Dac With Dutch Courage
Netherlands-based Grimm Audio has added a second model to its 'Music Player' range, but unlike the 'digital output' MU1 , the £16,950 MU2 integrates DAC and preamplifier stages to become a fully fledged 'hub'.
As with the MU1, a Roon Core/Endpoint (subscription required) is integrated to handle music playback from network shares, connected USB drives or internal 2TB (£300) or 8TB (£774) SSD storage. Additional digital (AES/EBU, coaxial and optical) and analogue (XLR/RCA) inputs are selected via the circular silver control dial on the unit's top panel, or the MU2's supplied IR remote - both also provide access to the unit's relay-based analogue volume control.
All digital sources (including DSD via DoP) pass through a custom FPGA-based 1.5-bit PWM converter with 11th-order noise-shaping, utilising Grimm Audio's low-jitter clock and 'Pure Nyquist' upsampling filters. The MU2's Class A analogue preamplifier stage promises 'ultra low' harmonic and phase distortion.
Grimm Audio, Veldhoven, The Netherlands, 0800 009 6213; Www.Grimmaudio.Com