At least it used to be very reasonable money at ~$5k...its now an $8k dac.
Yikes!!!
A 60% increase. Resorting to its Switzerland roots it seems.
Charles
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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When I first got my Innuos Zenith MK3, I had a similar experience. I know someone mentioned the SR Purple fuse earlier and you commented that you wanted to keep the playing field level. However, the SR Purple fuse had such an impact on the sound quality that honestly I was shocked how a mere fuse could do this much. You already gave the advantage to the N20 by playing to its strengths when you tried the AES output. I strongly feel that the Purple fuse is Innuos' key strength. You should at least give it a shot. Plus it's only $200, you can return if it doesn't work for you. In my case, it helped tremendously by providing more stable and vibrant imaging. The increase in soundstage depth and width and the extra vibrancy the fuse provided was not subtle at all. Secondly, if you are planning to try out dacs within the $7K range, let me be the first to tell you that you will be disappointed. While they might reach the potential of your built-in dac, I seriously doubt you will hear any improvement. A well-designed, well-thought out built-in dac gives the designers several opportunities to fine tune performance which is in line with the overall sound signature they are aiming for. If you're lookin for substantial improvement I strongly feel you have to set your sights on a higher price bracket. Lalitk has the Merging dac which I believe is the real deal. I heard it at his home last year and was very very impressed. Lastly, I really appreciate the feedback you are sharing with the audiogon community. There are very few people who compare high-end streamers in their own systems and faithfully report their findings without any bias. I certainly have enjoyed reading your posts and find them very valuable. Thank you for sharing! |
Agreed! This is something you’re more likely to find on Whatsbestforum. The effort and time is appreciated. Charles |
+1 I have been following this and really enjoy reading about your journey… @nyev question, maybe I missed it, but have you tried the upsampling on the N20 with the AES output? |
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