Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[joet]

Are you using wall wart?

No, I’m using a Mojo Illuminati 3.

 

[Ackcheng]

Thanks for the tip. I’m also using Ravenna, but with a NADAC stack. Emile didn’t think there would be great benefit in adding a second card for connection out, but he said I could try. It seems you have tried and it helped. I guess I’m adding a second card.

Can always try before you buy. In my system, there is a definite improvement.

 

[Taiko Audio]

Hi Emile and Taiko Team,

I would like to report back my experience with the Taiko network card and my Ravenna system. I am using Merging Hapi and anibus all connected via the Revanna network. I bought 1 network card at the beginning together with the switch. The improvement was substantial as everyone experienced. This card was connected to the switch and then to the Internet. Today I bought one more card and this time connected to my Revanna setup. The good things that I experienced with the first card continue to escalate with a second card. The darkness, the micro dynamics, the punch all improved.

So for those using Revanna, I encourage to consider this option.

Arthur

Hi Arthur,

Thank you for reporting in. Out of curiosity, which slots are the 2 network cards in? I would expect slot 2 to be the best solution for connecting to the upstream network, for connecting to your merging I would expect slot 5 (which normally holds the USB card) to be superior. I'd also be curious how adding the switch between Extreme network card and Merging or between Extreme and upstream network impact things relatively. If you would be able to test that it would be very nice to know.

 

[Taiko Audio]

I just finished my first real listening session with the network card and switch. Wow! As you might remember, when I first installed the switch there was some sibilance. Well, with Taiko’s help, a change to the isolation strategy, a new digital cable, and (I think) some break-in time that is no longer and issue. Neither is the edginess or thinness i first experienced. All I can say is the system has never sounded better. It is astounding how good it sounds. There is an organic feeling, a sense of organization I haven’t heard before. Difficult recordings are now listenable and even sound great. I am absolutely amazed. I can’t wait for the router, distributor and whatever else Emile and team have up their sleeve.

Hi Joet,

Thank you for reporting back, so was the main culprit burn in or the surface the switch was sitting on? Or perhaps the initial stages of the cold you caught? I seem to have caught a cold at the Munich show and the system sounds horribly nasal right now

 

[Taiko Audio]

This is not ideal but...
Can you cart in the Extreme and connect directly to router to set up?

Yes you can do that.

 

[joet]

Hi Joet,

Thank you for reporting back, so was the main culprit burn in or the surface the switch was sitting on?

I know for sure that the different isolation helped. However, I do think burn-in played a significant role as well. It’s hard to determine the impact of each.

 

[John T]

I'm sorry for the redundancy, the switch with the card has taken a veil off of the system. As I am listening to Doyle Bramhall II Rich Man, this album has never sounded this good. I could live quite happily ever after listening to what I have right now. It would be even better if I wasn't plugged into this ice machine for my knee recovery. The other day I said to myself WTF is that noise? It was the pump on the ice recirculation machine! With the future router/power distributer things should get even more interesting. I wasn't even going to get the power distributer as the BPS was my end game. But you know what? You only get one go around, if you can swing it. Do WTF you want to do, life is short...

 

[Taiko Audio]

Well, if you read this: https://www.synergisticresearch.com/accessories/ethernet-switch-uef/ Then, at least, I think that it seem to be a more advanced design. I may be wrong and that is why I raise the question.

To me this reads like it's a "standard" switch which has been modified with SR "resonator" and "grounding" treatment(s). How that pans out sonically versus the Extreme switch I don't know. But the Extreme switch is a rather technologically advanced design, it uses GaN fet regulation which facilitates the extremely low power consumption and the switch itself has been completely redesigned 3 times from scratch and revised for a 4th time. The switch circuitry, the regulators, the filters and even the clock are 100% designed from scratch by ourselves. As for grounding treatments, well it does have a ~15kg pure copper "ground plane"

 

[joet]

Hi Joet,

Thank you for reporting back, so was the main culprit burn in or the surface the switch was sitting on? Or perhaps the initial stages of the cold you caught? I seem to have caught a cold at the Munich show and the system sounds horribly nasal right now

The cold didn’t help…but I definitely think there was improvement.

