Visiting Grimm Audio in Eindhoven!
There was a small upgrade for our streamer, the Grimm MU1, and we knew that Grimm Audio had moved to their new premises in Veldhoven, near Eindhoven, just 2 months ago.
Wouldn't that be the ideal moment to pay them a visit?! I wrote to Eelco Grimm, with Guido Tent, the owner of Grimm Audio (Guido has also his own company Tentlabs). He warmly invited us to come over. A couple of days ago, we drove up there, a 2 hour trip. My wife armed with her Fuji camera, me just with an iPhone and all my senses. I knew we were in for a treat, because Eelco is one of those audio pioneers who's not just following the trodden paths, he creates new ones. I wrote about the MU1 in earlier threads. It's the best source we've had in our system, and with its future proof innards, it'll certainly stay there for the years to come. This is Eelco and me at the entrance with their mascot, the cable dress (once made for a show). http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_9864.jpg |
Grimm has a pro line, and a consumer hifi line of products.
Their speakers serve both types of customers. I posted a couple of years ago about a terrific demo with a 5.0 set of LS1be speakers, and some time later about the XFI audio show where they were in the top 3 of systems with the MU1 and a stereo pair. We didn't see a lot of speakers as the production run had just finished. http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0360.jpg |
Grimm is a boutique audio manufacturer.
Don't expect huge machines with robots and so. No, their devices are hand made. Furthermore, they use parts from local suppliers rather than having them shipped from overseas. There were as many if not more desks for their engineers as for their assemblers. http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0359.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_9855.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_9872.jpg |
Here they measure jitter.
Eelco, Guido and their engineers are very serious about this issue. http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_7054.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0373.jpg They even made their own jitter analyser! Because they weren't satisfied with what exists on the market. http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_7053.jpg |
Okay, let's have a look how the MU1 is born here!
http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_7055.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0363.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_7056.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_7057.jpg |
Eelco told us that the case work is expensive. They wanted to go for a cheaper solution, but decided then that a better looking case was more fitting for a premium product like the MU1.
http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_7059.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0368.jpg Another table: http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0369.jpg The CC2, very popular in studios. http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0370.jpg Here's Justin. The right hand of Eelco, electric engineer. He accompanied us while Eelco received some guests from Germany. They are interested to breathe more life into the import into Germany. http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0371.jpg |
Justin explained us a lot.
He was truly.. awesome! :D http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0375.jpg I'm afraid a lot of the explanation was a bit lost on me, as I'm more familiar with how a human body functions than how you build or test an audio device. http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0376.jpg |
The building is now a bit too big but as Grimm has seen quite an important growth the last years, they're ready to serve the new markets. The Netherlands and Belgium have done remarkably well, but Asia is now also discovering Grimm, as do the US, and the rest of Europe.
http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0398.jpg Material from an anechoic chamber that was broken down elsewhere has been saved from the dump. Grimm Audio will build their own chamber now. http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_7060.jpg When you know the price of one of those foam thingies (150€ easily), a lot of money has been saved here! http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0379.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0381.jpg |
Cool…love those visits…thx for sharing Bart
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All devices are tested for a couple of weeks before they leave.
http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0392.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0393.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0394.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/DSCF0396.jpg http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...e/IMG_9854.jpg My wife Meta liked the pink lights. https://www.audioaficionado.org/images/icons/icon12.gif |
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