Martijn ten Napel and Yung Lie of the web magazine Alpha Audio in The Netherlands loved to review the MU2 a second time to check out its new firmware that offers both UPnP and Tidal Connect functionality. They then took the chance to also test the MU2’s performance with CD transports and headphones.
Martijn was seriously surprised by the sound quality of our Tidal Connect implementation (which is coded in house by our software team). He also enjoyed himself using our free Polder Sunrise album, to test whether his sources offered a bit-perfect transfer. We copy some excerpts of the review by Martijn and Yung below, but don’t forget to read the full article at the Alpha Audio website.
“The hallmark of the Grimm MU2 is its completely effortless, transparent sound. Everything you can imagine about the sound of a DAC or CD player does not apply to the MU2. The player does not sound ‘digital’, but it also sounds different from a turntable. It is reminiscent of listening to a live concert broadcast through a very good FM receiver from the last millennium. That also sounded so effortless and close, as if the orchestra was plucked from the air. (…)
The combination of AssetUPnP, MConnect, and the MU2 works very well. It is not as slick an experience as Roon, but in terms of sound quality, it is on par with Roon. (…)”
With headphones:
“We experience a naturalness in the music reproduction that turns out not to be so natural at all when we connect a different headphone amplifier. The MU2’s control over the Yamaha YH5000 is evident in the bass reproduction, something that planar headphones do not excel at. The timing is so good that it is not noticeable. Only when we listen to other DACs and amplifiers do we hear that the MU2 creates so much space between the notes. Between the instruments. Between silence and non-silence. We are really there. (…)”
With CD transports:
“The incoming SPDIF signal is completely re-clocked, just like with the MU1. It makes playing CDs a revelation. Simply Red’s CD “Picture Book” no longer sounds so harsh and glassy. It swings, the timing is perfect, and the soundstage and precision in the soundstage of what the engineer has placed at the front and rear is clearly audible, such as the horns in “Sad Old Red.” (…)
That music stays with you for the rest of your life. And when you hear it so unimpeded — I can’t find a better word for it — then 40 years fall away as if they have never been there. That is what music can do when it hits you this way. And that is what it’s all about: the equipment in service of the music. The Grimm MU2 does that on all fronts. (…)”
Conclusion
“Lucky owners of a Grimm MU2 can rejoice with this new firmware, which makes their music player even better and more versatile. It also shows potential buyers that purchasing Grimm Audio equipment is sustainable, even in the digital age.”
“That is what it’s all about: the equipment in service of the music.” – Martijn ten Napel and Yung Lie, Alpha Audio, The Netherlands.
