Grimm MU1 Streamer - Really "The Best"?

@melm , just to emphasize what I said, it is simply a hypothesis that those comparing the Tambaqui to the Musetec are feeding it with a more basic source resulting in the Tambaqui being more revealing of system flaws.  It was more of a “what-if” scenario based on what I saw people feeding the Tambaqui in the comparison with Musetec.

I don’t doubt that people in general are feeding their Musetecs with high quality sources and I’m open to the possibility that the Musetec is truly better than the Tambaqui as well.

The individual being referenced as preferring the Musetec over the Tambaqui had a basic streamer listed as the source where he was posting the outcome of his comparison on Head-Fi on the Tambaqui thread (his system was listed in his signature).  Apologies in advance of I’ve misinterpreted something but I see the Lumin U2 Mini listed as the source, which is certainly not a poor source, but maybe not at the level of a MU1.  It would be good to see a comparison of the Tambaqui vs the Mustec with a MU1 level player or higher as the source.

To be clear, I have no conclusions formed (that would be silly as I haven’t heard the Musetec), just mere speculation based on the circumstances of the comparisons.  Based on what many say I’m sure the Musetec is an awesome DAC and perhaps the best value out there when it comes to DACs.  And yes the internals look incredible; very clean like the Holo May.  I just wouldn’t form any conclusions until we see more comparisons with the Tambaqui with higher end / premium sources.  If you can show me some I will stand corrected; I may have simply not come across them! :)

The [insert the name of the DAC you own and favor] (“Your Amazing DAC”) is a marvel of impeccable engineering, parts quality, and price-to-quality ratio. Your Amazing DAC slays better known DACs in head to head comparisons with one channel tied behind its back, at a fraction of the cost. Most audiophiles are not well-informed enough, or are too trusting of professional reviewers, to appreciate the quality of Your Amazing DAC, and that is their loss. Anyone who spends less than the cost of Your Amazing DAC doesn’t know what they’re missing, and anyone who spends more has more money than sense.

This is a great thread, let’s keep it focused on the Grimm and not DAC talk, which for whatever reason gets people overly worked up. 

I used the Musetec 005 with a fibre stream from both the Lumin X1 (USB out) and Sonore OpticalRendu. Both are excellent streamers and likely hard to beat.

I found the Lumin X1 as a DAC a tiny bit better than the Musetec. When I say better, I have a preference for a less smooth or tubey sound. The Musetec is just a bit warmer and smoother than the Lumin X1. This sound signature of the Mustec is likely what the designer was trying to achieve.

A shame I sold the Musetec 005 but I need the cash to buy the X1. One thing that may get be back to a Musetec 005 is that I want to buy a SACD transport and I think the I2S input on the Musetec can take DSD as input (not sure yet).

The guy that sold me the X1 bought a Tambaqui. All a matter of preference and I cannot say one is better. For example, my Benchmark DAC3B which I consider my worst 2-channel DAC is actually my favorite on my tube headphone amp.

“This is a great thread, let’s keep it focused on the Grimm and not DAC talk, which for whatever reason gets people overly worked up.”

@metaldetektor , agreed, there are lots of DAC war/opinion threads already and I didn’t intend to steer the discussion that way! I only mentioned as I did consider the Musetec before jumping directly to the Tambaqui as part of the journey I’ve described in this thread.  The thing I can say conclusively is that the Tambaqui bests my Gryphon Diablo DAC module in terms of resolution and focus, albeit at a much higher price point.  For the money, the Diablo DAC module is a warm, inviting, lively and engaging DAC with a fuller low frequency tonal balance than the Tambaqui.  Still a great option for the cost, but the Tambaqui goes further which is not a surprise!

@svenjosh , back to you a more interesting topic, for me at least, how is your digital AES cable shootout with your MU1 going?  Can you share details of how the Sablon cable compares and contrasts with the Shunyata Omega?  Really looking forward to your thoughts on that :)