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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
yyzsantabarbara
4,956 posts
 

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.

nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

“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!

nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

@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 :)

lordmelton's avatar
lordmelton
877 posts
 

@nyev I would strongly suggest you try the Musetec 005, if just to compare what a chip DAC can do against an R2R DAC.

I believe that your preference is for a brighter, more revealing sound and the Musetec will give you that in spades, notwithstanding the subtleties that it’s capable of.

I’ve compared the Musetec to many famous DACs and it’s never been outclassed.

A Musetec with an AQ Dragon Cable makes a very formidable opponent.

NB USB is it’s favoured input and it needs a long burn in time.

nyev OP
1,031 posts
 

@lordmelton thanks for the suggestion.  I will try to get around to that and definitely still have an interest in the Musetec.  

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