 

[Ackcheng]

Hi Arthur,

Thank you for reporting in. Out of curiosity, which slots are the 2 network cards in? I would expect slot 2 to be the best solution for connecting to the upstream network, for connecting to your merging I would expect slot 5 (which normally holds the USB card) to be superior. I'd also be curious how adding the switch between Extreme network card and Merging or between Extreme and upstream network impact things relatively. If you would be able to test that it would be very nice to know.

Thanks Emile,

I am now using slot 2 for upstream and 5 for Revanna. My system is a bit complicated. I have an additional computer running Acourate for room correction and digital crossover. I have 2 hapi to collect the signal output from my Acourate computer and then do the d/a conversion for left and right speaker (4 channels each side). I also have an anibus for monitoring/volume control. So the whole thing is connected to a Cisco switch dedicated for the Revanna network. So I can’t really put the taiko switch between the network card and merging.
If you are ready to sell your network card for DIY computerwould also like to try that in my Acourate computer!

some information about my setup in case someone is interested https://my.digitalroomcorrection.hk/my-system/ravenna-aoip

Arthur

 

[Taiko Audio]

Thanks Emile,

I am now using slot 2 for upstream and 5 for Revanna. My system is a bit complicated. I have an additional computer running Acourate for room correction and digital crossover. I have 2 hapi to collect the signal output from my Acourate computer and then do the d/a conversion for left and right speaker (4 channels each side). I also have an anibus for monitoring/volume control. So the whole thing is connected to a Cisco switch dedicated for the Revanna network. So I can’t really put the taiko switch between the network card and merging.
If you are ready to sell your network card for DIY computerwould also like to try that in my Acourate computer!

some information about my setup in case someone is interested https://my.digitalroomcorrection.hk/my-system/ravenna-aoip

Arthur

Hi Arthur,

That is indeed pretty “non standard”. You can actually purchase the networkcard seperately to use in other servers then the Extreme, it does need both 5V and 12V DC external power though which makes installation a bit more advanced.

 

[StefanK]

Hi Emile and Taiko team,

My Taiko Extreme stopped working yesterday. I've sent an email to support, but haven't received any answer yet. I've now managed to get a VGA cable, so I hooked up a monitor and USB keyboard and mouse.
After the boot Taiko goes directly into BIOS. When I hit Esc and confirm to close it without saving, it just goes out of BIOS and back into it.

On some occasions, when I press the front button once (still in BIOS) and again, it finally gets into Windows, but auto restarts suddenly after couple minutes. Then it again goes into BIOS and stays there.

Do you have any suggestions what should I try?

Thanks,
Stefan

 

[Taiko Audio]

Hi Emile and Taiko team,

My Taiko Extreme stopped working yesterday. I've sent an email to support, but haven't received any answer yet. I've now managed to get a VGA cable, so I hooked up a monitor and USB keyboard and mouse.
After the boot Taiko goes directly into BIOS. When I hit Esc and confirm to close it without saving, it just goes out of BIOS and back into it.

On some occasions, when I press the front button once (still in BIOS) and again, it finally gets into Windows, but auto restarts suddenly after couple minutes. Then it again goes into BIOS and stays there.

Do you have any suggestions what should I try?

Thanks,
Stefan

Hi Stefan,

That does not sound good, I’ve pinged the support team to check for any unanswered support calls, some of them do continue working during the weekends. I’m confident you’ll receive a reply soon.

 

[Di-fi]

I just finished my first real listening session with the network card and switch. Wow! As you might remember, when I first installed the switch there was some sibilance. Well, with Taiko’s help, a change to the isolation strategy, a new digital cable, and (I think) some break-in time that is no longer and issue. Neither is the edginess or thinness i first experienced. All I can say is the system has never sounded better. It is astounding how good it sounds. There is an organic feeling, a sense of organization I haven’t heard before. Difficult recordings are now listenable and even sound great. I am absolutely amazed. I can’t wait for the router, distributor and whatever else Emile and team have up their sleeve.

