Following the discussions nearly every Horizon owner seems to be using a Taiko server.
For those who don´t, I have an Antipodes Oladra Gen. 3 (not the latest version) on loan for a week.
Here are my findings:
Fresh out of the box and using USB (with Innuos Phoenix USB) I hear a very significant improvement over my Innuos Zenith Mk III in all the usual sound aspects, much better dynamics, deeper and broader room, sharper, more natural contours of singers and instruments, deeper bass, more details, better precision all over. But the sound balance lacks some mids for my taste and the hights seem a little bit sterile. (I´m exagerating here.) This is good Hifi but it does not touch my soul. What I hear is - for me - not worth the exra money. (We are talking the price of a good car here!)
After a day of listening (and running it through the night) I switch to AES/EBU and hear improvement, the mids are filling out, everything sounds a bit more natural. I still think for me it´s not worth the money.
Another day and I switch to I²S via a short length of Audioquest Cinnamon HDMI (no connection problem). Now this is the real deal!
There is so much more of everything, another layer of information, the music flows, my emotional reaction is what I was looking for. So highly recommended to give it a listen.
Some questions:
What do I loose with a Antipodes Kala 50?
What do I get more with the latest Oladra model?
What I²S cable can get me further, be it HDMI or RJ45?
Which other (Roon!) music server is better below 25.000 €?
For those who don´t, I have an Antipodes Oladra Gen. 3 (not the latest version) on loan for a week.
Here are my findings:
Fresh out of the box and using USB (with Innuos Phoenix USB) I hear a very significant improvement over my Innuos Zenith Mk III in all the usual sound aspects, much better dynamics, deeper and broader room, sharper, more natural contours of singers and instruments, deeper bass, more details, better precision all over. But the sound balance lacks some mids for my taste and the hights seem a little bit sterile. (I´m exagerating here.) This is good Hifi but it does not touch my soul. What I hear is - for me - not worth the exra money. (We are talking the price of a good car here!)
After a day of listening (and running it through the night) I switch to AES/EBU and hear improvement, the mids are filling out, everything sounds a bit more natural. I still think for me it´s not worth the money.
Another day and I switch to I²S via a short length of Audioquest Cinnamon HDMI (no connection problem). Now this is the real deal!
There is so much more of everything, another layer of information, the music flows, my emotional reaction is what I was looking for. So highly recommended to give it a listen.
Some questions:
What do I loose with a Antipodes Kala 50?
What do I get more with the latest Oladra model?
What I²S cable can get me further, be it HDMI or RJ45?
Which other (Roon!) music server is better below 25.000 €?
