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

Olympus launch. Cover P1.jpg

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".
 
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K
Taiko Audio said:
It is not an independent PCIe card, but the XLR connector extends over the 4th slot, effectively blocking it. The same applies to the 5 pin XLR for the Lampizator link and the MSB Pro ISL fiber module. It’s irrelevant for the I/O.
Click to expand...
So in the IO that I asked it will be no conflict and AES will be plugged as a daughter board.

It seems the Olympus v Olympus + IO might have a potential of larger Delta in SQ.
But that's to be verified by Taiko Team.

Not sure if you re-evaluated SQ difference.

Also I looked at your old estimates and that was December 13th so BEFORE you changed design that sounded better.
Is the 300% increase over Extreme expected to be much more than ???

In other words
How much better the NEW Olympus is better over the original 1st Olympus iteration?
 
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John T said:
The more I think about this, not having the DCD doesn't really simplify anything. If anything it provides more versatility, and there are default options...Not to mention the noise filters...
Click to expand...
The more I think about it the more I think I should NOT think about it. Keep it simple, stupid (as the Clintonesq word famously went, referring to myself only in this case).
 
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Taiko Audio
Kris said:
So in the IO that I asked it will be no conflict and AES will be plugged as a daughter board.

It seems the Olympus v Olympus + IO might have a potential of larger Delta in SQ.
But that's to be verified by Taiko Team.

Not sure if you re-evaluated SQ difference.

Also I looked at your old estimates and that was December 13th so BEFORE you changed design that sounded better.
Is the 300% increase over Extreme expected to be much more than ???

In other words
How much better the NEW Olympus is better over the original 1st Olympus iteration?
Click to expand...

These percentages were and are still somewhat meaningless.

We’ve improved USB and you could say that’s maybe 200% of the Extreme now.

XDMI just turns it into a different source. Its difficult to explain the shortcomings of USB without giving away too much. But let’s just say that USB, by design, prohibits rendering of the finest details and cues which makes music sound more real.

It’s not very dissimilar to the effects of compression deliberately applied to recordings in studios. It sure can sound more dynamic then for example AES/EBU as it actually doesn’t suffer as much from jitter etc (the receiving module in the DAC is the clock master, or can accept the DAC clock as master).

But the way it works just limits ultimate performance, aka it will always be “typical digital” sounding, no matter what you do.

Digital has evolved and sounds great nowadays thanks to all the bandaids employed. However these are still bandaids. And there are things analogue sources can render that digital cannot. At least, till now. As always IMHO, YMMV apply.
 
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Taiko Audio said:
These percentages were and are still somewhat meaningless.

We’ve improved USB and you could say that’s maybe 200% of the Extreme now.

XDMI just turns it into a different source. Its difficult to explain the shortcomings of USB without giving away too much. But let’s just say that USB, by design, prohibits rendering of the finest details and cues which makes music sound more real.

It’s not very dissimilar to the effects of compression deliberately applied to recordings in studios. It sure can sound more dynamic then for example AES/EBU as it actually doesn’t suffer as much from jitter etc (the receiving module in the DAC is the clock master, or can accept the DAC clock as master).

But the way it works just limits ultimate performance, aka it will always be “typical digital” sounding, no matter what you do.

Digital has evolved and sounds great nowadays thanks to all the bandaids employed. However these are still bandaids. And there are things analogue sources can render that digital cannot. At least, till now. As always IMHO, YMMV apply.
Click to expand...
Hi Emile,

I find your comment “And there are things analogue sources can render that digital cannot. At least, till now.” intriguing.

The endless debate between digital and analog hasn’t really gotten much beyond name calling (digititus)- at least in my view. As Feynman famously stated in his disdain for categorization in biology, just because you can name it doesn’t mean you understand it.

It would be very informative and insightful if you could expand on your comments - specifically to describe in more precise detail the “things sources can render that digital cannot” but that Olympus digital can now attain.

Thanks.
 
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dminches
cmarin said:
Hi Emile,

I find your comment “And there are things analogue sources can render that digital cannot. At least, till now.” intriguing.

The endless debate between digital and analog hasn’t really gotten much beyond name calling (digititus)- at least in my view. As Feynman famously stated in his disdain for categorization in biology, just because you can name it doesn’t mean you understand it.

It would be very informative and insightful if you could expand on your comments - specifically to describe in more precise detail the “things sources can render that digital cannot” but that Olympus digital can now attain.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

The best explanation will be delivered by your own ears.
 
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SwissTom
Taiko Audio said:
Digital has evolved and sounds great nowadays thanks to all the bandaids employed. However these are still bandaids. And there are things analogue sources can render that digital cannot. At least, till now.
Click to expand...

That's a statement that will have the ears of many vinyl lovers who aspire to the convenience of digital but have never taken the plunge.

It's not just a marketing argument for Taiko Audio, but for all high-end DAC manufacturers.

If they adopt the XDMI interface, of course.

