Grimm Audio MU2 "Major Dac"
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Regrettably , I'm connecting my Mu2 direct to a mesh router. Before this 68 yr old body crawls through attic space pulling cat 6 , would I notice a marked SQ improvement through eNet wall jack? Second option, what's everyone's experience using Mesh routers with their Mu2? Are there good ones out there (eero, orbi)?
Currently the best seems to be Amplifi Alien & Alien meshpoint:
I’ve tried all the ones available at Best Buy and found the Orbi to be the best of them all although I didn’t try the Alien. It’s very close sonically to wired Ethernet.
According to the very learned gentleman who does some very interesting and technical measurements, as reported on his site at the link above, the TP Link TL-WR902AC will probably outperform most expensive audio switches.
The site is in German but can be easily translated. Makes for fascinating reading his site.
Some of his measurements and articles will surprise most of you.
I have purchased a TP Link TL-WR902AC and done most of the mods he shows on his site. Subjectively, better than anything else I have used.
In the country formally known as the United States of America there is serious talk of banning TP Link products. It is believed they allow the Chinese government to spy on the poor Mericans. I am not making this up.
My TP Link gear is safe, I never sent in my warranty cards so Herr Musk won't know I have them.
The MU2 sounds like a real step forward wrt helping us achieve really good sound while getting rid of boxes and cables. The Major DAC section apparently sounds amazing and comparable to many truly high end DACs (i.e., Lavorgna at TM compared it favorably to totaldac’s d1-triunity and Mola Mola’s Tambaqui).
My questions for you owners are related to the preamp section. It seems like the Grimm folks got really close, but maybe not quite over the finish line with the on-board preamp.
For example, how does one control volume remotely? Do you have to adjust volume using the Roon app? How about adjusting the balance, is that even possible? Why not provide a remote volume/balance/mute control? Seems like an oversight.
Second, is there a way to adjust/increase the size of the numerical volume indication on the Grimm’s display? I would like for it to be big enough to see from across the room.
Finally, the relay VC is probably very accurate but it sounds as if it is a passive control. If that is the case, then I suspect incorporating an active buffer could be the final step in getting really good sound when using the on-board volume control/preamp. Other DAC manufacturers have offered buffers based on active circuitry or transformers, such as Totaldac’s d1-driver-sublime, or Empirical Audio’s transformer based Final Drive. If I end up with an MU2, I would try running the internal preamp’s output through my SMc Audio unity gain buffer, that is based on the VRE-1 platform.
My questions for you owners are related to the preamp section. It seems like the Grimm folks got really close, but maybe not quite over the finish line with the on-board preamp.
For example, how does one control volume remotely? Do you have to adjust volume using the Roon app? How about adjusting the balance, is that even possible? Why not provide a remote volume/balance/mute control? Seems like an oversight.
Second, is there a way to adjust/increase the size of the numerical volume indication on the Grimm’s display? I would like for it to be big enough to see from across the room.
Finally, the relay VC is probably very accurate but it sounds as if it is a passive control. If that is the case, then I suspect incorporating an active buffer could be the final step in getting really good sound when using the on-board volume control/preamp. Other DAC manufacturers have offered buffers based on active circuitry or transformers, such as Totaldac’s d1-driver-sublime, or Empirical Audio’s transformer based Final Drive. If I end up with an MU2, I would try running the internal preamp’s output through my SMc Audio unity gain buffer, that is based on the VRE-1 platform.
Leaving audiophile considerations aside, the Grimm MU2 has disappointing measurements in terms of its linearity (which is quite low at around 18 bits, far below even inexpensive DACs). Of course, this might be academic, since loudspeakers are far worse in linearity.
Although its noise performance is not up there with that of the best-measuring D/A processors, the Grimm MU2's measured performance is otherwise simply superb.—John Atkinson
Although its noise performance is not up there with that of the best-measuring D/A processors, the Grimm MU2's measured performance is otherwise simply superb.—John Atkinson
I saw that, and then they went and named it Product of the Year 2024, go figure. Based on my experiences with R2R DACs, 18 bits may be enough for good sound.Leaving audiophile considerations aside, the Grimm MU2 has disappointing measurements in terms of its linearity (which is quite low at around 18 bits, far below even inexpensive DACs). Of course, this might be academic, since loudspeakers are far worse in linearity.
