Lift the lid and be deceived; at first glance it might appear to be poor value given the amount of empty space inside. However, it’s a Roon core, it’s a streamer, a digital volume control for DACs and active speakers, a scaler, and a re-clocker. Add an internal SSD and you’ve a digital hub for all seasons. But the MU1 is about more than just flexibility. Grimm Audio’s relentless focus on the quality of its NUC coding, power supply, clocking, and its file conversion and filtering – all of them proprietary and the result of seriously informed engineering effort – result in perhaps the most natural and immersive streaming and locally played experience currently available. For the money, and quite a bit beyond, it’s currently the product to beat. KF
