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

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".

 

@Taiko Audio What is the SQ delta between using an Extreme NVMe storage device in an Olympus server vs a battery-powered U.2/U.3 storage device? I just hate to see wasting large amounts of storage space unused if the SQ delta is minimum.

I’d say about a 20-25% degradation. Aka huge. Again the Olympus is an entirely different design than the Extreme, it has to be as it’s more or less directly in your analogue signal path which changes everything.

 

Input Please! Lots of navigational parts to all of this. I understand that NAS is the preferred storage. What’s the general consensus in regard to having some storage onboard with the Olympus? It’s been said NAS is slightly better. Not sure how to assess that. A bit vague! Are some of you still getting some storage capabilities even with the intentions of using a NAS. Or is this not necessary and a waste? Much of this gets a bit frustrating for those of us who are not as skilled in some of these areas…

 

John, the NAS storage is cheaper and sounds slightly better than the internal according to Emile. I don’t think there is more to it.

 

John, the NAS storage is cheaper and sounds slightly better than the internal according to Emile. I don’t think there is more to it.

For what it's worth, Emile said removing the storage from the Olympus is a 2% (i.e., slight) improvement. But only if you're using the switch, router, and DCD. I dont see any benefit to having storage in the Olympus other than space savings.

 

I believe Emile advocates a low powered one for various reasons including the fact that you can power it with the DCD. I bought this one since it is only 13-14 watts.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=synology%20diskstation%20ds224%2B&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ps

By the way, what type of cable are you using to connect the NAS to the DCD.

 

By the way, what type of cable are you using to connect the NAS to the DCD.

I believe (and will check for sure) I am using a 2.1mm barrel to 2.5mm barrel Ghent Audio JS3660 Gotham cable.

 

The only downside to having a NAS is that you have to set it up and do some network setup to have it visible to your home network, assuming you are using the Taiko router.

 

John, the NAS storage is cheaper and sounds slightly better than the internal according to Emile. I don’t think there is more to it.

But I venture the Olympus internal storage is more reliable than NAS storage....

 

But I venture the Olympus internal storage is more reliable than NAS storage....

That crossed my mind. Also 1-2%, I don’t know how to calibrate this level of enhanced SQ..

 

That crossed my mind. Also 1-2%, I don’t know how to calibrate this level of enhanced SQ..

I switched to NAS and ordered my Olympus without even the given internal storage

 

About the Router/Switch/DCD / streaming vs local storage / NAS storage:

This may partially be a somewhat unpopular post but I feel it’s necessary to highlight a few things:

1) IF you want ultimate performance from online streaming and/or NAS, AKA if you value network based music sources an audio exclusive network is a necessity. The only way to create this is by using a dedicated router for your audio network, what happens in front of the router is not very important, what happens after is. You can get a second internet subscription which will include a router provided by your ISP, and use that exclusively for your music server, or you can insert a router into your existing network. The difference between these 2 scenarios is negligible. The downside is, you have to deal with a router, nobody likes having to deal with a router, not even IT professionals or IT enthusiasts. They’re simply annoying devices. As you are all aware we have launched a router, after considerable contemplation I must add, as this would obviously not be a device which would be a pleasure to use due to its technical nature, next to placing a considerable load on our support team. We’re currently working on creating an app with setup wizards to make it easier / more enjoyable in use. But anyway the SQ advantages are undeniable. In fact so much so it can make online streaming/nas playback the superior sounding option.

2) If you don’t want to have to deal with any of this, local storage is the way to go. Just plug your Olympus into your home network somewhere and you’re good to know. Local file playback quality is hardly, if at all, affected by your network setup.

3) But what do you do for backup, drives CAN fail. So you’d most likely want a NAS anyway, even if just as a backup target for your music collection. You can use an external drive and plug it in from time to time, but some drives can have very poor data retention when left unpowered for extended periods of time. Be aware of that! Especially QLC SSDs (the most popular large capacity drives) can suffer data loss after just months of being unpowered. When powered they’re pretty well protected against this, especially U.2 drives which have additional data retention protection features.

4) Combining all this, if you own a sizeable music library you wish to protect well, you should seriously consider storing this on a NAS with good data protection (RAID), and ideally you’d even want to have copies on different devices. I only have elaborate experience with Synology, but those can even be configured to mirror over different locations, so for example you can have a NAS in your office, with family or friends, at home, and have these sync their contents. In that scenario you could obviously consider skipping on RAID protection again.

5) If you go the router way, and dig a bit deeper into your pockets to purchase ours, you don’t need internal storage for ultimate SQ. We would recommend a 2 or 3 meter length of DAC cable in that scenario as shorter is perhaps a bit too “tight” and longer a bit overly “smoothed”. But you’re there, and you can use a NAS for your music storage.

6) If you like some tuning/voicing options, crazy enough the Switch and DC distributor we offer can provide that for you. Just adding the switch smooths the sound to a small degree, adding the DC distributor gives you a wide tuning/voicing range by choosing different filters for router/switch. It’s not tone control, but not that far off either. Which is silly, we agree, yet it’s there. If you prefer to have your dish served raw and unflavoured, you can skip on those 2.

 

I switched to NAS and ordered my Olympus without even the given internal storage

I like to be thorough. I also like less moving parts. Again not quite sure how to access slightly 1-2% improved SQ. What is it you say keep it simple? Kiss?