Although its noise performance is not up there with that of the best-measuring D/A processors, the Grimm MU2's measured performance is otherwise simply superb.—John Atkinson
I'm surprised about the linearity since this is how I usually compare it favorably to the Tambaqui, which I had for five years and used with a Grimm MU1 when that was first launched. By that I mean that the Tambaqui seems to have a frequency band that is slightly emphasized. At least that is how I hear it. It is very subtle and it was only obvious in comparison to the MU2.Leaving audiophile considerations aside, the Grimm MU2 has disappointing measurements in terms of its linearity (which is quite low at around 18 bits, far below even inexpensive DACs). Of course, this might be academic, since loudspeakers are far worse in linearity.
Although its noise performance is not up there with that of the best-measuring D/A processors, the Grimm MU2's measured performance is otherwise simply superb.—John Atkinson
Overall, I find the MU2 to much more lyrical player. If one pays attention to reducing upstream noise, one simply hears music. It if very natural sounding (for lack of a better description) and very enjoyable without being soft or being less dynamic. After having owned the MU2 for a while, I read some of the reviews and agree with the most positive ones (there are many). Of course, it all comes down to preferences and the MU2 is mine.
I thought the built-in preamp to be very, very good, but prefer the use of the Mola Mola preamp with the MM amp. There is natural synergy there. Even if you use an external preamp, the internal preamp is still on and the signal is sent through it. Of course, the way to test this is during an in-home demo. For me, the MU2 is an endgame streamer and DAC. YMMV.
This is useful to know since I have the Mola Mola Makua preamp with the built-in Tambaqui DAC and the phono stage. It’s the best all-in-one solid state preamp I have owned and the ergonomics are brilliant. I find system matching critical here. The Mola Mola which I use with the Kaluga monoblocks can get a bit edgy sounding with certain loudspeakers. On my Quads and Soundlabs, it sounds great. It’s not a tube like sound, like my Lampi Pacific that has a much more voluptuous sound.
If I could come to terms with how to achieve volume control remotely (and hopefully balance too), and decide that I can read the display from my chair, then I would likely use the on-board VC, either with or without running the output through my unity gain buffer (whichever sounds best).
is it the streaming that sounds edgy or also with a transport (if you use one)? If streaming, do you use a separate streamer or what is built into the Tambaqui.
you might want to look at the software manual, but using the Roon volume slider bar on a phone/tablet will give you a visual. Not sure about balance. Never use that function. https://www.grimmaudio.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Manual-MU2-Software-V0.9.6.pdf
In my setup, the Tambaqui (same DAC/streamer as Makua) was very sensitive to noise. Perhaps you already have upstream filters/switches. Since you have multiple systems, you may not be looking for more stuff, but a separate streamer can eliminate the edginess. The MU1 works very well, but there are many options. Since I stream about 95% of the time, reduction of the HF noise became a priority and I tried a number of upstream devices before trying the MU1.
That got me thinking about what Grimm Audio could achieve with a one-box solution and that eventually led to the MU2 in my setup. Different strokes and all that.
I also use this Chord front end. The Blu2 CD transport with upscaler through the Chord Dave blows away a lot of streamers I’ve heard, including the built-in streamer in the Makua. CDs just have this sense of solidity that streaming doesn’t have, in my subjective impression.
Beautiful. My experience is that the lack of solidity by streaming is caused by noise. As one starts to eliminate that noise, solidity increases. I'm still working on the solution, but the progress so far is very good indeed. It would be interesting to compare high resolution files through an optimized streaming system vs. a great transport.
One nice feature of the MU1 streamer is that you can feed it the digital output of the transport, thus adding the MU1's secret sauce before it goes to the DAC. I haven't tried that but have read some impressive comments about the result.
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