Christiaan Punter of Hifi Advice did a review of the MU1, got totally surprised and offered it an HFA ‘Highly Recommended’ Award. Please read the full review, but here are a few excerpts for you:
“From the very first notes coming from the MU1, connected to the C1 DAC via a Jorma AES/EBU cable, it was clear that the Grimm unit was superbly articulate and exhibiting none of the smoothing and rounding effects that I have gotten used to when using Roon in combination with other devices.
Actually, without any comparisons, I’d already say that the MU1’s bass was really close to being as superbly incisive and defined as that of the Aqua LinQ. All I needed was half a song to know that it wasn’t just the bass – there was something fundamentally very right about the MU1’s overall performance.
(…) Along with this superlative bass performance, comes a richer tonal saturation and a more organic fleshing out of projected images that lends more body and substance to vocals and instruments, adding realism and raising the emotional involvement.“
“How I love the MU1’s way with transients – they’re lightning fast! But never ever are they over-etched and there’s never a feeling of hardness or sharpness. There’s nothing that stands in the way of the musical performance. Rather, everything is balanced just so that the audiophile mind agrees while the soul latches on. Sonically, the MU1 leaves nothing to be desired. (…)
The beauty of the MU1’s sonic presentation is that it is tight, precise and articulate, and very highly resolving whilst simultaneously avoiding sounding dry or clinical. On the contrary, the MU1 has a timbrally rich tonality and superb fluidity with a tiny hint of smoothness but without any dilution or smear. Additionally, the MU1 has a captivating 3D portrayal and sense of flow, along with the kind of organic presentation that makes it not only a very accurate Music Server but a highly involving, emotion-inducing, Music Machine.”
“The MU1 is a highly involving, emotion-inducing, Music Machine.”
Christiaan Punter, Hifi Advice
