Introducing Olympus & Olympus I/O - A new perspective on modern music playback

For those who just started reading up on Olympus, Olympus I/O, and XDMI, please note that all information in this thread has been summarized in a single PDF document that can be downloaded from the Taiko Website.

https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/taiko-audio-downloads

The document is frequently updated.

Scroll down to the 'XDMI, Olympus Music Server, Olympus I/O' section and click 'XDMI, Olympus, Olympus I/O Product Introduction & FAQ' to download the latest version.

Good morning WBF!​

We are introducing the culmination of close to 4 years of research and development. As a bona fide IT/tech nerd with a passion for music, I have always been intrigued by the potential of leveraging the most modern of technologies in order to create a better music playback experience. This, amongst others, led to the creation of our popular, perhaps even revolutionary, Extreme music server 5 years ago, which we have been steadily improving and updating with new technologies throughout its life cycle. Today I feel we can safely claim it's holding its ground against the onslaught of new server releases from other companies, and we are committed to keep improving it for years to come.

We are introducing a new server model called the Olympus. Hierarchically, it positions itself above the Extreme. It does provide quite a different music experience than the Extreme, or any other server I've heard, for that matter. Conventional audiophile descriptions such as sound staging, dynamics, color palette, etc, fall short to describe this difference. It does not sound digital or analog, I would be inclined to describe it as coming closer to the intended (or unintended) performance of the recording engineer.

Committed to keeping the Extreme as current as possible, we are introducing a second product called the Olympus I/O. This is an external upgrade to the Extreme containing a significant part of the Olympus technology, allowing it to come near, though not entirely at, Olympus performance levels. The Olympus I/O can even be added to the Olympus itself to elevate its performance even further, though not as dramatic an uplift as adding it to the Extreme. Consider it the proverbial "cherry on top".

 

How do I update my iPad as it does not show as an update available?

Typically in settings in ABOUT, it will say update available if it hasn't automatically prompted you that an update is available...I just respond to the prompts when they pop up...

 

Typically in settings in ABOUT, it will say update available if it hasn't automatically prompted you that an update is available...

I know that John....There is no message Update available on my iPad. other than for the Olympus which was updated previously via my MacBook Pro. This updated my laptop to 1525 for Olympus and my laptop. When I opened my iPad to Roon it showed that Olympus is 1525 and iPad is 1496. ....

 

I know that John....There is no message Update available on my iPad. other than for the Olympus which was updated previously via my MacBook Pro. This updated my laptop to 1525 for Olympus and my laptop. When I opened my iPad to Roon it showed that Olympus is 1525 and iPad is 1496. ....

Go to the App Store on your ipad. Can run an update from there.

 

I tried rebooting my iPad but also does not show an update is available when I open Roon

 

That was so easy...problem solved...thank you

 

That was so easy...problem solved...thank you

The only time it will say UPDATE AVAILABE in ABOUT is if a PROMPT was given and not responded to...

 

Just seeing this, @wil. I will give you a call shortly.

Vassil was able to vc into the Oly and get Roon reconnected. Great service!
It's a Roon issue -- he had the same issue when he updated.

 

Vassil was able to vc into the Oly and get Roon reconnected. Great service!
It's a Roon issue -- he had the same issue when he updated.

This apparently is not a rare occurrence
May be Taiko can provide instructions on how to resurrect ROON in the Olympus since unlike the Extreme, the user cannot easy get to the task manager and do a restart.

 

This apparently is not a rare occurrence
May be Taiko can provide instructions on how to resurrect ROON in the Olympus since unlike the Extreme, the user cannot easy get to the task manager and do a restart.

Quite rare so far but if it happens to anyone else, just contact Taiko support.

 

Quite rare so far but if it happens to anyone else, just contact Taiko support.

Is it a corrupt Roon situation?

 

Seems like the roon services are stopped so the update can be done, but they are not getting re-started after the update is complete.

 

Hi @cykin ,

20V I may have mentioned as the maximum voltage range the analogue stage can supply, which is correct, but this is not the 0dBu RMS output level.

Output levels can be specified in multiple ways, let me try to explain the differences by an example:

View attachment 148966

This photo shows a measurement of a 1KHz @ 0dBu output (maximum level) from a DAC analogue output..

The Peak-to-Peak Voltage (Vpp), the total voltage swing from the maximum positive peak to the maximum negative peak, is 8.46V.

The maximum positive peak amplitude is 4.24V.

