Grimm Audio MU1 Streamer Reviews

5 Rating 5 Reviews

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“I have been streaming music for a good few years having found this option yielded better results than playing CDs, when a quality streamer is used. I have built several iterations of computer streamers and they have, gradually, become more sophisticated in their build and sound quality. The Grimm MU1 is the first turnkey solution, I have tried, to seriously challenge my diy build. The tonal quality dynamics, imaging, separation etc are similar and the diy has a bit more bass, however over an extended period of use the Grimm just sounds better, the music flows in a more natural way somehow. Switching back to the diy the music appears slightly cloudy and less clear, a phenomenon I was not aware of previously. The only downside to the MU1 from my point of view is that one is locked into Roon. I have not previously used Roon as I have around 3000 albums of CD and hi-res files on two 2Tb nvme drives in my linux computer, Paul Hynes PSU using HQplayer. I have always found local, internally stored files, sound better than streamed music. I must say using the MU1 with Roon has changed this opinion, when comparing Qobuz files with local they often sound identical, sometimes different, but not worse. I believe Grimm are working on their own player software which I look forward to. In the mean time I am enjoying the the enforced adoption of Roon. Apart from the improved sound quality and the ability to play Qobuz files so well, the MU1 is a much more convenient and elegant digital music player than my existing streamer/server. A considerable investment for sure, but my take is; this is a mature product, software uprgradeable, sounds great with an excellent user experience and it is not even run in.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

“The first thing that may strike you about the MU1 is its conceptual similarity to the dCS Vivaldi Upsampler. The implementation is different, but both devices place streaming and upsampling in one box. This combination is most unusual, but following dCS’s example provides credibility. It’s worth mentioning that, although still considered world-class, the Vivaldi Upsampler (along with the rest of the ’stack’) is now over ten years old and the MU1 is about half the price. The MU1 requires the use of ROON. And although I have mixed feelings about ROON, what I can say is that the MU1 is the best sounding ROON implementation I’ve heard. The MU1 encapsulates both ROON Core and Endpoint functions, connecting to the DAC via AES. It simply provides the best streaming SQ I’ve experienced. So whether you want one is somewhat dependent on how important streaming is to you. For me, Qobuz Hi-Rez is now my main source - the SQ is that good (once you’ve sorted your network connection out). However, a big surprise was connecting a CD player as a transport to the MU1 by S/PDIF. My unit was Marantz’s top-of-the-line player about 15 years ago - its DAC is off the pace, but the transport is still excellent. The MU1 reclocks and upsamples red book to 24/176 before sending it on to your DAC. I’ve never heard my CDs sound so good, totally unexpected. I’m now playing CDs again - well I didn’t see that one coming!”

Helpful Report

Posted 10 months ago

“The Grimm MU1 is truly a spectacular music server/streamer. It's reclocking/upsampling magic is superb and easily the best I have ever come across. It's the only server I have owned that has made Roon sound truly amazing, with streamed music sounding almost as good as locally stored high-res files! Although expensive, the improvements over my previous server/streamer were immediate and obvious, providing an amazingly clear, transparent and natural sound. I can wholeheartedly recommend it!”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“The Grimm Audio MU1 is in my opinion a disruptive pre amp, roon streamer specialist oversampler and reclocker. I know the price can seem high but it has literally transformed the sound in my system. Streamed music now sounds equal to music played from a hard drive. I am using a Meridian 861v8 surround sound and music processor and the DAC has never sounded so clear, detailed, relaxed and involving when fed from this streamer. The Grimm seems to impart a kind of magical musicality that fills the room and sounds completely natural, beautiful and non digital. I have no idea how Grimm have achieved this. I’m just glad they have.”

2 Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Excellent premium music server/streamer. The best Roon compatible device and implementation of upsampling I have heard to date. Jack @ Audiobarn was a pleasure to deal with. Thank you!”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago