The unorthodox French “Audiophile Magazine” published an in-depth review of the MU1 in their October 2020 edition. In no less than ten pages, editor Joël Chevassus runs the MU1 through five “confrontations” with other systems. He keeps looking for possible limitations, but eventually becomes strongly convinced about the MU1’s qualities. Some quotes from his text:
“The MU1 is hands down the device that has given me the best listening experience with Roon so far. The almost tactile quality of the sound produced by the MU1 does not come at the expense of ‘air’ or precision. It’s a very balanced listening experience, full but without becoming ‘heavy’.”
(…)
“The processing precision of the MU1 seems to more than compensate for the need of converting a native DSD format to PCM. We don’t loose our interest in the DSD format, but it does show the real priorities in the processing chain.”
(…)
“I see the MU1 as an ecosystem: everything seems to be designed for maximizing synergies. The performance of the Grimm MU1 in server mode is quite simply the best I have been able to get from a cloud source at home so far.”
(…)
(When playing with an Esoteric K03 CD transport) “I wasn’t really expecting a lot from this configuration. My astonishment was therefore great when I found that the CD player connected to the Grimm MU1 via S/PDIF performed almost equal compared to direct playback of audio files from the MU1’s internal SSD disk.”
(…)
“To reduce jitter of a K-03 by adding a Grimm MU1 is clearly a very expensive solution, which in itself can’t justify the asking price. But this option certainly is not just a simple bonus: it’s a great feature in its own right!”
Conclusion
“The MU1 is above all a fantastic audio server, as well as a very powerful hub. Operated as a server, the MU1 is the best player I have heard to date, regardless of the audio format chosen. Even with a systematic conversion from DSD to PCM, the level reached with Roon goes beyond my expectations, and has clearly surpassed what I can obtain elsewhere in native DSD with the Lumin and Minimserver systems. I sincerely did not think that the performance difference would be so clear compared to network playback and I was also amazed by the added value for my CD player via its S/PDIF link.”
(…)
“While waiting for all these answers, we should certainly not lose sight of the immense qualities of this device, which outclasses anything I have heard so far in pure performance. Yes, some questions remain, but considering the originality of the solution, its versatility and the audio performance in absolute terms, it is difficult not to get thrilled by the MU1. In any case, it is a device that I put at the top of my wish list for cloud sources. It is clear that I would like to be able to listen to this device again in its next evolutions. To be continued!”
Read the original article in French (October 2020 edition) >
“There’s really no hesitation, the MU1 is a hit.”
Joël Chevassus, Audiophile Magazine
