What’s been announced
Grimm Audio’s news page and Instagram both went live on 18 May 2026. They posted top-view photos of the unit. The post has one substantial paragraph of context. No specs. No pricing. The full reveal happens at High End Vienna 2026, 4 to 7 June, at the Austria Center Vienna. This is the first edition of the show outside Munich after decades at the MOC.
What Grimm did say is short but loaded:
- The PA1 is a mono block power amp. A full stereo system needs a pair.
- Grimm puts it this way: “the MU2 will take the servant role and be the source and pre-amp for our PA1.” The full Grimm chain is now MU2 plus PA1, all from one design house.
- The look is by Michiel Uylings. He’s the same designer behind the MU1, MU2 and PW1. Our customers know that family well.
- Grimm say an earlier PA1 prototype was used at the Munich launch of the MU2 some years back. The room was widely praised by the press at the time. Grimm say the new version is a clear step up from that prototype.
Why this is the news we’ve been waiting for
The MU2 is one of the most distinct products in modern hi-fi. It’s a streamer, a DAC and a pre-amp in one box. It’s also Roon Ready. Grimm design and build it in the Netherlands. The clock and DSP work comes out of Grimm’s pro mastering-studio heritage. The MU2 pairs naturally with the Grimm MU1 — that’s our reference Roon Server for serious listening rooms — but it can also run as the front end of a wider Roon system on its own.
What the MU2 has always needed is a power amp clear enough to stay out of its way. Until now, our default pairing has been Mola Mola Kaluga mono blocks. They’re a different brand, a different design house, and a fine partner sonically. But they aren’t “the same family.” Mola Mola make work we really love. Everyone there is great too. In our experience, the cross-brand pairing has never been a compromise on sound. It just hasn’t been a single-house solution.
The PA1 changes that. It is what we’ve been waiting for. It turns the MU2 into a compact, very high fidelity system that almost passes as lifestyle kit at a glance. It stays true to the MU2’s idea of small, compact, beautiful, and zero compromise on sound. Picture two mono blocks beside a single MU2 chassis. That is a complete reference setup in a much smaller footprint than the usual separates rack.
The Eelco angle
A short personal note here. We’ve had the pleasure of meeting Eelco Grimm — co-founder of Grimm Audio — briefly. He is, on the strength of that meeting, a thoughtful and likeable man. The company shares that quality. There’s a craft feel to the way every Grimm product is built. It carries through to the people. Now we can do a full Grimm-only chain through one supplier we know and rate. That’s a welcome shift. It makes spec work, supply and after-sales support cleaner all the way through.
What we don’t know yet
Specs, wattage, output class, weight, size, pricing, finish, UK launch — all saved for Vienna. Grimm’s news page ends with “Stay tuned as we will reveal some more details in a later post.” Expect a second teaser before 4 June. The full reveal then lands at the show.
Here’s what we’d reasonably guess, based on the look of the MU1, MU2 and PW1 family. This is informed reading, not fact:
- A modest power rating on paper, with real headroom into real speaker loads. Grimm’s mastering roots mean rated specs sit below real-world output.
- An output stage built for transparency above all. Maybe Hypex-style modules. Maybe discrete class A/AB. Maybe something Grimm-specific. The Munich prototype showed the design priority. The new stage will be set by what Grimm say at the show.
- Half-width chassis to match the MU2.
- Aluminium and high-touch finish, top vents, minimal front-panel controls.
- A price point that puts an MU2 plus PA1 pair near the Mola Mola pairing we’ve been recommending. The new part: it’ll come as a single-house package.
Vienna will settle all of this.
Vienna High End 2026 — why it matters
Dates: 4 to 7 June 2026. Venue: Austria Center Vienna. Thursday and Friday are trade-only days. Saturday and Sunday are open to the public. The show has moved from Munich’s MOC this year. It’s the first time in decades it has left that venue.
We’ll follow the PA1 reveal closely from Bath. If you want to be on our update list for specs, pricing and UK launch the moment Grimm shares them, get in touch. We’ll have more from us as Grimm shares details.
A short word on what this signals
Grimm Audio could have kept letting other brands handle the power-amp slot in their reference setups. The cross-brand pairings have always sounded great. But building the PA1 instead is a statement. This is what Grimm think the right partner for the MU2 sounds like. And they want to make it themselves.
For the customer who has already bought the MU2, the PA1 is the most interesting product news of 2026 so far. For the customer about to spec a serious listening-room system, it’s worth waiting two weeks for the Vienna reveal before you commit to anything.
Reference link: Grimm Audio’s official announcement page — PA1 Premiere at the Vienna High End Show.
