Description
Dan’s review
First-hand impressions from Daniel Crick — principal, Hidden Home Technology
What it is
The Grimm MU2 is a one-box streamer, Roon Core, DAC and analogue preamp — the absolute ultimate in high-end hi-fi, yet still falls loosely into the lifestyle product category. So it has the benefits of a lifestyle product without any compromise whatsoever on the high-end hi-fi side of things.
First impression
Just simply how unbelievably coherent, pleasant, rewarding, engaging, and enjoyable it was to listen to.
Living with it
I live with it daily, so I know exactly what it’s like on a daily basis — and it’s kind of like fit and forget. You set it up, it’s visually interesting when you do look at it, but also small enough that it doesn’t draw attention to itself.
The ease of use is, well, you never really have to touch it. You interface it through either Tidal Connect or Roon — which is how I use it mainly. Roon is your interface. It never goes wrong, so you never really need to go back into the web GUI or anything like that. Rock solid.
It’s just so engaging, so inoffensive, never becomes fatiguing. Presents a rock solid soundstage. Incredible.
How it compares
The MU2 saves you a lot of money over the top-end dCS, in a much smaller form factor, and arguably offers just as much from a rendering perspective. I don’t have any experience of the Aurender. The Innuos products are streamers only — the MU2 has a DAC in it, so it offers way more functionality. That said, using an Innuos as a Roon Core does seem to take the burden off the MU2 slightly and improve its output.
Who it’s for
The person looking for a five-figure, not six-figure, ultimate front-end. There’s nothing better that I can think of in the five-figure category when you consider everything it does.
Who it’s not for
Somebody who doesn’t want to spend five figures, that’s for sure. Not for somebody looking for entry-level high-end — this is a holy grail product. And it’s not a holy grail product for somebody looking for high box count and a six-figure solution.
Quirks
Honestly, I think it’s basically a perfect product.
What pairs well with it
Any high-end system, really. Its little quirk would be — it could be incredibly compact with a compact power amp. Watch this space from a power amp perspective — I can’t say any more than that. For the time being, something like the Mola Mola Perca stereo power amp, or the Mola Mola Kaluga monoblocks — they’re tiny, compact, and incredibly capable.
About the Grimm MU2
The Grimm MU2 streamer DAC preamp is the house favorite at Hidden Home Technology. We truly believe that it is one of the best digital streamers and DAC’s of all time. A true classic. The Grimm MU2 cast a defined, tangible and convincing soundstage. It offers instruments lifelike density, stability and presence unlike any other digital front end we know.
At the heart of the MU2, Grimm Audio’s proprietary Major DAC can be found. It is of a groundbreaking discrete design that makes optimal use of our own FPGA board. In a unique way our high resolution Pure Nyquist upsampling filters are combined with a fundamentally flawless 11th order noise shaper of 1.5 bit. If you like to read more about this technology, please check out the Major DAC blog.
As a result the MU2 reproduces micro-details so well that it allows a deep emotional connection to the musical performance. The stereo image is of groundbreaking quality. Its serenity invites prolonged listening sessions.
If you love your loudspeakers and power amplifiers but long for a fundamental update in sound quality and streamer experience, the MU2 is designed for you.
See our review on youtube here – Grimm MU2 Review
Find the review on our website here – Grimm MU2 Review | Hidden Home Technology
