Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[Taiko Audio]

is there a sonic difference between plugnplay vs a PCB installation in the DAC

Probably yes, I2S is actually not very suitable to be transported over a distance.

 

[Steve Williams]

Probably yes, I2S is actually not very suitable to be transported over a distance.

so the PCB installation inside the Horizon would replace JL Audio USB adapter which would then obviate the need for the Taiko USB board

 

[Steve Williams]

so the PCB installation inside the Horizon would replace JL Audio USB adapter which would then obviate the need for the Taiko USB board

And finally should there be a new PCB installation in the Horizon and other components, what type cable is used to connect the Extreme to the DAC

 

[Taiko Audio]

so the PCB installation inside the Horizon would replace JL Audio USB adapter which would then obviate the need for the Taiko USB board

Yes or perhaps replace the (optional) ethernet input board.

 

[oldmustang]

And finally should there be a new PCB installation in the Horizon and other components, what type cable is used to connect the Extreme to the DAC

I'm mulling over in my mind the potential sound quality hierarchy between:

TACDD with dual AES/EBU to a dCS Vivaldi APEX DAC

versus,

TACDA (essentially, direct from motherboard to DAC)

versus,

my current implementation: Taiko USB card > dCS Vivaldi Upscaler > dual AES/EBU > dCS Vivaldi APEX DAC

Absent the actual physical comparison, I realize it is mostly conjecture at this point. Still, do you have any insights you can share, Emile (or others)?

Steve Z

 

[Steve Williams]

Yes or perhaps replace the (optional) ethernet input board.

and if we don't have the optional ethernet card then we replace the Taiko USB card

 

[Taiko Audio]

And finally should there be a new PCB installation in the Horizon and other components, what type cable is used to connect the Extreme to the DAC

QFSP28 or QFSP-DD.

 

[Steve Williams]

QFSP28 or QFSP-DD.

excuse my ignorance but which of the 2 is better and recommended by you or is each used for a specific function

 

[Taiko Audio]

I'm mulling over in my mind the potential sound quality hierarchy between:

TACDD with dual AES/EBU to a dCS Vivaldi APEX DAC

versus,

TACDA (essentially, direct from motherboard to DAC)

versus,

my current implementation: Taiko USB card > dCS Vivaldi Upscaler > dual AES/EBU > dCS Vivaldi APEX DAC

Absent the actual physical comparison, I realize it is mostly conjecture at this point. Still, do you have any insights you can share, Emile (or others)?

Steve Z

Well I think people will just have to try for themselves. Currently only the TACDA is finalised. That basically is DAC+Analogue output stage on a daughterboard you plug on to the interface board.

I’m not sharing photos of the main interface board yet (do insist on hiding a few specific parts) but this is how the daughterboard looks:

 

[Taiko Audio]

excuse my ignorance but which of the 2 is better and recommended by you or is each used for a specific function

QFSP28 is 112Gb, QFSP-DD is 400Gb. Not fully decided which of the 2 we’ll end up using, both are serious overkill obviously, but overkill works.

 

[Steve Williams]

QFSP28 is 112Gb, QFSP-DD is 400Gb. Not fully decided which of the 2 we’ll end up using, both are serious overkill obviously, but overkill works.

and again, these cables are for either TACDD or TACDA?

pardon my ignorance but we are about to enter new and completely unchartered waters with these upcoming new Taiko products, both hardware and software . It's still for me a bitter pill to swallow when after the epiphany we all had when the Taiko USB board was installed and now to hear that this is ancient history as the dawn of a new day of interface connectivity will be born obviating the need for USB..........BUT what we will hear will be even better..........never bet against Taiko

 

[Taiko Audio]

and again, these cables are for either TACDD or TACDA?

pardon my ignorance but we are about to enter new and completely unchartered waters with these upcoming new Taiko products, both hardware and software . It's still for me a bitter pill to swallow when after the epiphany we all had when the Taiko USB board was installed and now to hear that this is ancient history as the dawn of a new day of interface connectivity will be born obviating the need for USB..........BUT what we will hear will be even better..........never bet against Taiko

These cables allow I2S to be generated in a remote device (DAC) in stead of inside the Extreme without any bandwidth limitations and it’s also insensitive to things like (audiodomain) jitter which plagues interfaces like I2S, AES/EBU, SPDIF. IOW it uses todays state of the art in data transfer technologies in stead of decades old technology which is the current standard in high-end audio.

