I think the Cascade is better and cheaper, so I would say no.The $64,000 question- will the Select remain in the lineup?
well....er......it's hard to know the vibe market wide..........but here on WBF i'd say for a dac maker......."ignore Taiko at your own risk" .........unless you have your own sandbox like the Wadax with their own server. if i were a dac maker below the Wadax Reference level and i wanted new buyers, i'd better have a Taiko interface plan customers can see is coming if i want sales. otherwise customers will be weighing getting the Olympus with the internal dac as my competition.Looks like Munich this year will be DAC central with new products coming from just about all the major players. Wadax, CH Precision, MSB, Taiko and maybe dCS.
Mike no offense to Taiko but don't you think that this interface needs to come to market, work and see if people really want it before companies spend time and R&D money to use it? Its putting the digital cart before the horseYou are assuming that MSB and others will want it and believe in it as well.
Why would the Select be better? That doesn’t make sense from a business standpoint.I think the Cascade is better and cheaper, so I would say no.
IIUC, Sentinel will replace Select.
I was thinking the same thing.Looks like Munich this year will be DAC central with new products coming from just about all the major players. Wadax, CH Precision, MSB, Taiko and maybe dCS.
Mike no offense to Taiko but don't you think that this interface needs to come to market, work and see if people really want it before companies spend time and R&D money to use it? Its putting the digital cart before the horseYou are assuming that MSB and others will want it and believe in it as well.
Agree. Everyone has been working around USB for over a decade. It is time for a real interface. I think the Wadax optical is state of the art. I don't see what is stopping others from adopting an optical interface between server and DAC.the server interface is now the big deal, and the big problem. it's not going away. along with the server and dac power supply significance.
here is the big problem.Agree. Everyone has been working around USB for over a decade. It is time for a real interface. I think the Wadax optical is state of the art. I don't see what is stopping others from adopting an optical interface between server and DAC.
i dont think anyone is ignoring anyone however the leap that this technology is better than whats out there and compatible with other companies products has yet to be shown. One would have to ask MSB, dCS, CH , etc. whether this is anything that they want to address. Historically this has not ever happened often if at all. So this Taiko product would need to fundamentally change the industry , that only time will tell.well....er......it's hard to know the vibe market wide..........but here on WBF i'd say for a dac maker......."ignore Taiko at your own risk" .........unless you have your own sandbox like the Wadax with their own server. if i were a dac maker below the Wadax Reference level and i wanted new buyers, i'd better have a Taiko interface plan customers can see is coming if i want sales. otherwise customers will be weighing getting the Olympus with the internal dac as my competition.
might the Taiko Olympus be less than stellar? it's possible i guess. but what is the alternative for an uber server? there might be a few, but none large on my radar.
i could be completely wrong, of course. but the non Wadax streaming/files king is Taiko......and it's always about the media/source. dac hardware is everywhere and ubiquitous.
this factor will be what non Wadax customers will be weighing. under $50k all in is a different situation. but big-bucks digital will be dealing with this. it will be interesting what dCS does with their new ultra effort coming later this year.
the server interface is now the big deal, and the big problem. it's not going away. along with the server and dac power supply significance.
So, the Cascade, which clearly seems to be an evolution of the Select platform, will beat the performance of the Select- at a lower price point. The Sentinel will become the new flagship at a higher price than the Select and beat the performance of the Sentinel. Makes sense, except that the MSB sales pitch about modular upgrade ability for the Select is, for all intents and purposes, false. Now Select owners get an UP TO 50% trade-in program when dishing out the serious coin for the Sentinel- better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick but only a little. Bait and Switch, IMO.I think the Cascade is better and cheaper, so I would say no.
IIUC, Sentinel will replace Select.
uber dac-only makers will at least need to offer a back channel wink-wink to customers about a future Taiko interface option. it's a box that will need a check mark to proceed. we can't yet know how big a deal it might be, or not be.i dont think anyone is ignoring anyone however the leap that this technology is better than whats out there and compatible with other companies products has yet to be shown. One would have to ask MSB, dCS, CH , etc. whether this is anything that they want to address. Historically this has not ever happened often if at all. So this Taiko product would need to fundamentally change the industry , that only time will tell.
Perhaps the server and server to dac interface is more important to sound quality than the contribution of the dac itself.well....er......it's hard to know the vibe market wide..........but here on WBF i'd say for a dac maker......."ignore Taiko at your own risk" .........unless you have your own sandbox like the Wadax with their own server. if i were a dac maker below the Wadax Reference level and i wanted new buyers, i'd better have a Taiko interface plan customers can see is coming if i want sales. otherwise customers will be weighing getting the Olympus with the internal dac as my competition.
might the Taiko Olympus be less than stellar? it's possible i guess. but what is the alternative for an uber server? there might be a few, but none large on my radar.
i could be completely wrong, of course. but the non Wadax streaming/files king is Taiko......and it's always about the media/source. dac hardware is everywhere and ubiquitous.
this factor will be what non Wadax customers will be weighing. under $50k all in is a different situation. but big-bucks digital will be dealing with this. it will be interesting what dCS does with their new ultra effort coming later this year.
the server interface is now the big deal, and the big problem. it's not going away. along with the server and dac power supply significance.
We may get an idea of how big a deal it might be at Munich. I think that I heard that the Taiko Olympus will be paired with the Lanpizator Horizon via the XDMI interface in at least one room. Perhaps Emile and Co. will have the opportunity to do a little XDMI schmoozing with some of the high line DAC manufacturers in Munchen.uber dac-only makers will at least need to offer a back channel wink-wink to customers about a future Taiko interface option. it's a box that will need a check mark to proceed. we can't yet know how big a deal it might be, or not be.