Grimm MU1 Streamer - Really "The Best"?

Purchased an MU1. Should have in a few weeks.

Next need to consider the DAC. Will try to line up some demos before buying anything, and at the very least see how the MU1 does with my Gryphon DAC just while it’s burning in. Which I’m very interested in, because in theory it will help me get an understanding of the weaknesses of my DAC, supposedly being neutral leaning and accurate. Want to see if I perceive any negatives that might be common to either of the other two servers, which might be attributable to my DAC. Will try to get demo DAC’s in once the MU1 is burned in.

Yes, I do anticipate a revelation when I try the demo DACs - far moreso than I expect with the MU1. But I wanted a really neutral baseline to test the DAC’s with..

So I know, I’m only partially following your wise advice!

I’m also buying a Jorma AES cable finally, now that I found someone who will sell me one. I’ll need to return my demo Audioquest Diamond AES cable this week unfortunately, so I won’t be able to do controlled A/B tests between AES and USB.

Will continue running the AES on my N20 for 4 more days.  Still hoping something changes there, but probably not at this point.  At some level I’m disappointed in that, as I’d hope that fancy clock in the N20 would do something.  Will be interesting to do the same comparison with a different DAC.  On that note, the dealer who lent me the Diamond cable are a Linn and Moon dealer.  They might have some of their lower end DACs on hand for me to try with the Diamond cable.  But they often can’t as they are a tiny outfit and only have two demo systems in their shop, and most of their gear is reserved for that.  I will ask though.

Good luck on this upgrade. Hope it is all you are looking for. 

Well, the MU1 may be all I’m looking for, but maybe not - I have zero expectations in terms of how I’ll enjoy it, and in what configuration. But between three server solutions and TBD DAC’s I’ll be trying eventually, I’m sure I’ll figure it out. I’m not banking on the MU1 being part of the final solution; could be the N20 for all I know at this point! I’m a bit down on Innuos currently - I’m sure just due to my system parameters - super impressed with its detail air and space but not with its lack of image stability and solidity in my current system. Not sure that’s the right way to describe it. Maybe a new DAC would sort that out. Will find out eventually!

@nyev 

Congratulations on your purchase of MU1. This would be another reference point for you on both techs, streaming and DAC. What are you thinking in terms of XLR Interconnects for connectivity between MU1 and Diablo. Looking forward to your feedback. 

Have fun listening to the different streamers in your system. It’s nice to see someone put their money where their mouth is and actually get first-hand listening impressions, at home in a familiar system, rather than armchair quarterback based on reviews, Youtube influencers, "price of parts" and amateur comments etc. (which is fine, as a starting point, the problem is when folks forget how compromised those impressions are...). Show/dealer experience is also far from ideal.

As far as separate DACs go, there are obviously a lot of good options to choose from. I would be wary of folks who strongly push you towards dac x or dac y, especially on this forum. So-and-so DAC is a giant killer, can compete with cost no object DACs, etc etc. With DACs in particular, there seems to be a competitiveness where folks want to validate that their value priced DAC is in the running among the best out there, frankly it’s a little silly and in my experience not based in reality (I have tried some of these flavor of the month DACs out of curiosity and quickly moved on. I’ll just leave it at that). At the risk of leading you to another rabbit hole, the best way to settle on a separate DAC is the same thing you’re doing with the server search...try a bunch in your system and see what you like. Have fun out there.