Grimm Audio MU2 [EN]

For a while now I have been thinking about simplifying the set. I have quite a few audio-devices set up and all those devices have power supplies on board or separately with needed power cables. And then everything also has to be connected with interlinks, ethernet and data cables. And if you have a lot of devices with associated cables then you also change things sometimes, but as I get older in combination with the discomforts that my body offers it is becoming increasingly difficult to carry out. The days when I could easily work with cables under and behind the audio cabinet are already about 14 years behind me and it is not getting any easier.

Anyway, the first attempt at simplification I made in 2020 in the form of the NAD M33, which I really had my hopes set on. Just one top-quality device, connect speakers and go. Unfortunately, practice turned out differently and this M33 did not match the set I had, so it had to be returned to the supplier.
I didn’t think about simplification the set in the years that followed, although I sometimes did look at brands like T+A and even D’Agostino. But I found the prices too high and also always doubted whether I wanted to leave the Kinki amplification.

I had already read nice things about the Grimm brand that this article is about and even soldered a TPR interlink in the past. We’re talking about 10 years ago. They are highly regarded and are known in the professional world for their very accurate clocks. Also in the MU2 clocks of their own manufacture are used. But also the speakers are not to be sneezed at, I have heard them many times at various audio shows.

As a streamer I also winked at the beautiful MU1 but for just a streamer the price was too crazy for me. And the Mano Ultra also streamed like a charm. Until Jos from Magna had the MU2 in house and was very enthusiastic about it. It has the right inputs/outputs and functions on board so practically it fits in the set like a glove. For my use, the volume-controlled RCA output to the Kinki’s is important (there is also an XLR output), an ethernet connection and the USB SSD disk must be able to be connected and the MU2 provides that. Furthermore, the MU2 has analogue RCA and XLR inputs, for digital AES/BEU, SPDIF and Toslink digital inputs available. I can use the Toslink for TV. Incidentally, for all inputs, including music that is sucked in via USB, these signals go through the same digital route in the device in terms of processing and conversion and therefore have all the advantages thereof.

Jos has more or less the same taste in sound as I do and we agreed that the MU2 could stay at the AudioEnZo house for a while. This device could actually offer exactly what I was looking for, because it offers an Intel streaming platform with Roon, so the NUC and the Mano Ultra can be removed of the set. UPnP functionality will also be added with the next software update.
The MU2 has a very good DAC (Grimm calls this the Major DAC ) so the Holo Audio MAY KTE DAC can be removed. Furthermore, a relay-controlled analog preamplifier that is Class A throughout, so the Holo Audio Serene KTE can also be removed.
The MU2 contains a lot of groundbreaking technology such as the high resolution Pure Nyquist upsampling filters combined with 11th order noise shaper and a 1.5 bit DAC, but it goes too far for me to technically unravel everything and there is a lot to read on their site. They are very open about what and how they have tackled things, nothing is secretive.
Also practically seen is a very nice machine. It offers a web interface where you can set all kinds of things. Also included is an IR eye with which it becomes possible to operate the MU2 with any remote control, very handy. The large silver disk on top is multifunctional and controls volume, inputs and the settings.

This MU2 must come from a very good home in terms of sound quality, because the current set of course plays at such a level that a single device cannot easily jump over it. And that should be the case considering the price of 18K in euros. If you say it quickly it seems like nothing, but if you look at it seriously it is of course a lot of money. The current equipment wasn’t cheap either and you also lose money when selling, so good money has to be added.
Oh well, who is talking about buying? Trying it out costs nothing and is fun anyway, otherwise this site would not have existed… right?

Last week Jos brought the Grimm MU2. First a cup of coffee and listening to my set. Yes, it was beautiful, nothing wrong with it and we both thought so. The MU2 was connected to the Kinki Audio EX-B7 monoblocks and the whole thing was started up. I quickly got Roon up and running on my network and voila, it worked. Looked up the numbers we just played on my set and the music started……

……. well, in my writing about the Xanadu HRS22YH-MG such a moment is also noted. Something with wow, wow, wow. And this is another one, every now and then that happens in your life. When listening to the first tracks you already know, this is next level and then a few more levels on top of that! That it sounds a bit different is not so strange in itself, apart from the speakers and power amplifiers there is indeed a different set only now in one box and with far fewer cables. But the change that we heard now was unexpected for me. They sometimes say “a curtain is pulled back”, but this change is different. Everything was already there, it is only much better now. The bass is incredibly tight, deep and layered. About the midrange I had already heard that it can be a bit “barer” via the MU2 but the opposite is true, the midrange is very detailed but also has a beautiful full glow. Voices have a nice body and sound very natural and with ease and of course I don’t mean dull. The timbre of instruments is unprecedentedly good and therefore also natural and especially recognizable. Of course a guitar itself is always recognizable but now also the brand of strings. The resolution is bizarrely high.
I have mentioned bongos before, the nice bright attack when a hand hits the skin, with the right technique it almost sounds like a pistol shot. With the MU2 it sounds so tightly defined and bright! The energy and power that rolls into the room via the MU2 is so controlled, the percussion of the Puls Percussion Ensemble lets you hear that well and you feel it deep in your body.
The sound image is nicely wide, very deep and within the 3D bubble everything gets exactly the right place and is also rock solid with a lot of space around it. All these properties also create a lot of peace and it sounds completely stress-free, everything is just right!

You often read that poorly recorded music on a very good set will sound even worse. But with the MU2 something different happens, due to the increased quality of the reproduction, even the less beautiful recordings are lifted to a higher level.
I have listened to a lot of music, a lot and I can list what has improved per song, but in this case I can better write that all music of every genre is reproduced better. My son was sitting next to me on the couch this week and also wanted to hear a few songs for the experience. He chose, among other things, a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Dark Necessities), normally not the music I would sit down for, but the incredibly tight and deep bass, the voices, here too everything fell into place and we enjoyed it!
By the way, the improvement that the MU2 brings to my set I would not have been able to experience as much if the Kinki Studio EX-B7 mono power amplifiers as well as the unparalleled Xanadu HRS22YH-MG monitor loadspeakers had not been able to reproduce this improvement. There is still room to let this be heard with this equipment, so hats off to that too!
At the bottom of the page I have placed a number of covers of the music used, you can hover over them with your mouse for the titles.

Of course there have been a few times switching back and forth between the Holo/Mano/NUC set and the MU2. Although the old set is of course not bad, one thing becomes very clear when switching, I can’t go back 😎

Yes yes, I can hear the reader thinking “what a hymn again”. But the music flows and fascinates, it’s a holographic statement, this is digital at its best, because it has become analogue…