Bluesound Node 2i with an outboard DAC like the Pontus 2. its the DAC that counts.
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...
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Sounds like you are having fun! You've mentioned dCS and just thought I'd mention, if you are not already aware, the Bartok will be upgraded to APEX in March, so it'll have the same upgrade, in name at least, as the Rossini and the Vivaldi got a year ago. Hoping that'll make it a much better proposition. My experience with the Mosiac streamer is that it can do a lot of what Conductor can do, but it isn't as sophisticated - keep in mind that I just used if for a few hours because I might consider doing a home demo of the Bartok later this year. In the end, I have an N10, so if I don't like the Mosaic streamer, I could just use the N10. Very interesting to read about you switching the Gryphon module to "fast". Hoping that works out for you. |
Thanks @pokey77 . Yes down the road I’ll be testing a DAC, as @ghasley has convinced me. Good to know about the Bartok upgrade! We’ll see about that route when the time comes. But it might be too costly for me - unless I use it as a one-box solution and sell all my servers. I might consider dialing it back and trying a more basic but good DAC, like the Holo May. Not sure which approach would be best, but I did set out on this path with a vision of a one-box solution. The Holo May, by the way, costs quite a bit less than my Gryphon DAC module. I know that NOS DAC sounds aren’t for everyone, but I’m curious. With the minor revelation of switching to the Fast filter, so far, I can say that the N20 with my system gives me all I need to be happy. Do I want a bit more? Yes. But if everything else I try fails, I can fall back to the N20 and be perfectly happy with this setup. Really enjoying it now, despite the few things I still am missing from the Innuos. The Innuos has more HiFi magic, but the N20 has a bigger more solid center stage, and this just makes the experience more about the music. If my focus was to have a system to impress HiFi friends with flashy spatial imaging, great immersion, detail and air, the Innuos would be the ticket. The N20 might be duller in my system from that perspective. There are “fine detail” elements of some songs that are really highlighted on the Innuos, but on the N20 you need to pay attention to notice them. But “HiFi” was never the reason I got into this… Also - it’s too early to say for sure, but I MAY finally be starting to hear a slight benefit of the AES interface over USB! There could be the slightest bit less flatness and more dimensionality to drums and bass - like they are a bit more fully formed. Or I may be imagining it - it’s hard to say at this point….
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@pokey77 , yep, would go for the KTE if I went that direction. Does look to be a value product. Thanks to being made in China. Like the MU1 too. Could make some ballon jokes here but don’t want to veer in that direction! |
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