Grimm MU1 Streamer - Really "The Best"?

Aurender N20 is quite a bit more expensive than Innuos Zenith, even if you add the cost for USB reclocker. A better comparison would have been with N10. FWIW, I tried the N10 last year and did not find the Innuos Zenith MK3 lacking in any way. It was a coin flip and I only went with Zenith due to Roon support. Hopefully, someone can compare the N20 with Statement for a more fair assessment.

Okay, after some good warmup time, here are my initial thoughts. My Innuos setup and the N20 both excel in different areas!

As stated above I am in the earliest phase of assessment. So, my thoughts are sure to evolve. I think it’s pretty typical to immediately notice the good things for any new piece, but the less good things can require some soak time living with it for an extended period before they come out. So I may be more attuned to any slight differences in my Innuos setup having lived with it for some time. And currently I’m only comparing USB before my AES demo cable arrives (hopefully soon).

One note on the relative fairness of this “fight” - while the N20 costs more than my prior Innuos setup, with the Innuos Statement the tables would be turned and the Statement costs a fair bit more than the N20. Not that pricing is the be all and end all, but it’s sort of like how boxers have a “reach” advantage/disadvantage vs opponents. In my case the N20 has the advantage.

Overall, I’m relieved I hear a big difference. I would have been disappointed but not surprised had I not heard much of a difference. But I do! One big caveat is that I think my preferred player is system dependent, and that my preference would likely have been different in my old system before my upgrades last year.

Innuos Zenith Mk3 + PhoenixUSB reclocker :

• Someone in another forum had said Innuos “is the closest thing to a concert hall experience”. That one note from one individual stood out. Because I always thought my system sounded like a concert hall, where the listener is set back from the performers. I always found the vocals to be set back in the 3D mix of instruments. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this effect - with some music it was brilliant. I always thought that the effect was due to my speakers but that one person’s comment stuck out for me. Sure enough, with the N20, this effect disappeared and the music is more “front row” now. Currently I’m preferring this effect but it could be just as a novelty.
• My Innuos setup has better mid and high frequency resolution. There is no question. I can hear air, breath, and raspiness come through with vocals much clearer with Innuos. Maybe this difference will change as my N20 warms up more.
• My Innuos setup has a bigger front to back soundstage. I’m not sure I actually like that fact, as currently I’m enjoying the immediacy of the Aurender.
• The Innuos setup has bigger (but not better) bass, in terms of going lower! I’m not certain this would be true if I measured it, but the way bass is presented between the two, that’s what my ears hear. Reserve judgement until you see the N20 counterpoint on bass below.

Aurender N20

• Number one biggest thing I notice is that everything is smoother and with less edge across all frequency bands. Very inviting.
• To use crutch-words: “organic”, “good musical flow”, “natural”, vs my prior Innuos setup. This is the one that is harder to put into words. Overall I can get into the music easier and it takes me further away from focusing on HiFi pyrotechnics. Not literal pyrotechnics thank goodness. It’s a simpler sound, more essential. Sorry if these aren’t descriptive enough as I’m describing the effect on me rather than the attribute of the sound…
• Slightly more engaging sound - all frequencies delivered with a bit more energy/conviction (but still smoother than the Innuos setup). This leads to more “snap” to the music, with better PRAT. The effect on me is that it seems like the music is playing faster even though it’s not.
• Front to back soundstage is not as deep - vocals forward, presented more evenly (and I think, naturally) with other instruments. Don’t get me wrong the soundstage is still impressively deep. The width I think is the same, but one thing is that the Innuos has more crispness to electric guitars on the very edge of the stage whereas the Aurender has more meat/fleshiness.
• While the Aurender seems to have less overall bass (subjectively speaking), the bass is more satisfying and I don’t feel like I am missing anything. The bass is more tuneful and with more rhythm. It integrates better with percussion because of this. I think this leads to delivery of music as more of a cohesive whole.

Overall I am currently enjoying the Aurender more, but remember it’s the new piece! Which always has the initial advantage over the old piece due to human bias. I’m sure I’ll uncover nits with time. Maybe I’ll start missing the better resolution of the Innuos. The Aurender sounds less fussy and more simplistic, and is more “down to basics” and getting all that right. The Innuos is more about doing all of the range of things audiophiles talk about at a more extreme level, in terms of ultimate resolution and depth of soundstage. Again I cannot say that I prefer one brand over the other, this is just a comparison of the two particular setups from each brand. Finally, I’ll say this: my system has become very, very revealing after my upgrades last year. Possibly/probably too revealing as my system has become ultra finicky with respect to speaker positioning, quality of power, etc. Had I not applied these upgrades and with a less revealing system, I think I may have preferred the Innuos setup as it might have squeezed some more detail out of my less revealing system. The Aurender may have been a tad too smooth before. Takeaway is stating the obvious - my preference is almost surely system dependent.

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@ghasley 

You have affirmed what I pretty much suspected. The Network Acoustics Muon filtering system is the real deal. It will be a part of my upcoming audio streaming system. Thanks for sharing your latest listening experiences.

Charles 

Regarding network switches, I do have the Innuos PhoenixNet in the chain with the Aurender, as I did with the prior Innuos gear. I find it helps a lot - ironically it brings the Innuos setup slightly in the direction of the N20’s sound. Why do these things help? Who knows. But I think it has to do with reducing noise introduced in the chain that ends up on your speakers. Every cable in our systems will introduce some level of noise, and putting in mitigations for that have an additive effect on what ends up playing on your speakers.

Or as I tell my non audiophile friends when they ask what that box does: “It cleans the filthy internet so my stereo sounds better”. Might as well lean into the crazy that goes with being an audiophile.

My PhoenixNET is fed by a 50ft cable from a generic Ethernet switch in my house’s smart panel downstairs. I’ve wondered what might happen if I were to replace the Dlink Ethernet switch in my smart panel with a second PhoenixNET, so the PhoenixNET at my stereo is starting with an already “clean” signal. Not something I’m planning on trying, but…

@nyev Congratulations on your N20. Reading between the lines it sounds to me as if the N20 is sounding more unforced and natural.

The N20’s signal is un-tampered with, not oversampled or clocked but upsampling is available on SPDIF outputs.

However I digress. Let the N20 run in for a week or so, you can play an internet radio station 24/7 when you’re not listening.

One thing is for sure it won’t sound any worse than it does now...lol

As @lalitk advised there are many stages to achieve what the N20 is truly capable of, so take your time and plan what you would like to do next.

The "X factor" of course is getting a master clock, but not yet.

Think maybe firstly your streaming setup may need some improvement but before you do that download your favourite files onto the N20 SSD and see what SQ you are getting.

Anyway well done and looking forward to more reports.