DOES ANYONE REGRET BUYING A TAIKO EXTREME SERVER? ANYTHING BETTER?

[flkin]

Euphony sounds good. Even without the full buffering option it's able to keep up with my hardware changes. I'm able to hear clear changes in the system when I make them. And the overall presentation is very musical to me.

I have ever used AudioLinux player in my system and at the time of my switching over, I found Euphony v3 better. The current version v4 is a clear step up to v3 allowing quite a bit of customisation including different versions of Linux to be used and core isolations.

In comparison with Roon, the music discovery, find functions and overall management of music in Euphony v4 is not as good. I would say that Euphony has a functional system in place but if terms of interconnections between music and artists and background information in general, Roon is the King for this.

In terms of sound quality, there isn't really a comparison. Euphony is far ahead of Roon in all respects.

So I do what I have to - keep both Roon and Euphony running at the same time! I have Roon installed in a separate second system which I use for music discovery and to add tabs to the music files eg. preferred volume etc. I don't use Roon for playback. When I find an album I want to try in Tidal or Qobuz, I save it as a favourite from inside Roon and it appears in Euphony automatically because I am logged in as the same user in both systems. This way, I can get the best of both - Euphony sound and Roon management / info.

 

[bryans]

7 - optional: you can interrupt this by physically pressing the Pink Faun power button which causes the LAN to power back up. I never do this, mostly sit back, relax and enjoy the music. It’s a good feeling to remove controls during playback actually, less fiddling and more in the moment like in a real concert.

Would be nice if one could enable the LAN port via the tablet.

 

[Rumpole]

I think I need a buffer in the streamer - I have high speed internet through a wireless transmitter, and occasionally (less than 1% of the time) I'll get a song that breaks up. This happens both via my Boulder 866 connected directly to ethernet and also using my PBD MPS-X. I assume the problem is with the wireless transmitter and not my streaming software (BubbleIUPnP on a Pixel 7 streaming directly from Qobuz). Do either Innuos or Aurender offer buffering? If not, I might look at Taiko or Pink Faun.

There is a used Taiko listed in the classifieds. Does Taiko provide support for second owners? Or would I be better off purchasing new?

 

[bryans]

There is a used Taiko listed in the classifieds. Does Taiko provide support for second owners? Or would I be better off purchasing new?

I would be shocked if they didn't provide support for second owners. Now of course Taiko would prefer a new sale (I know I would if I was an audio company)

 

[flkin]

Would be nice if one could enable the LAN port via the tablet.

Yeah that would be useful but the idea of a disconnected streamer is not to communicate with the network. I’m not sure how the LAN port would be controlled in such a case.

I could always ask my kids to do the button pressing I suppose ..

 

[Doc76]

Let’s see, awesome SQ, reliability, an app that is consistently improving, and great customer service.

No regrets whatsoever!

 

[bryans]

Yeah that would be useful but the idea of a disconnected streamer is not to communicate with the network. I’m not sure how the LAN port would be controlled in such a case.

I could always ask my kids to do the button pressing I suppose ..

Well given that the unit turns off the LAN port after it has loaded the playlist, SW has to be involved. Somehow the unit knows when the playlist is loaded. If they are using SW to shutdown the port, one would think they could use SW to turn the port back on. A button on the app to do this would be a nice addition.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...a few years ago, guys were using a phone app to turn on/off a smart outlet, into which a switch was plugged. Select music, hit play, music buffers, turn off outlet, enjoy.

 

[kennyb123]

I’m not sure how the LAN port would be controlled in such a case.

Bluetooth, but that could bring other problems along with it.

I can control the ELAC subs in my AV system using an iOS app that connects to them with Bluetooth. It does the job well.

 

[kennyb123]

...a few years ago, guys were using a phone app to turn on/off a smart outlet, into which a switch was plugged. Select music, hit play, music buffers, turn off outlet, enjoy.

I was doing that. The problem is that a network adapter in the server ends up generating even more activity and noise as it seeks responses. The ideal solution would quiet it down.

 

[flkin]

Well given that the unit turns off the LAN port after it has loaded the playlist, SW has to be involved. Somehow the unit knows when the playlist is loaded. If they are using SW to shutdown the port, one would think they could use SW to turn the port back on. A button on the app to do this would be a nice addition.

