Has anybody here used or heard this unit? It looks like a perfect centrepiece for a mastering setup but there are barely any reviews out there...

I’ve had one for about 6 months now. It flat out works—has everything you need, nothing you don’t and is very simple and reliable to operate. The AD conversion is second to none. I’ve shot it out against Dangerous, Lynx, and Mytek and it’s my personal favorite—effortless and never harsh. The DA side is clean and exact, but maybe a bit "grainy”. Still prefer it to the Lynx.

The headphone amp is nothing to write home about, but perfectly serviceable. Great if you want to use it for tracking, but I still use an external headphone amp (TCA HPA-1) for critical listening. Naturally, being a Grimm product, the connectivity and clocking are both excellent.

All in all, yes, it’s an excellent centerpiece. Would definitely recommend trying it in your own studio.

Thanks for the info. That's a bit disappointing about the headphone amp as I was hoping for something all in one, but it's not the end of the world. Are you using it via USB or with the digital IO?

USB and running other digital gear through its IO.

Re: the headphone amp. It performs just a hair worse than a mid-fi amp, like the Little Labs Monotor or RND. If you’re comparing to those, it should be fine.

Thanks! I'm going to try to get one in to test with. What DA are you using for pitching and/or monitoring, if not the built in one? Trying to get a feel for who it compares to a dangerous or crane song DAC, for example

I use the UC1 for all of my DAC needs these days, including pitching. I feed my main monitors through the UC1’s digital out and swear they sound better than other digital outs I’ve used. Never tried a Crane Song product, but previously owned a Dangerous Convert-2 and loved it. I’d say the Convert-2 is a bit glossier with a hi-fi sheen while the UC1 is more detailed. Both great. If you could afford both, I’d use the Convert-2 for pitching and UC1 for monitoring.

Perfect, thanks for your help!

I've found one for a good price but won't be able to return it without a restocking fee, but it sounds like it's worth a test anyway.

Sounds like the UC1 DA is closer to a Crane Song / Lynx Aurora n / Merging Happi, type sound, which are all a bit more detailed (especially in the transients) than the Convert-2, which is slightly more smooth and rounder sounding (from all the demo's I've heard).

If you do take the plunge, please post your thoughts in the thread. It'd be good to get more opinions out there!

Yeah, that sounds about right.

I'm always a sucker for guts so here's my contribution. AD, DA, and Power Supply for the UC1.

I noticed this paragraph in the sound on sound review that struck me as quite interesting:

I haven't heard of other converters that do this, I wonder how common it is.

I am also interested in this UC1 interface.

Have somebody compared it to the RME ADI 2 pro FS ? I am sure headphone amp of RME is better, but how about the AD-DA conversion of Grimm, is AD good for clipping ?

Thanks