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 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. |
@lordmelton thanks for the suggestion. I will try to get around to that and definitely still have an interest in the Musetec. |
I will quickly reply to melm's previous post and then shut up about DACs .. I promise :) To begin with, I want to emphasize that I'm in no way questioning the integrity of the gentleman who compared Musetec to Tambaqui, or the veracity of his claims. The point I was making was that if a party has any financial stake in writing about or promoting a product, it needs to be disclosed -- even post-facto. I know a number of dealers who picked up new product lines because they were impressed with the products they heard. So when they promote a product in these forums, it's relatively easy to trust their judgement. But still it's good practice to state your affiliation (and most do) when promoting or comparing a product. Ok, no more DAC posts fro me from this point onwards :) |
Further to @arafiq post…those contributing here from their direct experience often ignore (conveniently) a fact that every system is unique just as our individual preferences. There are no absolutes in audio..nuff said! |
@lalitk +1 Cannot agree more |
