It is great to hear from the actual user’s point of view. Different users could have different experiences of course. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the MU1!
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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My initial thoughts on the MU1 (streaming until I get my hard drive issue resolved) - fantastic. As expected. Perfect solid tangible detail. I’m also using an old, non-current generation Cardas AES cable until my premium cable arrives. The dealer who sold me this old cable (purchased while traveling) wasn’t even able to identify the model - we only know that it is green! We found a few examples of sales on Audio Mart to figure out that it was pretty much the most entry level AES HiFi cable you can get, and it was old. With that HUGE caveat - and I can’t stress that enough - I really enjoy the sound of the MU1 and I really enjoy the sound of my Innuos gear, both feeding the Tambaqui. The MU1 is clearly more capable when it comes to detail - the details and texture of electric guitars leap out of my speakers in such a tangible, raw yet refined, and different way. The Innuos by comparison is smoother, but not in a way that you notice missing detail unless you do a direct comparison. Unexpectedly, the Innuos gear has a fuller and more linear, 3D depth presentation - but I think that may be due to my very basic AES cable I’m using currently with the MU1. The MU1 has way more, I was going to say hardness but that would give the wrong impression - more impact and grit than Innuos. From snare drums to kick drums and bass, the impact and pacing is fantastic and better than with the Innuos. I’ve also now noticed that the Innuos Zenith plus PhoenixUSB Reclocker have a forward presentation of mids and treble. This makes vocals “pop out” a bit more, with very smooth vocals and treble. The vocals are slightly more enjoyable on the Innuos currently due to that “pop-out” effect and the smoothness. Again, so important - I am probably just describing the limitations of my current very basic and old AES cable, so it’s not as if I’m forming any conclusions whatsoever with the MU1 at this point! I also notice very little difference between the 4X and NOS modes, but again, that is likely due to being performance-capped by my AES cable. I also tried the MU1 direct to my Diablo 300 DAC and it sounded very enjoyable - with less detail than with the Tambaqui but really enjoyable. Do I like it better than the Innuos in this configuration? I think so, but too early to say definitively. Not sure where every combination will land in terms of what I will LIKE the most, but I’m going to wait until my cables arrive to figure that out! I expect the cables to change a lot, especially in terms of spatial positioning/imaging, dimensionality and depth.
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Right there…. I would personally NOT want to replace a piece of gear with those two attributes with an alternative that yields a lesser result. Less full, and less natural depth. But that’s just me.
On another note, my friend who was getting the Grimm MU1 is going silent. I don’t want to bother him with questions. Give him the proper time to evaluate
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@thyname , I didn’t mean to imply the Innuos sounds fuller in tone or body; I meant a fuller soundstage depth. But now that I think about it, the Innuos is slightly fuller in body. The MU1 is by no means lean in tone however. It’s got a very even balance to my ears and things definitely don’t sound leaner or brighter with the MU1. important to re-emphasize just how basic my cabling is right now - I have the cheapest possible AES cable (with the MU1) and balanced interconnects in my system currently, and will be about to go to the other end of the spectrum in a few weeks. With my Innuos gear I have my Audioquest Diamond USB cables which I’ve found to be fantastically transparent with great depth and I found to be great value compared with far more expensive cables (Nordost Valhalla 2 for example). So, currently my Innuos gear has an advantage over my MU1 in my system I think. The new interconnects will add depth and separation too so I think things will change dramatically for both Innuos and the MU1 when these cables arrive. The ONLY thing that bugs me slightly about the MU1’s sound - and I really think I should probably be saying what bugs me about my really old basic Cardas AES cable’s sound - is that the soundstage depth doesn’t totally sound consistent / even / linear compared with Innuos / Audioquest Diamond. I notice this the most with vocals. Could be that my speakers need some placement/toe-in adjustment as well.
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