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...
@sns , nice thought but the Phoenix doesn’t have an Ethernet input unfortunately! Just a USB input. Also, I’m trying to consolidate to one box and one set of cables for my player/server, as good as the PhoenixUSB is. Plus I plan to sell the PhoenixUSB to help fund this purchase! That said I’m still interested in the K50! Update: oh you mean ADD the new box as a server only which means I’d have THREE boxes! I’m trying to consolidate, so no, not going to work for me.
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@lalitk +1M @nyev At this level, price has very little to do with anything. Example, the N20 is 95% as good in SQ as the N30, for half the price. The N30, Taiko and K50 are all favoured interchangeably. @sns and myself both swear by the Musetec 005 DAC which is a $3200 DAC but will challenge anything you put up against it. We're not cheap, we have confidence in our hearing, regardless of price tags. Be happy that the N20 is the least expensive option, move on if if you don't like it but you probably won't. Good Luck anyways. |
I made an offer on the Aurender N20, but the seller did not want to use escrow (which I understand) OR PayPal Goods and Services. PayPal for Friends was his only PayPal option, I guess he wants to get the cash prior to shipping. Seller has a fair number of positive reviews over the past two years, with comments, but in theory that would be possible to have fake reviews. I don’t know about everyone else, but that seems like a lot of money to send to a stranger with no protection beyond a few positive reviews - at least beyond the amount that I could stomach if I were to be scammed. The seller is someone you can find online without is an owner of a business serving the public, but who’s to say they are that person. I suppose I could ask them for a photo of their ID which would help somewhat but still…. The MU1 seller has similar restrictions. Am I being overly cautious? How frequently do people get scammed dealing with sellers that have more than a few positive reviews in the past two years? The K50 is through a reputable dealer so that remains an option. I wouldn’t need those protections with a dealer…. With the K50 my only real concern is how good my Gryphon Diablo DAC module’s AES input is, in comparison with its USB input which is very good. But if it doesn’t work out, I can always sell and lose little or no money since it’s used.
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@lordmelton I could pay with my CC but the N20 seller said they would only use PayPal Friends and Family, so there are no fees for me to suck up and pay for added protection (and no added protection for me beyond my CC). The MU1 seller accepts bank wire only so I think too risky… Maybe I’m headed for the K50.
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