Dutch printed magazine Music Emotion presents a MU1 review of no less than 9 pages! Reviewer Ruud Jonker offers lots of background information about the system and its Roon Labs user interface. But he also gives a detailed description of his personal experience when listening to the MU1. Parts of the article were published in a review by hifi.nl before. In the mean time however the opening sentence is placed in a completely different perspective:
“The arrival of the MU1 marked a bright spot in this time of downfall thinking. The device activates the hug hormone. You lower your pace and your senses go wide open. Therefore I present to you the Eindhoven alternative to the Shinrin Yoku.
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An experience that lingers is the way in which the MU1 offers an extremely deep insight into the qualities of the recording. In other words, you hear things that are not (or much less) noticeable on many other systems.
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For the lucky future owner it is a challenge to find matching electronics and speakers that reveal completely what the MU1 retrieves from the source material. It is both educational and exciting to hear music the way it is actually recorded. Mark that sometimes this means that certain material does not sound spectacular. For example, the aforementioned “You’ve got a Friend” of Carole King is not an example of a recording with superior sound quality. However, you can exactly hear the nature of the instruments, the whole atmosphere in the studio, the voice color, and sometimes the character of certain microphones.
Recordings of acoustical guitar were also impressive. One can recognize details of the specific sound of certain guitars (Segovia played on a Hauser and a Ramirez, and John Williams on a Fleta and a Smallman), but also how such an instrument was recorded. For example, the distance from the microphones, the position in relation to the sound hole and the influence of the acoustics. It is precisely this authenticity in the reproduction that offers such a special listening experience.”
“It is both educational and exciting to hear music the way it is actually recorded.”
Ruud Jonker, Music Emotion
