Grimm Audio MU1 and MU2 Music Players

[haltermr]

Hi All;

I am looking for the simplest way to get good sound out of the Roon interface. I will be auditioning the Grimm. Out of curiousity, anyone here consider the Aqua Linq with HPQ/NAA module? It seems like another plug and play (and expensive) way to get the best sound while using Roon as an interface.

Thanks

Rick

[haltermr]

Hi All;

Currently auditioning an MU1, replacing a nucleus+ and going into Tambaqui/Gryphon Essence/Rockport Atrias.

The midrange was markedly improved, and some funky higher frequency phase effects were eliminated. 

However, I noted a marked drop in bass; this really sounded like an actual attenuation in my system, rather that just the nucleus being overblown, and the MU1 flat.

Curious of others' experience with this?

[haltermr]

Hi All;

I wound up purchasing the MU1. Looking at the photos of the internals gives me waves of nausea (my attraction to my Gryphon amp was its attention to detail in short circuit paths, and tidy engineering), but it sounds good. The midrange is a bit more rounded and solid, and the detail and imaging were excellent. I've found that with some speaker adjustment, my bass is sounding good. I have a preset for rock music where I lift the lower frequencies from 90hz down if I want a bit of emphasis. But for classical, especially dynamic, complex works like Mahler Symphonies, the Grimm was outstanding. I have been controlling volume through a Mola Mola Tambaqui, but frankly do not like doing this through the tiny push buttons. The Gold Disk has grown on me. Now that it can be controlled by an IR remote, it will become the control piece of the system. I have a strong feeling that when they release the internal Dac module, it is going to be extremely good, and eliminate the need for the Tambaqui. 

@aangen, have you taken delivery of your piece yet?

[haltermr]

1 minute ago, haltermr said:

Hi All;

I wound up purchasing the MU1. Looking at the photos of the internals gives me waves of nausea (my attraction to my Gryphon amp was its attention to detail in short circuit paths, and tidy engineering), but it sounds good. The midrange is a bit more rounded and solid, and the detail and imaging were excellent. I've found that with some speaker adjustment, my bass is sounding good. I have a preset for rock music where I lift the lower frequencies from 90hz down if I want a bit of emphasis. But for classical, especially dynamic, complex works like Mahler Symphonies, the Grimm was outstanding. I have been controlling volume through a Mola Mola Tambaqui, but frankly do not like doing this through the tiny push buttons. The Gold Disk has grown on me. Now that it can be controlled by an IR remote, it will become the control piece of the system. I have a strong feeling that when they release the internal Dac module, it is going to be extremely good, and eliminate the need for the Tambaqui. 

@aangen, have you taken delivery of your piece yet?

FYI, I had been comparing to a Roon Nucleus +.  I also tried inserting an Innuous PhoenixNet between the nucleus and the Tambaqui, but didn't hear a major improvement. At the end of the day, The Grimm was enough of an improvement to return the Nucleus +. Those who describe the native Roon sound as a bit thick and rounded are correct.  With the nucleus +, I also experienced some harshness on the top of vocals, which is solved by the MU1.  I also experienced significantly improved depth of imaging with the Grimm. The latter is pretty extraordinary, really. The i3 nuc in the Grimm is doing just fine running other endpoints throughout the house. I hope Grimm as a company is robust enough to keep up with upgrades and roon changes. It is interesting, though, that a lot of this is an investment into software as much as hardware, as well as a common belief with the developers on the goals of sound reproduction. I watched an interview in English, which helped me feel a bit validated about the expense of this unit. 

[haltermr]

On 9/26/2021 at 1:38 AM, bluebeat said:

@haltermr

 

Congratulations with your Mu1, glad you got the bass sorted.

 

I'm also interested in the Tambaqui, the combination with the Mu1 is appreciated by many. Did you try other dac's with the Mu1?

 

I'm not sure if the Tambaqui is right for my set up, with the slightly dry and analytical leaning Marten Miles 3. Maybe a Totaldac or another R2R will be a better match. However, at the moment the Mu1 breaths new life into my Ayre QX-5 Twenty, and that's quite exciting. And above that a new set of speakers (Miles 5) is coming my way, I will need to take all the changes in. I will hold off a new dac for now - the Mu2 might be in time and just right ... very curious about that. Given the qualities of the Mu1, it should be a top contender.

 

Enjoy your Mu1!

 

Cheers

 

Marc

My impression of the Tambaqui is that it isn't cool or analytical, but it isn't warm either. It might have a slight accentuation in the treble where spatial details live, but I don't find it overly bright. I have a preset on Roon where I add some bass, 120hz and down, that I play with some rock and jazz. 

The compact size of the Tambaqui, and the fact that it comes with a pelican case means it is pretty easy for a dealer to send out for audition. Depending on where you live, you might be able to listen to it in your system. 

Like you, I'm pretty excited about the MU2. I wouldn't mind cutting down the number of boxes. (My wife likes the looks of the Tambaqui though)

[haltermr]

Saw on another forum that @aangen has taken delivery of his MU1. I will be curious of his impressions!