There is definitely a market to be won. :)

So that's another key selling argument to add to the future website!

Cheers,

Thomas
 
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Taiko Audio
cmarin said:
Hi Emile,

I find your comment “And there are things analogue sources can render that digital cannot. At least, till now.” intriguing.

The endless debate between digital and analog hasn’t really gotten much beyond name calling (digititus)- at least in my view. As Feynman famously stated in his disdain for categorization in biology, just because you can name it doesn’t mean you understand it.

It would be very informative and insightful if you could expand on your comments - specifically to describe in more precise detail the “things sources can render that digital cannot” but that Olympus digital can now attain.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I can give it a try, some aspects which jump to mind are:

1) It’s faster and more agile, yet it’s almost as if the music sounds slower. Which it doesn’t ofcourse, perhaps caused because it’s much easier to relax into the music?

2) There’s more detail, but it doesn’t really sound “more detailed”. The additional detail is better integrated with the event it’s part off. So it doesn’t stand out / is not highlighted if that makes sense.

3) Distortion is magnitudes of orders lower, from the deepest bass to the utmost top end, everywhere, maybe that will be the most apparent from the get go

4) Instrumental decay belongs to the event which creates it, it’s part of the event, it has the same tonal structure, the same tone, the same density, it decays in a continuous fashion, slowly fades away in space, evenly decreasing in volume till its gone, which does appear to take much longer then before.

5) Which reminds me of another aspect which is musical flow, it really floooowwws, it’s very continuous like the decay, you would almost think the “old way” is stitched together, seemingly stitch less, but apparently not entirely so.

6) It can be brutally powerful/forceful. I’m hoping your loudspeakers woofers and midranges are up to the task. Go a bit easy on them with your volume control initially.

7) Staging is enormous, absolute system phase will be more important, be aware of that, a lot of analogue stages reverse absolute phase, very few manufacturers disclose if their components reverse phase. The XDMI analogue output stage has 2 stages, both invert phase so the end result is it’s in phase. If staging sounds strange to you, or if the presentation lacks “starting” energy on tones, reverse your loudspeaker cables or hit the reverse phase button on your preamp (if it has one).

But it would really be best to just listen yourself.
 
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steve williams
Taiko Audio said:
I can give it a try, some aspects which jump to mind are:

1) It’s faster and more agile, yet it’s almost as if the music sounds slower. Which it doesn’t ofcourse, perhaps caused because it’s much easier to relax into the music?

2) There’s more detail, but it doesn’t really sound “more detailed”. The additional detail is better integrated with the event it’s part off. So it doesn’t stand out / is not highlighted if that makes sense.

3) Distortion is magnitudes of orders lower, from the deepest bass to the utmost top end, everywhere, maybe that will be the most apparent from the get go

4) Instrumental decay belongs to the event which creates it, it’s part of the event, it has the same tonal structure, the same tone, the same density, it decays in a continuous fashion, slowly fades away in space, evenly decreasing in volume till its gone, which does appear to take much longer then before.

5) Which reminds me of another aspect which is musical flow, it really floooowwws, it’s very continuous like the decay, you would almost think the “old way” is stitched together, seemingly stitch less, but apparently not entirely so.

6) It can be brutally powerful/forceful. I’m hoping your loudspeakers woofers and midranges are up to the task. Go a bit easy on them with your volume control initially.

7) Staging is enormous, absolute system phase will be more important, be aware of that, a lot of analogue stages reverse absolute phase, very few manufacturers disclose if their components reverse phase. The XDMI analogue output stage has 2 stages, both invert phase so the end result is it’s in phase. If staging sounds strange to you, or if the presentation lacks “starting” energy on tones, reverse your loudspeaker cables or hit the reverse phase button on your preamp (if it has one).

But it would really be best to just listen yourself.
Click to expand...
Damn....I haven't even had my morning coffee yet and Im already drooling

My preamp is an inverting phase so I reverse the speaker cables coming out of the preamp so AFAIK I am in phase
 
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dminches said:
The best explanation will be delivered by your own ears.
Click to expand...
Hi Dminches,

Yes of course

I personally don’t necessarily adhere to the notion that audio is either objective or subjective. It can be both.

And just as is the case with architecture, art or food or wine, or audio, there are always opportunities for your “tastes” to change and be informed from the experiences and knowledge of others.

I know that in my case, how and why I appreciate music reproduction has changed over time by learning from others. That has been a blessing for me.

As a friend of mine likes to say: “If you’re not careful, you might learn something!”

So when we have the opportunity to learn more from Emile, the creator of a significant innovation in digital who is very generous with his time and knowledge, on how his own audio “tastes“ helped to guide his design goals and path, then “I’m all ears!”
 
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steve williams said:
speaking of changes, I am having a special new CMS platform built for me that will have no weight constraints and perform as I am used to. Joe promised me that the one he is building for the Olympus/IO will sound better even than what I am using now.
Let the party begin:cool:
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No weight constraints, very interesting...
 
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