Headphones
Contents
(By editor Yung)
The nice thing about testing a device for the second time is that there is time to pay attention to features that are literally left behind. Incidentally, the Grimm MU2 headphone input is eligible for the MOHIA, the Most Invisible Headphone Input Award. It is located at the back, hidden among everything else. Literally a black hole. We connect the 6.35mm cable from the Yamaha YH5000 headphones and select ‘headphones’ on the web interface.
Here, too, we experience a naturalness in the music reproduction that turns out not to be so natural at all when we connect a different headphone amplifier. The MU2’s control over the Yamaha YH5000 is evident in the bass reproduction, something that planar headphones do not excel at. The timing is so good that it is not noticeable. Only when we listen to other DACs and amplifiers do we hear that the MU2 creates so much space between the notes. Between the instruments. Between silence and non-silence. We are really there.
The nice thing is that with the MU2, it doesn’t matter whether we connect the Yamaha YH5000 (the model number says something about the price) or a modest $34 in-ear monitor.
Let’s stick with ABBA, “The Album” for a moment. Between the sing-along songs “Thank You For The Music” and “I Wonder” is “I’m A Marionette.” The track starts with a lightning-fast bass run. Try to figure out the number of notes and the time signature. It is a typical 70s production with a full orchestra accompanying the band and the singers having to sing over it. There is a lot going on, especially in the midrange. On the MU2, we hear everything, effortlessly.
Testing headphones on the MU2 is pleasant because the differences are so easy to hear. We know for sure that if something is off sounding this is not due to the amplifier and DAC. That makes the life of a reviewer extremely pleasant. It seems as if the MU2 effortlessly adapts to the connected headphones.