 

[haltermr]

13 hours ago, aangen said:

Yes sir. I finally have a chance to sit and listen for a bit. I have a Stealth Audio V18 Dream SE power cable into the unit, and a Stealth Audio Octava-T AES/EBU cable running into my Gryphon Kalliope DAC. That feeds into a Gryphon Pandora Preamp that feeds a Gryphon Antileon Evo Amp driving Vivid G1 Spirits. 
 

Prior to the arrival of the MU1 I was using a Pink Faun 3.16 (no X) to serve Roon to my DAC via one of PF’s high quality USB outputs. 
 

Last night I was in a poor mood as I could not make a Roon backup that lives on an external hard drive work with the MU1. Grimm sets externally mounted drives to read only mode and that may have been an issue. So I had to do a restore via Dropbox. That took nine plus hours. By the time I sat down to listen I was not really in a mood for it and didn’t really notice anything special. Tonight however I am noticing a very analog sound from almost everything. I’m a hard core vinyl guy and this MU1 seems like it could make staying in my chair a lot easier. Goosebumps at the moment.

 

I talked my audio guru, George Vatchnadze of Kyomi Audio in Chicago into looking into the MU1. I allowed him to test it out in his world to see what he thinks before sending it to me. So it came with Roon setup with his credentials. Changing them to mine seems to have caused a bit of an issue and so far it’s slow going getting support from Grimm. Perhaps I’m an instant gratification sort. No wait, I waited months for this. 
 

At any rate at the moment playing familiar music I am startled by what I am hearing. It’s quite stunning. Quite stunning. Analog, it sounds like vinyl. It is not similar to the Pink Faun, it is much better. I’ll think of the best standard “it sounds like” comments later. Right now I just want to listen. I have Roon playing songs at random and it’s fun to hear the different recordings and how they fill the room. These Vivid Spirits get right out of the way and let the room fill with whatever the artist had in mind. Wowza!

I'm really enjoying my MU1, especially with classical. I also enjoy the functionality of the gold dial on top. It now controls my audio and video, and works very will in this regard. Curious what your guru at Kyomi thought, given he is an Aurender and Lumin dealer...

For me, I wanted to keep the Roon interface, but I wanted better sound. My audio guru swears by Aurender for sound, but the interface wasn't adequate for me....

[haltermr]

13 hours ago, aangen said:

Yes sir. I finally have a chance to sit and listen for a bit. I have a Stealth Audio V18 Dream SE power cable into the unit, and a Stealth Audio Octava-T AES/EBU cable running into my Gryphon Kalliope DAC. That feeds into a Gryphon Pandora Preamp that feeds a Gryphon Antileon Evo Amp driving Vivid G1 Spirits. 
 

Prior to the arrival of the MU1 I was using a Pink Faun 3.16 (no X) to serve Roon to my DAC via one of PF’s high quality USB outputs. 
 

Last night I was in a poor mood as I could not make a Roon backup that lives on an external hard drive work with the MU1. Grimm sets externally mounted drives to read only mode and that may have been an issue. So I had to do a restore via Dropbox. That took nine plus hours. By the time I sat down to listen I was not really in a mood for it and didn’t really notice anything special. Tonight however I am noticing a very analog sound from almost everything. I’m a hard core vinyl guy and this MU1 seems like it could make staying in my chair a lot easier. Goosebumps at the moment.

 

I talked my audio guru, George Vatchnadze of Kyomi Audio in Chicago into looking into the MU1. I allowed him to test it out in his world to see what he thinks before sending it to me. So it came with Roon setup with his credentials. Changing them to mine seems to have caused a bit of an issue and so far it’s slow going getting support from Grimm. Perhaps I’m an instant gratification sort. No wait, I waited months for this. 
 

At any rate at the moment playing familiar music I am startled by what I am hearing. It’s quite stunning. Quite stunning. Analog, it sounds like vinyl. It is not similar to the Pink Faun, it is much better. I’ll think of the best standard “it sounds like” comments later. Right now I just want to listen. I have Roon playing songs at random and it’s fun to hear the different recordings and how they fill the room. These Vivid Spirits get right out of the way and let the room fill with whatever the artist had in mind. Wowza!

In terms of sound signature, I heard better detail and depth, but still found the midrange, where vocals and other favorite acoustic instruments live, to have a nice "roundness" to them. I went from a Roon Nucleus + to the MU1, certainly no Pink Faun. Compared to the Nucleus +, there was better definition and imaging, and less treble glare on midranges and midrange instruments. 

Paul, at Analog.Audio in Minneapolis is one of the three current Grimm dealers in the US right now. Seems there is are a lot more dealers in Europe. 

[haltermr]

19 hours ago, aangen said:

Oops, all better now. The PST is being processed properly by the MU1. Whew.

Hi;

Noted on another forum you are doing a "shootout". I will be interested in what you think of the Transport vs using the Roon interface. Are you planning on comparing Qobuz vs downloaded music on the MU1 hard drive?

Thx