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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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Tuckia
Stbo said:
Will the Olympus Order Status page be closer to reality than words from Taiko in this thread?
I don't know how many times start of shipment has been promised now but the first shipment was planned for the beginning of March, in May it was said that all ordered Olympus was supposed to be delivered before the end of August and that shipping would start in two weeks? If I'm not wrong it is vacation times in europe right now, slowing down companies.
Unfortunately, when waiting for the Taiko router I learned that Taiko's and mine time reception isn't the same, not even close. Don't Taiko think that we have lives to plan?
Click to expand...
Well, it’s like Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football. And not much more important than that. But I’d still like to see the football fly.
#124
 
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K
Stbo said:
Will the Olympus Order Status page be closer to reality than words from Taiko in this thread?
I don't know how many times start of shipment has been promised now but the first shipment was planned for the beginning of March, in May it was said that all ordered Olympus was supposed to be delivered before the end of August and that shipping would start in two weeks? If I'm not wrong it is vacation times in europe right now, slowing down companies.
Unfortunately, when waiting for the Taiko router I learned that Taiko's and mine time reception isn't the same, not even close. Don't Taiko think that we have lives to plan?
Click to expand...
I understand your point.
Everyone is a little stressed of this waiting.
I was taking for example time off work in March , May and June ( 1 week each time) hoping for the Taiko Olympus to arrive.
This did not happen.
I was a little frustrated as you are ,
BUT I learned WE are getting much better Olympus than the March version .
Emile explained it many times.
He changed his design for a better sounding solution. Had a time to improve software as well.
So in the end I am very happy this delay happened as I will get a better hardwere , software and in the end much better sounding Olympus for free.
 
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Stbo
Kris said:
I understand your point.
Everyone is a little stressed of this waiting.
I was taking for example time off work in March , May and June ( 1 week each time) hoping for the Taiko Olympus to arrive.
This did not happen.
I was a little frustrated as you are ,
BUT I learned WE are getting much better Olympus than the March version .
Emile explained it many times.
He changed his design for a better sounding solution. Had a time to improve software as well.
So in the end I am very happy this delay happened as I will get a better hardwere , software and in the end much better sounding Olympus for free.
Click to expand...
Of course, I am also happy about the improvements that have been made, but even better would have been if the introduction of Olympus had been made at a more realistic date. I have also planned trips etc after said delivery date.
 
S
For myself I have seen many products (hardware AND software) from other companies rushed out in the past to meet promised deadlines, with many flaws and issues unaddressed. I feel that is even more frustrating than a delay in delivery.

Having experienced that, I am always of the opinion that I will take some further delay for a polished and elegant experience rather than get it precisely when promised and deal with recurrent flaws/issues.

Just my two cents. As long as the allocation and shipping process is handled fairly and openly I'd rather Taiko spend additional time (within reason) for a near perfect product.
 
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SwissTom
seatrope said:
For myself I have seen many products (hardware AND software) from other companies rushed out in the past to meet promised deadlines, with many flaws and issues unaddressed. I feel that is even more frustrating than a delay in delivery.

Having experienced that, I am always of the opinion that I will take some further delay for a polished and elegant experience rather than get it precisely when promised and deal with recurrent flaws/issues.

Just my two cents. As long as the allocation and shipping process is handled fairly and openly I'd rather Taiko spend additional time (within reason) for a near perfect product.
Click to expand...

This is so very true!!

Clearly, Taiko Audio goes against the usual pattern.

And that is an entirely positive thing!

IMO, better late and flawless than "quick and dirty".

Cheers,

Thomas
 
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T
As the first Olympus servers are making their way to their new owners, we wanted to share some photos for all of those who committed the big mistake of ordering silver units ( just kidding of course... :cool: )

Here's a small section of our Olympus storage facility - all customs boards waiting to be deployed. For the curious eye: on the bottom is an earlier Olympus prototype that did not make the cut.
IMG_5555.jpg

Below some charger power supply modules - extremely heavy and non-resonant due to being fully immersed in epoxy resign.

IMG_5554.jpg

More interesting, a shot of a nearly finished unit. Emile listens to every unit that goes out the door in our reference listening room, to ensure every Olympus sounds the same. This unit has the analog output option mounted, but is still waiting for the input/output labeling.

IMG_5551.jpg

Here's a close-up of the XDMI module, base board towards the front, daughter card towards the rear. Every part you see is custom built.
IMG_5548.jpg

This is a shot of the battery supply and the charger supply. Please note that we use many different cable gauges and types throughout the whole design. Every possible combination has been tested by ear, which has been a crazy undertaking.

