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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...

 

 

nyev
nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

@metaldetektor , thanks, but did both of those things and there is no reference to any hard disk on the overview page. But then again @svenjosh doesn’t see any hard drive info on that page either but has no issue accessing his MU1 folder on the disk from his Mac (not via the MU1’s web interface but rather through the Mac’s Sharing utility).

Pretty sure something isn’t right with my MU1 but I doubt it will be hard to resolve once Grimm gets back to me. I had asked them a question prior to my purchase and they took a few days before responding. So I will be patient.

metaldetektor
160 posts
 

On the snapshot page, you clicked “Advanced” and don’t see anything? That’s my first reaction, defer to the Grimm folks for more detailed troubleshooting 

nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

@metaldetektor , nope, nothing under advanced related to storage. So yeah seems like something may have been missed in the QC process I guess.

While I’ve been traveling for work my 12 year old son has been kindly helping me troubleshoot over FaceTime…. 

nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

@metaldetektor , after you mentioned that storage status is displayed on the Advanced tab I checked the online manual to see what it should look like.  Sure enough I see there is a bar indicating consumed space.  But I got my wife this time to send me a screenshot of the advanced settings (yes I have a very patient family, considering I’m traveling and call home to get them to troubleshoot my audio gear!).  In the screenshot, there is no such storage capacity bar but the rest looks the same as in the manual.  This confirms that the MU1 is not recognizing the drive and that it’s not user error on my part.  I still think they may have forgot to install the drive!

 

fastfreight
786 posts
 

Hello @nyev and @Lalitk, I received my MU1!

I was able to deauthorize and unpower my Nucleus+ and start Roon Core on the Grimm fairly easily. Somehow I muddled through the confusing internal drive thing and do see the internal drive.  Mine is 8T.  I got Qobuz and Tidal started easily, and have moved some of my files to the internal drive.

BUT, I have so far failed at being able to restore my roon database from a backup.  I have a bunch of playlists so I want to do this.  I have found the instructions for this confusing.

 

SOUND: Amazing.   I have my JCAT M12 switch upstairs feeding a 20m run of Supra Cat 8, into the MUON PRO filter, feeding the MU1.  Then my K-S Elation AES into my Tambaqui.  I am using a K-S Realization power cable. The music is so 'easy'.  The Tambaqui has always been very resolving, yet now I seem to hear more things but in an unstressed way.  The bass is also much fuller.  It just makes me smile and I want (and have) stayed up very late listening to my favorites.

I removed the Muon Pro filter, but think it adds something.  Not as big as an impact as before the MU1.  I put it back in.

I also have a Network Acoustics Muon AES cable to compare.  It is very good and costs less than its competition.  It is a close second to the Elation.

I have also been streaming to three other endpoints now using Roon Core in the Grimm.  It has worked perfectly.

Maybe everyone know this, but I was slow to realize that running additional Roon endpoints lessens the sound quality.  When I sit down late at night, only running my main system, it always sounds amazing.  I thought it was the time of day or power grid issues.  But it is easily heard adding a second zone while critically listening.

A big thumbs up for the Grimm, but advice appreciated on restoring my Roon Database!

 

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