When the Pink Faun is still network connected, you press the buffer and start button in Euphony software. The software totals the time length of the tracks and sets this as the ‘network off’ duration. Play begins and then Euphony switches off the network card inside the streamer. At the end of this duration the software switches the card back on.

The playback part of the software and controlling the network card inside the streamer are separate parts. Euphony looses controls of the network by switching off the card inside the Pink Faun. But continues playing music during the ‘network off’ duration.

Let’s see, awesome SQ, reliability, an app that is consistently improving, and great customer service.

No regrets whatsoever!

Hmm, yes I agree on the SQ part but I do have a wish list:

- The software updates could be faster
- Searching for tracks inside my own database is poor. Finding new music horrible.
- The interface is still a little buggy. Sometimes fast forwarding in tracks and moving from track to track (when not network disconnected) doesn’t work as expected. I think it’s more when playing to uPNP end points.
- Did I mention search? How difficult is it to implement a search in all favorites both local and online for a track? Nope, just cant do it yet! Only search T or Q or local favorites separately but not all together like in Roon. My only way now is to find music in Roon and once I know the location then use Euphony to play it.

 

[kennyb123]

- Did I mention search? How difficult is it to implement a search in all favorites both local and online for a track? Nope, just cant do it yet! Only search T or Q or local favorites separately but not all together like in Roon. My only way now is to find music in Roon and once I know the location then use Euphony to play it.

I believe that Roon leverages their backend services to help pull this off. Having an array of servers at their disposal allows them to endeavor to do things that competing products might find too onerous of a task to complete in a timely fashion given the limited compute available to them.

 

[Doc76]

Hmm, yes I agree on the SQ part but I do have a wish list:

- The software updates could be faster
- Searching for tracks inside my own database is poor. Finding new music horrible.
- The interface is still a little buggy. Sometimes fast forwarding in tracks and moving from track to track (when not network disconnected) doesn’t work as expected. I think it’s more when playing to uPNP end points.
- Did I mention search? How difficult is it to implement a search in all favorites both local and online for a track? Nope, just cant do it yet! Only search T or Q or local favorites separately but not all together like in Roon. My only way now is to find music in Roon and once I know the location then use Euphony to play it.

From what I understand XDMS is still in Alpha version. While it still has a ways to go, updates seem to come regularly - like almost ever two weeks. . . I feel that the Taiko Team will perfect the app in time … its constantly improving…

 

[Taiko Audio]

@Doc76 , @flkin is sharing his experiences with Euphony Stylus / his Pink Faun server, not XDMS

 

[Taiko Audio]

There is a used Taiko listed in the classifieds. Does Taiko provide support for second owners? Or would I be better off purchasing new?

We provide full support to second owners. No difference to when buying new.

 

[Rumpole]

We provide full support to second owners. No difference to when buying new.

Thanks - and can you say if a used 2 year old unit has the same CPU and other hardware as the new models?

 

[Taiko Audio]

Thanks - and can you say if a used 2 year old unit has the same CPU and other hardware as the new models?

We’ve launched an upgraded USB card 04/2021 and an upgraded network card 03/2023, otherwise it’s identical to when it launched in 2018. If this particular unit lacks those upgrades they can easily be retrofitted by yourself. There have been several significant software updates which our support team can apply for you in case one or more are missing (software updates are free of charge, the USB and network card are not).

 

[Zeotrope]

That is not true. I have both and have had XDMS since the beginning. I prefer the sound of Roon and have since the switch/router/DCD have been in my system. Bob at Rhapsody Audio feels the same way.

Following up on this - looks like the latest Taiko update to XDMS takes it leaps above bounds above both Roon and XDMS. You can read the early reviews on the Taiko thread.

 

[dminches]

Following up on this - looks like the latest Taiko update to XDMS takes it leaps above bounds above both Roon and XDMS. You can read the early reviews on the Taiko thread.

I expected XDMS-NSM to sound better than Roon but I haven't heard it yet so I am reserving any judgement.

 

[Zeotrope]

I expected XDMS-NSM to sound better than Roon but I haven't heard it yet so I am reserving any judgement.

Right, and didn’t mean to quote you specifically; just letting others know.