IMG_5544.jpg

Classic front view - the middle LED is off, as the unit itself is switched off.

IMG_5540.jpg

... And finally, to appreciate the complexity of the design, here's a global shot - this is what you will be receiving:
IMG_5542.jpg


I think it has turned out pretty well :)
 
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cat6man
Something I'll be listening for with the lowered noise floor of the Olympus:
Small low level detail that *startles* me, repeatedly. It's not just hearing things previously unnoticed, but the surprise of hearing things coming organically out of 'nowhere.'

The Jan11 xdms released achieved my personal definition of "magic" in all aspects (soundstage, low level details, bass) except for this startle factor which I had achieved once upon a time (but lost with s/w changes) and never recovered (who knew back then that EFTM with software???).

[Old news below--if you've read the Taiko threads for the past years]
Not mythical system reference was:
Hqplayer playing wav from nas, streamed to micro rendu in NAA mode (very low processing load), USB to sotm USB - AES/ebu converter/reclocker to totaldac. Microrendu and sotm running off of sotm battery supplies. This is also where I first came across the obvious superiority of wav versus flac.
 
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ray-dude
Absolutely I believe that! Mass loading is all about loading in just the right amount of mass to snuff out just the right vibrations and resonances. With BPS and XDMI, you guys had a near ideal platform to track all this stuff down and really dial things in.

As always with Taiko designs, everything is with insane intention and the result of crazy amounts of listening and experimentation. There is so much to learn about what is important in digital audio by studying these designs. Crazy excited to hear this beast in person and crack the case to get an appreciation of the magic behind the curtain!

(#team-silver-rulz)
 
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A
tsaett said:
As the first Olympus servers are making their way to their new owners, we wanted to share some photos for all of those who committed the big mistake of ordering silver units ( just kidding of course... :cool: )

Here's a small section of our Olympus storage facility - all customs boards waiting to be deployed. For the curious eye: on the bottom is an earlier Olympus prototype that did not make the cut.
View attachment 133797

Below some charger power supply modules - extremely heavy and non-resonant due to being fully immersed in epoxy resign.

View attachment 133798

More interesting, a shot of a nearly finished unit. Emile listens to every unit that goes out the door in our reference listening room, to ensure every Olympus sounds the same. This unit has the analog output option mounted, but is still waiting for the input/output labeling.

View attachment 133800

Here's a close-up of the XDMI module, base board towards the front, daughter card towards the rear. Every part you see is custom built.
View attachment 133802

This is a shot of the battery supply and the charger supply. Please note that we use many different cable gauges and types throughout the whole design. Every possible combination has been tested by ear, which has been a crazy undertaking.

View attachment 133803

Classic front view - the middle LED is off, as the unit itself is switched off.

View attachment 133804

... And finally, to appreciate the complexity of the design, here's a global shot - this is what you will be receiving:
View attachment 133805


I think it has turned out pretty well :)
Click to expand...
What an incredible achievement. You guys should be incredibly proud!
Love the pictures and the hearing about the quality control going into this.
Many of us have been involved in manufacturing and are aware of how much time it takes to get things out the door. Especially when making every effort to do everything right.
Looks like it was well worth the wait.
Can't wait to hear mine. Good thing I ordered black. :)
 
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Tuckia
Nice one!
I think I know who #1 or #2 is for team black in the US. Maybe he'll say something here? Or he'll choose to remain anonymous? Regardless, I'll visit him for a listen in a couple weeks - hopefully.

We all know who #1 is for team silver US. We don't want to spoil it for him.
 
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T
cat6man said:
Something I'll be listening for with the lowered noise floor of the Olympus:
Small low level detail that *startles* me, repeatedly. It's not just hearing things previously unnoticed, but the surprise of hearing things coming organically out of 'nowhere.'

The Jan11 xdms released achieved my personal definition of "magic" in all aspects (soundstage, low level details, bass) except for this startle factor which I had achieved once upon a time (but lost with s/w changes) and never recovered (who knew back then that EFTM with software???).

[Old news below--if you've read the Taiko threads for the past years]
Not mythical system reference was:
Hqplayer playing wav from nas, streamed to micro rendu in NAA mode (very low processing load), USB to sotm USB - AES/ebu converter/reclocker to totaldac. Microrendu and sotm running off of sotm battery supplies. This is also where I first came across the obvious superiority of wav versus flac.
Click to expand...
Totally agree.
 
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