The maximum negative peak amplitude is -4.22V.

There is a DC offset of 0.012V causing a difference in the positive and negative peak amplitude.

The RMS Voltage (Root Mean Square) is 2.99V (which you can also calculate by dividing Vpp by 2sqrt2).

What is RMS voltage: A type of "average" voltage that represents the equivalent DC power delivered by an AC signal.

The 2.8V RMS output voltage I specified for the current XDMI analog, is 7.92 Vpp.


Some Context:

Type Voltage (RMS) Reference
Consumer Line Level ~0.316 V -10 dBV
Professional Line Level ~1.23 V +4 dBu
Headphone Output (varies) 0.3–2 V Depends on device & load

The -10 dBV standard (common in home audio gear) means that 0.316 V RMS is the nominal output.

So as you can see typical audiophile equipment utilises significant higher output voltages than consumer level, or even studio equipment, and even the 2.8V RMS output of the XDMI DAC is already a very high output level which will typically need to be attenuated by a preamplifier for most power amplifiers, though some audiophile recordings can be at such low levels, and some power amplifiers have very low input sensitivity, so you could still end up in a situation where you'd need an active pre-amplifier to actually further amplify this already very high level....


And yes balanced can give you double the voltage swing but that does completely depend on the design

Is it recommendable to pair the Olympus 2,8Vrms analog output with an integrated amp with maximum input level (+17dbu) 5,6Vrms XLR, (+11 dbu) 2,8Vrms RCA?

I mean is it a problem that it equival the max input level, should it always be lower or that would be fine?

 

Taiko Audio – Head Quarters in Netherland (more pics)

View attachment 148979View attachment 148980View attachment 148981View attachment 148982View attachment 148983View attachment 148984View attachment 148985View attachment 148986View attachment 148987View attachment 148988

Additamentum:

I hesitated for a moment before writing the following.

Emile is a remarkably honest person.

Having heard a few behind-the-scenes details, take my word for it : Olympus production is moving as fast as humanly possible.

One thing’s for certain: you’re in for a treat.

The Olympus truly lives up to its name!

@SwissTom. It was an absolute pleasure having you here. I promise I was not the main culprit in devouring the chocolate!

 

Also, is it possible to install dbpoweramp to rip cd as extreme server?

 

@SwissTom. It was an absolute pleasure having you here. I promise I was not the main culprit in devouring the chocolate!

If denial burned calories, you'd be halfway to absolution.

 

If denial burned calories, you'd be halfway to absolution.

My profile pictures became more accurate after this comment :')

 

Is it recommendable to pair the Olympus 2,8Vrms analog output with an integrated amp with maximum input level (+17dbu) 5,6Vrms XLR, (+11 dbu) 2,8Vrms RCA?

I mean is it a problem that it equival the max input level, should it always be lower or that would be fine?

The 2.8V rms output is the 0 dBFS level, which is the maximum possible digital level. Even though few recordings would actually reach this level, if you want to be 100% sure to never overdrive or clip your amplifier input, it should support 2.8V rms or higher.

 

Also, is it possible to install dbpoweramp to rip cd as extreme server?

No, for the Olympus we will need to have a more controlled environment to be able to guarantee performance and stability.

In the Extreme's future we'll likely have 2 directions you can take.

1) Full access like you're used to, you are in charge / responsible for your system's performance
2) Limited access or even a completely locked system where we control your system with guaranteed performance and stability

 

This apparently is not a rare occurrence
May be Taiko can provide instructions on how to resurrect ROON in the Olympus since unlike the Extreme, the user cannot easy get to the task manager and do a restart.

It is actually rare as the Olympus is a tightly controlled, and therefor very stable environment.

The BMS app will also have self-service functionality where you can repair Roon by clicking a button in your remote app (currently in beta testing).

 

Wonderful to read about @SwissTom's visit. Very jealous and hopefully one day I will be lucky enough to pay a visit to Taiko HQ (lifetime pilgrimage?? I dare not even leave the US right now for any international travel so that will have to wait.

I have not seen any updates on the yield from the powder coating process for quite a while now. Do we have an update on that? I was hoping that this would turbocharge chassis production/delivery but from the recent updates it seems like # units per week is slipping backwards rather than accelerating, though that's from @nenon AI projections so...
I have switched my order to the fastest option (black powder coated) as soon as that was made available (#102) but worried this is not going to beat whatever new tariffs may be applied soon depending on the wakeup mood of some people in power.