 

[Steve Williams]

And just to keep this thread on track and with all of the pearls you have dropped today, can you share any new information re the new Extreme with BPS. Am I correct in assuming that this will in fact be a one box product and previously there was an increase in the proposed dimensions as compared to the existing Extreme but now the dimensions will be the same as the existing Extreme? Will your new interface come standard in the Extreme or will it be an option. And either way will Taiko provide the cables or can we buy them from Taiko. For those of us who wish to continue using our own DAC's we want the TACDD. Any other pearls you can share with us re the new Extreme with BPS

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...and MSB still needs the TACDD? They have the I2S already in play, but we need to get into their converter, which is currently USB input, right? Thanks for the update today @Taiko Audio !!!

 

[oldmustang]

For example what I do nowadays is purchase files from Qobuz, but I always select the 16/44.1 uncompressed .wav version in the downloads section. Most of the time these sound better then the 24/96 etc versions. The downside of this approach is that you lack good metadata, so in Roon they are very difficult to find again due its library being metadata based, in XDMS you can use the browse folders navigation option (which Roon lacks) to find them relatively easy. But this makes it a rather unfriendly option to use.

Circling back to this earlier post --

1. Do you have any hypotheses why the Redbook wav files would sound better than the higher resolution wav files?

2. The problem with lack of metadata causing Roon, or for that matter XDMS not to find downloaded files can easily be solved by using any good metadata editor (I use YATE, for macOS) to tag the various empty metadata fields. Is there some down-side to this I am overlooking?

Steve Z

 

[Taiko Audio]

And just to keep this thread on track and with all of the pearls you have dropped today, can you share any new information re the new Extreme with BPS. Am I correct in assuming that this will in fact be a one box product and previously there was an increase in the proposed dimensions as compared to the existing Extreme but now the dimensions will be the same as the existing Extreme? Will your new interface come standard in the Extreme or will it be an option. And either way will Taiko provide the cables or can we buy them from Taiko. For those of us who wish to continue using our own DAC's we want the TACDD. Any other pearls you can share with us re the new Extreme with BPS

We actually have some very interesting developments in that area I will share soon, probably inside the next 2 weeks, which includes an option to use a BPS variation with the Extreme which can be user installed.

Cables you can get from us but you can also purchase them elsewhere as they’re an industry standard (like the SFP DAC cables which can be used with the switch/router).

 

[Taiko Audio]

...and MSB still needs the TACDD? They have the I2S already in play, but we need to get into their converter, which is currently USB input, right? Thanks for the update today @Taiko Audio !!!

For MSB we can mount a PRO ISL daughterboard on the interface main board, so you can ditch the MSB Pro USB module and go PRO ISL directly from Extreme to DAC.

 

[Taiko Audio]

Circling back to this earlier post --

1. Do you have any hypotheses why the Redbook wav files would sound better than the higher resolution wav files?

2. The problem with lack of metadata causing Roon, or for that matter XDMS not to find downloaded files can easily be solved by using any good metadata editor (I use YATE, for macOS) to tag the various empty metadata fields. Is there some down-side to this I am overlooking?

Steve Z

1. Well one of the more obvious reasons could be if those high res files are not simply upsampled or otherwise manipulated redbook files.

2. Well try and see if you hear a difference

 

[Steve Williams]

We actually have some very interesting developments in that area I will share soon, probably inside the next 2 weeks, which includes an option to use a BPS variation with the Extreme which can be user installed.

Cables you can get from us but you can also purchase them elsewhere as they’re an industry standard (like the SFP DAC cables which can be used with the switch/router).

It's like pulling teeth but once I got started I knew there were more pearls to come

 

[John T]

That was a bombardment of pearls!