Grimm Audio MU2 "Major Dac"

[owen lawlor]

In my case the preamp is a big improvement. c10x Luxman into 2x M10X's. Bass and dynamics improve

 

[Hear Here]

In my case the preamp is a big improvement. c10x Luxman into 2x M10X's. Bass and dynamics improve

Do you mean a sound quality improvement or a features improvement? I'd be devastated if I spent the sort of money the MU2 costs only to find that its preamp was of under-par sound quality. I'd expect it to better any external preamp that requires the addition of an extra cable. We all know that cables can never improve sound quality!

 

[owen lawlor]

The pre section in MU2 is crazy good for an all in one. I’d reckon you have to be in the 15k plus range to notice any improvements. In my case I am using Dragon ICs so YMMV

 

[PYP]

The pre section in MU2 is crazy good for an all in one. I’d reckon you have to be in the 15k plus range to notice any improvements. In my case I am using Dragon ICs so YMMV

Agreed. And when you are using a preamp and amp from the same manufacturer, you are maximizing your chances of an ideal match. However I would lower your estimate to $12k (MM Makua in the "crazy good" category, IMO).

also agree with your choice of switch. Mine probably needs another week or so to settle in, but it is awesome. Lets the MU2 just do its thing.

 

[PYP]

Do you mean a sound quality improvement or a features improvement? I'd be devastated if I spent the sort of money the MU2 costs only to find that its preamp was of under-par sound quality. I'd expect it to better any external preamp that requires the addition of an extra cable. We all know that cables can never improve sound quality!

if you try one at home (with return privileges, of course), I suggest asking how many hours are on the demo (300 or so would be beneficial). Also suggest keeping it on for the entire demo period. Will take at least a day to warm up.

 

[gerihifi]

Thanks to all of those who provided feedback about using the MU2 into a seperate preamp. Now I have to get my hands on one to try out. My only reservation about the MU2 is that Roon Core is run on an i3 processor and might be sluggish on larger libraries or heavy duty processing. Any one have problems in this regard?

Big myth going on regards of CPU it depends how much you Interfere with down-/upsampling (Roon MUSE)! What is always an issue: too large local music library and therefore too many titel/album meta-infos needs to be loaded. Higher CPU: more power consumption, more noise, much more implementation efforts...look at Taiko & Co

Thats why I LOVE the core idea of Elco: use roon core only and not all those additional music services running on usual streamers! So thats why they are very careful with their next SW-release!

I played a lot with Gentooplayer and kernel tweaking and you would be surprised how much you get out of low-powered CPU (ARM) Boards. Its all about how you render fancy displays (keep it simpel like MU2, everyone using their Roon App!) and album arts, loading large libraries from external USB or even worse from external NAS.

Those prinicplals was followed closely by the Grimm Devs and MU2 roon implementation is pretty fast, the fastest I've owned so far!

Rgds
Gerald

 

[PYP]

new review of the MU2. My take: what he said.

“I am hearing a wholeness to the convincingly lifelike music. The micro details fill in the sound to present depth and completeness to each note, giving music the characteristic of being present in the room versus reproduced through electronics and speakers.

The MU2 has an incredibly quiet background and deep, wide, layered soundstage with stunning holographic reality. The tone and timbres are full and natural. The bass has weight and thickness while being tight and corporeal. Listening to the MU2, I was in awe of its lifelike realism. The Grimm MU2 is the purest true-to-life music reproduction from digital streaming.”

 

[matthias]

new review of the MU2. My take: what he said.

Please provide a link, thanks

 

[PYP]

Please provide a link, thanks

https://www.stereotimes.com/post/grimm-mu2-music-player-by-john-hoffman/

also, the Grimm website regularly updates the landing page with recent reviews: https://www.grimmaudio.com/ Lots of interesting stuff there, including a short video of Eelco Grimm talking about the founding of the company.

If you enjoy reading about how audio gear is designed, check out the article about their new phono preamp:
https://www.grimmaudio.com/blogs/designing-the-pw1-phono-preamplifier/ It really puts the challenges of designing a phono preamp into perspective, among other things.

 

[7ryder]

Curious if anyone is using convolution filters with either the MU1 or MU2? In the review of the MU1 on Audiophilestyle.com, Chris Connaker says -

"One note of caution. I'm a huge believer in convolution for room correction. A 65,000 tap FIR filter can deliver stunning results and literally blow away the room correction solutions of yesteryear. When using convolution with the MU1 and its oversampling enabled, the sound was off. Something just wasn't right. The issue could be related to a number of things, including my own preferences or Roon's conversion to 64 bit float and back to 32 bit before outputting to the MU1's FPGA, or something entirely different. Running only the convolution in Roon and the MU1's oversampling disabled sounded fantastic. I can't explain the reasons why I heard what I heard, but believe this note of caution is warranted. I would appreciate other views on using convolution with the MU1 and its oversampling enabled. I could be an outlier."

Grimm Audio MU1 Music Player Review

The Grimm Audio MU1 first caught my eye, here on the Audiophile Style forum. Several members of the community began discussing the product in early 2020. However, a couple years went by before I realized I needed to bring an MU1 into my listening room for evaluation. This delay, from recognition ...

audiophilestyle.com

I use convolution filters in Roon, so I emailed Grimm about it, and they weren't helpful, basically saying that they can't test for everything, which I found surprising given their commitment to Roon.

Thanks.

 

[PYP]

Curious if anyone is using convolution filters with either the MU1 or MU2? In the review of the MU1 on Audiophilestyle.com, Chris Connaker says -

"One note of caution. I'm a huge believer in convolution for room correction. A 65,000 tap FIR filter can deliver stunning results and literally blow away the room correction solutions of yesteryear. When using convolution with the MU1 and its oversampling enabled, the sound was off. Something just wasn't right. The issue could be related to a number of things, including my own preferences or Roon's conversion to 64 bit float and back to 32 bit before outputting to the MU1's FPGA, or something entirely different. Running only the convolution in Roon and the MU1's oversampling disabled sounded fantastic. I can't explain the reasons why I heard what I heard, but believe this note of caution is warranted. I would appreciate other views on using convolution with the MU1 and its oversampling enabled. I could be an outlier."

Grimm Audio MU1 Music Player Review

The Grimm Audio MU1 first caught my eye, here on the Audiophile Style forum. Several members of the community began discussing the product in early 2020. However, a couple years went by before I realized I needed to bring an MU1 into my listening room for evaluation. This delay, from recognition ...

audiophilestyle.com

I use convolution filters in Roon, so I emailed Grimm about it, and they weren't helpful, basically saying that they can't test for everything, which I found surprising given their commitment to Roon.

Thanks.

on the MU1, he must have chosen the 0fs setting (choices are 0, 2, 4). But I don't think there is a way to turn off the oversampling for the MU2.

 

[7ryder]

on the MU1, he must have chosen the 0fs setting (choices are 0, 2, 4). But I don't think there is a way to turn off the oversampling for the MU2.

Yes, he had to turn off the oversampling when using convolution filters to make it "sound correct".

 

[aangen]

I am not spending any energy solving this issue. Have fun though!

 

[PYP]

Yes, he had to turn off the oversampling when using convolution filters to make it "sound correct".

regarding the sound: "Running only the convolution in Roon and the MU1's oversampling disabled sounded fantastic." Maybe the way to find out is to find a dealer who would provide an in-home demo unit. But it seems that you already have an excellent server...