Congrats @joet ! I am not surprised the SQ is there as it should be now. As for the warm up time (burn in) I would not be surprised either that could take 3 to 4 days.

I find it interesting but not surprising that even though today Taiko proposes the whole chain from internet all the way up the server output there are still some variables ''they'' do not control, and users need to pay attention to get top performance. Choices that can make a SQ difference apparently:
• cable(s) (- not DAC)
• the DC power supply and cabling
• anti vibration platforms or measures
• isolation techniques
and more.

‘’to improve on the previous switch to server/network card setup that caused sibilance”,
would you mind sharing :

• what cable (DAC or RJ45) you replaced?
• and how/with what you exactly you connected?
• and isolated?


Thanks and enjoy!

 

[joet]

Congrats @joet ! I am not surprised the SQ is there as it should be now. As for the warm up time I would not be surprised either that could take 3 to 4 days.

‘’to improve on the previous switch to server/network card setup that caused sibilance”,
would you mind sharing :
what cable (DAC or RJ45) you replaced?
and how/with what you exactly you connected?
and isolated?


Thanks and enjoy!

 

[joet]

Hi, I meant to write DC cable (not digital). My original DC cable had a 2.1 -> 2.5 adapter. I don’t know the adapter had a huge impact though. Easy enough to test when I’m able. As for the isolation, I originally used a Butcher Block Acoustics Maple platform with 4 Gaia I feet. When I read there was an issue with Daiza platform/switch combo, I put 5 (due to the weight) Bronze Orea feet under the switch. That seemed to really help. However there was some reduction in sibilance before the isolation change which is why I think burn-in to be a factor. As for the topology, I’m connected to a Mojo Illuminati 3 via that DC cable, RJ45 from an Eero node to the switch’s transceiver using a Tellurium Q Black Diamond Ethernet cable, the DAC cable from the switch to the Extreme, and Ethernet (using Ravenna) from the Extreme to a Merging NADAC. Eventually I’m going to try a second network card.

 

[wil]

How do you know your wired internet to the Extreme is “fine”, out of curiosity?

My iPad remote is connected to the same network (via Lan cable) and it gets internet.

 

[Taiko Audio]

My iPad remote is connected to the same network (via Lan cable) and it gets internet.

The last Roon update has (again) caused quite a few failures (which most likely is the cause of the problem you’re facing). We’ve been performing several roon reinstalls this week. It’s a simple procedure but the support team will need to have access to your Extreme.

 

[Armsan]

Hi, I meant to write DC cable (not digital). My original DC cable had a 2.1 -> 2.5 adapter. I don’t know the adapter had a huge impact though. Easy enough to test when I’m able. As for the isolation, I originally used a Butcher Block Acoustics Maple platform with 4 Gaia I feet. When I read there was an issue with Daiza platform/switch combo, I put 5 (due to the weight) Bronze Orea feet under the switch. That seemed to really help. However there was some reduction in sibilance before the isolation change which is why I think burn-in to be a factor. As for the topology, I’m connected to a Mojo Illuminati 3 via that DC cable, RJ45 from an Eero node to the switch’s transceiver using a Tellurium Q Black Diamond Ethernet cable, the DAC cable from the switch to the Extreme, and Ethernet (using Ravenna) from the Extreme to a Merging NADAC. Eventually I’m going to try a second network card.

Hi Joet,
Did you run the network card file? Sorry if you’ve already mentioned it.

 

[wil]

There are other free apps that will run on a wired-connection laptop such as LanScan, although there is a Windows version of Fing for laptops or PCs. Also, as seatrope said, logging into your router will give a list of devices attached to your network.

Steve Z

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions! I think I’ll try LanScan on my MacBook first. If that doesn’t work I’ll connecting a monitor to Extreme.