 

About the Router/Switch/DCD / streaming vs local storage / NAS storage:

This may partially be a somewhat unpopular post but I feel it’s necessary to highlight a few things:

1) IF you want ultimate performance from online streaming and/or NAS, AKA if you value network based music sources an audio exclusive network is a necessity. The only way to create this is by using a dedicated router for your audio network, what happens in front of the router is not very important, what happens after is. You can get a second internet subscription which will include a router provided by your ISP, and use that exclusively for your music server, or you can insert a router into your existing network. The difference between these 2 scenarios is negligible. The downside is, you have to deal with a router, nobody likes having to deal with a router, not even IT professionals or IT enthusiasts. They’re simply annoying devices. As you are all aware we have launched a router, after considerable contemplation I must add, as this would obviously not be a device which would be a pleasure to use due to its technical nature, next to placing a considerable load on our support team. We’re currently working on creating an app with setup wizards to make it easier / more enjoyable in use. But anyway the SQ advantages are undeniable. In fact so much so it can make online streaming/nas playback the superior sounding option.

2) If you don’t want to have to deal with any of this, local storage is the way to go. Just plug your Olympus into your home network somewhere and you’re good to know. Local file playback quality is hardly, if at all, affected by your network setup.

3) But what do you do for backup, drives CAN fail. So you’d most likely want a NAS anyway, even if just as a backup target for your music collection. You can use an external drive and plug it in from time to time, but some drives can have very poor data retention when left unpowered for extended periods of time. Be aware of that! Especially QLC SSDs (the most popular large capacity drives) can suffer data loss after just months of being unpowered. When powered they’re pretty well protected against this, especially U.2 drives which have additional data retention protection features.

4) Combining all this, if you own a sizeable music library you wish to protect well, you should seriously consider storing this on a NAS with good data protection (RAID), and ideally you’d even want to have copies on different devices. I only have elaborate experience with Synology, but those can even be configured to mirror over different locations, so for example you can have a NAS in your office, with family or friends, at home, and have these sync their contents. In that scenario you could obviously consider skipping on RAID protection again.

5) If you go the router way, and dig a bit deeper into your pockets to purchase ours, you don’t need internal storage for ultimate SQ. We would recommend a 2 or 3 meter length of DAC cable in that scenario as shorter is perhaps a bit too “tight” and longer a bit overly “smoothed”. But you’re there, and you can use a NAS for your music storage.

6) If you like some tuning/voicing options, crazy enough the Switch and DC distributor we offer can provide that for you. Just adding the switch smooths the sound to a small degree, adding the DC distributor gives you a wide tuning/voicing range by choosing different filters for router/switch. It’s not tone control, but not that far off either. Which is silly, we agree, yet it’s there. If you prefer to have your dish served raw and unflavoured, you can skip on those 2.

Thorough Explanation…

 

Indeed. I think no library in the Olympus after I considered all of my options was the way to go for me and my room. My NAS is out of my music room. Time will tell. My only other consideration was to spend more $$$ than it would cost for what I wanted for internal memory and buy an NAS with SSD and keep it in my room and run it via the DCD. At some point depending on how I am liking the NAS out of the room I might revisit this option but the price for the storage I wanted was $$$$

 

But I venture the Olympus internal storage is more reliable than NAS storage....

Probably, but at a huge cost, maybe 10x. If you run RAID5 the chance that you would lose your data is very slim since more than 2 drive would have to fail non addition, if you do go the internal storage route, having a NAS may be needed for backup.

 

My NAS BTW is configured as RAID5

 

My is configured as RAID0 since I wanted maximum storage for a 2 bay NAS. Plus, my NAS is in my listening room and the drives spin less with RAID0. If one’s NAS is elsewhere that doesn’t matter.

 

My is configured as RAID0 since I wanted maximum storage for a 2 bay NAS. Plus, my NAS is in my listening room and the drives spin less with RAID0. If one’s NAS is elsewhere that doesn’t matter.

Mine however is a much larger library. I have a 4 bay x 16TB HDD

 

Mine however is a much larger library. I have a 4 bay x 16TB HDD

I'd just mention that there is a small but non-zero risk associated with RAID5 vs RAID6.

When a drive fails and a new drive is inserted to rebuild the RAID, the remaining drives go into an almost 100% duty cycle. If all drives are the same age and/or type as the one that failed, another might go south during the rebuild. Although thankfully rare, I do remember the data centers that experienced a very high failure rate for some Seagate 3 and 4TB drives a few years ago.

RAID 6 does come with an additional space penalty but for a high-capacity NAS with high-capacity enterprise drives this is not much of an issue other than cost.

That said, I'm still going to at least compare a less expensive high capacity USB drive powered by the DCD and plugged into the spare USB port on the Taiko router, to one of my 115VAC powered NAS located in another room, plugged into an unused RJ-45 port on the Taiko router.

Steve Z

 

I'd just mention that there is a small but non-zero risk associated with RAID5 vs RAID6.

When a drive fails and a new drive is inserted to rebuild the RAID, the remaining drives go into an almost 100% duty cycle. If all drives are the same age and/or type as the one that failed, another might go south during the rebuild. Although thankfully rare, I do remember the data centers that experienced a very high failure rate for some Seagate 3 and 4TB drives a few years ago.

RAID 6 does come with an additional space penalty but for a high-capacity NAS with high-capacity enterprise drives this is not much of an issue other than cost.

That said, I'm still going to at least compare a less expensive high capacity USB drive powered by the DCD and plugged into the spare USB port on the Taiko router, to one of my 115VAC powered NAS located in another room, plugged into an unused RJ-45 port on the Taiko router.

Steve Z

Good points. However, the way I see it, these NAS are just being used large drives. If you have it backed up (and you better) I see no reason to have drive redundancy. Yes, if a drive crashes you have to rebuild NAS but that is just a lost day.