The Sound
Contents
Here at Alpha Audio, we’re quite familiar with the Grimm sound. For us, it’s primarily: stress-free, open, airy, fast, controlled, and very organic and fluid. We find Grimm’s treble particularly pleasant. When the recording allows, they’re silky smooth, fluid, yet beautifully defined. Even their famous clocks have that signature.
Grimm PA1
It’s not entirely surprising when we hear the PA1 do its job: it fits perfectly within the Grimm sound. In fact, the Grimm PA1 isn’t even there. We don’t hear an amplifier adding or taking anything away. The music is simply there. That was also the case with the Grimm MU1 and MU2. Those streamers—the MU2 with a D/A converter and preamp—are there, but they’re also not there. And what’s special about the MU1 and MU2 is that every software update makes the platform better.
With the Grimm PA1, we can say that the 150 watts into 8 ohms and 200 watts into 4 ohms are more than sufficient for the Diapason Didascalìa speakers. We hear absolutely no compression, not even at the volumes Bert Bazuin plays at. That’s definitely louder than we play in the Alpha Audio listening room or at home.
What’s also striking is the coherence in timbre across the entire spectrum. The bass blends seamlessly with the midrange and treble—even at higher volumes, which can sometimes go wrong with power amplifiers that aren’t as well-designed as this PA1. Our Pass Labs doesn’t suffer from this either, but we’ve definitely heard it in other models. Especially as the music gets more complex, the bass starts to become detached from the midrange and treble. It’s really annoying.
Rhythmically, too, it’s all put together exceptionally well. When we play “Pneuma” by Tool, for example—an incredibly beautiful song in which (as befits Tool) the drums carry the track—everything holds together effortlessly, and we can follow it all with ease. In fact, we’ve never heard this song sound this good! The layering is simply unparalleled.
And that brings us to the final point: control and calm. Because the Grimm PA1 maintains control so effortlessly and shows no sign of compression (or other distortion), everything holds together effortlessly. And that brings calmness to the music. Impressive!