Grimm MU1 Streamer - Really "The Best"?

Back to the N20. Have been listening all night while working on my laptop. I know, not ideal (the working part). It is just so enjoyably immediate, so condensed (not compressed), so inviting with a touch of warmth, and so opposite really from the Innuos’ open expansive neutral and ultra-detailed sound. The N20 has a totally different take, that is highly musical. With the added bass that has arrived it adds some drive that was missing before. I am not demanding a solution that has all of the upper frequency resolution of the Innuos. Just halfway between the N20 and the Innuos would be fine. With a touch of high frequency resolution I think the 3D depth and spatial positioning would as a byproduct get better too. If this were achieved I’d be happy with this solution if it was the last server I owned. I find speaker positioning is far more finicky with my Innuos (in my revealing-leaning system), as the slightest bit off can just totally ruin things. The N20 is far more forgiving.

Starting to think the Innuos setup might give me too much transparency. It’s mind blowing how much inner detail it adds when I switch back to Innuos; it’s almost like a HiFi tech demo vs the N20 which has a more liquid and music-driven presentation. Another thing I blamed on my speakers was very poor off axis performance where if you move inches from the sweet spot the image starts falling apart. Not so with the N20. The image follows beautifully moving left to right. I’m still blown away at how a network player can impact these things. I had never realized that before.

Long story short the N20 is extremely enjoyable, especially on more intimate stripped down recordings which were just magical.  Moments where you forget about your stereo completely and it’s just the music.

Back to work and cable-hunting.  I think Sweden opens for business in a couple hours so may drop them a line.

Long story short the N20 is extremely enjoyable, especially on more intimate stripped down recordings which were just magical.  Moments where you forget about your stereo completely and it’s just the music

It this turns out to be the essential distinction between the two, I’d choose the Aurender by the proverbial country mile. IMHO the best audio components shift your attention away from the equipment and delve deep into the music being played.

Charles

I dealt with Cable Company for years, never a problem returning a cable, this with literally hundreds of cable over years. I understand one may have issues with any single rep at the Cable Co, I had issues with one individual there, refused to deal with him anymore. Funny thing is at the end of all that cabling demoing I ended up worrying less about cabling, kind of set it and forget it mindset.

@charles1dad Different strokes for different folks. I want max res and trans, I find extracting max info draws me further into music, Following is usual response I have from system these days. Early in listening session, listening to sound, admiring it, followed by music intensity mode which can last for hours with short intervals of listening to the sound. Great thing is admiring quality of sound is very satisfying for me these days,  this need  to admire sound is what sets audiophiles apart from 'normal' mortals, I'll also posit audiophiles will always listen to sound at some point in listening sessions. Quality sound should elicit an inherent pleasure, one that's  quite separate from the music, analysis of sound quality shouldn't be perceived as an inferior listening mode to enjoyment of music.

“IMHO the best audio components shift your attention away from the equipment and delve deep into the music being played.”

+1, @charles1dad 

@sns analysis of sound quality shouldn’t be perceived as an inferior listening mode to enjoyment of music.

Different strokes for different folks, indeed.

Nothing wrong with analyzing sound. Everyone has to enjoy and appreciate the listening experience in their own preferable manner. I was just stating my priorities. They certainly do not have to be your chosen way. No proclamations here.

I do genuinely appreciate good sound quality or I wouldn’t be so selective with audio equipment. But, when all is said and done, the way the music is reproduced and presented is far more valuable to me. Again, that’s just me.

Charles