Which today I’ve sold for about what I paid for it. That DAC is one that I could get sentimentally attached to, for both the sound and the way it looks. Really is a special product. Listened to it a final time last night and while it doesn’t resolve as much as the Tambaqui, it’s sound is really pleasing to listen to. Quiet, clean, smooth, rhythmic with an inviting sound. I can imagine people describing it’s sound as “analog”, unlike the Tambaqui which I would say is digital without the associated flaws. Another case where a far more expensive streamer could elevate it.