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".

 

"playback software does not affect sound quality" is crazy!

Emile, so we can install any other windows playback software?
Foobar2000, for instance, and the SQ will be the same as with Roon?
Thank you.

 

Re-reading the discussion over the last few pages I see the potential for some misconceptions to start occurring.

1) Local storage file playback quality is not inferior to router + network sourced playback files, it’s equal.

2) Adding a drive to the Olympus however is not completely inaudible, nothing huge but you can hear a small difference on a highly resolving system, I’d rate this at a 1-2% impact, not enough to actually worry about. If I hadn’t mentioned it I’m sure nobody would have ever noticed it.

3) This does make a NAS a viable option for storing your music as you’ll have the same sound quality as playing from local storage, at a much lower price, you can have virtually unlimited storage sizes and you have more data security strategies to play around with. (Again assuming you use the Taiko router). There is a downside as well, being it may add some complexity to your setup.

I am still abit confused about 1&2. Local storage file has to be placed in a drive in Olympus. So 1&2 is the same?

 

I am still abit confused about 1&2. Local storage file has to be placed in a drive in Olympus. So 1&2 is the same?

Adding a drive slightly degrades overall SQ, aka local and network playback stays on an equal level, just slightly reduced caused by adding that drive.

 

Emile, so we can install any other windows playback software?
Foobar2000, for instance, and the SQ will be the same as with Roon?
Thank you.

We only support Roon. Any other additions need to make sense / be worthwhile.

As an example, command line playback using xdplayer.exe (the playback component of XDMS) sounds identical to Roon.

 

Olympus: playback software does not affect sound quality

That's a massive marketing aspect worth highlighting on the new website!

Roon unfortunately suffers from a bad reputation when it comes to sound quality.

This is no longer the case with the Olympus.

I have no doubt that this will attract a lot of audiophiles who appreciate Roon for its many qualities but are reluctant to use it because of the impact on sound quality.

The Olympus certainly lives up to its name.

We'll be sharing our experiences here soon

 

At present I have both Roon and also HQplayer on my extreme. I need the HQplayer to play DSD1024 files because Roon does not support DSD1024. Can I ask can we use HQplayer in the Olympus?

 

At present I have both Roon and also HQplayer on my extreme. I need the HQplayer to play DSD1024 files because Roon does not support DSD1024. Can I ask can we use HQplayer in the Olympus?

Unfortunately HQPlayer cannot run on the Olympus.

 

Unfortunately HQPlayer cannot run on the Olympus.

This is disappointing. In that case we will need the XDMS to accommodate DSDS1024 and hopefully can be ready soon?

 

...I thought XDMS was not going to run on Olympus initially, if at all.

 

Emile,
Thanks for clarifying so many points on the Olympus...I recall weeks ago the possibility you'll be revisiting daiza boards with Olympus due in part to change in Olympus footers ? please clarify

 

The Olympus has 1 single USB port. If you plug anything into this port, an USB drive, a DAC or any other USB device, XDMI sound quality will take a nosedive down to about the same level as USB. So when comparing USB to XDMI with your DAC make sure to unplug the USB cable, and even better yet also restart the Olympus to remove any lingering nasties. Aka don’t use any USB device unless absolutely necessary!

It's been a while since I've awarded the Pearl of the Day but the above quote for me is paramount

 

Practical differences between the Extreme and the Olympus:

Playback software:
Extreme: playback software affects sound quality

Olympus: playback software does not affect sound quality (assuming the playback software used is bit-perfect)

This seems to be a breakthrough and paradigm shift?

Does this mean Xdms is history as far as the Olympus platform?

And does this mean that no matter what the Roon engineers do to muck up the sound quality, that Olympus performance will be unchanged?

Where does this leave future advancements in software/playback from Taiko if there’s no platform (like XDMS) to implement them?

 

Emile,
Thanks for clarifying so many points on the Olympus...I recall weeks ago the possibility you'll be revisiting daiza boards with Olympus due in part to change in Olympus footers ? please clarify

There’s no need for the Daiza. The Olympus is much more sophisticated in terms of resonance control than anything we build before.

 

This seems to be a breakthrough and paradigm shift?

Does this mean Xdms is history as far as the Olympus platform?

And does this mean that no matter what the Roon engineers do to muck up the sound quality, that Olympus performance will be unchanged?

Where does this leave future advancements in software/playback from Taiko if there’s no platform (like XDMS) to implement them?

XDMS would need to be 100% rock solid, stable and a joy to use before we would consider offering it on the Olympus. Steps are being taken to achieve that, it’s now the main priority where before it was more an investigation into the effects of code and certain manipulations on SQ.

 

I hear what you're saying about Roon for the next 3 months or so but I have to admit that it is still XDMS that floats my boat. There is just something about it that lures me in much more than Roon. However as you say, with Olympus, Roon is a different ballgame.....I would expect no less and hopefully more once a finished XDMS reaches us

 

There’s no need for the Daiza. The Olympus is much more sophisticated in terms of resonance control than anything we build before.

Have you tried any aftermarket footers with the Olympus?

 

Have you tried any aftermarket footers with the Olympus?

No, we designed the footers to what we feel matches best with the Olympus presentation. Feel free to experiment, they will alter voicing to a slight degree.

 

Practical differences between the Extreme and the Olympus:

A summary of differing features compiled into one post:

Storage:
Extreme: locally stored files sound best

Olympus: local and remote sourced files sound the same (when used with the router)

Network:
Extreme: network setup affects both local as remote file playback performance

Olympus: network setup only affects remote file playback performance

Playback software:
Extreme: playback software affects sound quality

Olympus: playback software does not affect sound quality (assuming the playback software used is bit-perfect)

USB:
Extreme: allows finetuning towards a DAC by means of selectable USB profiles

Olympus: no effect of USB profiles, hence eliminated

Remote Desktop access:
Extreme: customer may need to access the desktop to perform various tasks

Olympus: customer does not need desktop access

General remark:

The Olympus has 1 single USB port. If you plug anything into this port, an USB drive, a DAC or any other USB device, XDMI sound quality will take a nosedive down to about the same level as USB. So when comparing USB to XDMI with your DAC make sure to unplug the USB cable, and even better yet also restart the Olympus to remove any lingering nasties. Aka don’t use any USB device unless absolutely necessary!

@Emile

could you please address each of these specific points for the combination of Extreme + IO XDMI (i.e. not Olympus)?

i have to view the Olympus as 'unobtanium' here, but if the Extreme + IO + XDMI + TotalDAC is truly a major step up, i may have to consider the IO XDMI in next year's audio budget.

to once again quote warren zevon, "i appreciate the best, but i'm settling for less, and i'm looking for the next best thing" (a great song, by the way)

 

@Emile

could you please address each of these specific points for the combination of Extreme + IO XDMI (i.e. not Olympus)?

i have to view the Olympus as 'unobtanium' here, but if the Extreme + IO + XDMI + TotalDAC is truly a major step up, i may have to consider the IO XDMI in next year's audio budget.

to once again quote warren zevon, "i appreciate the best, but i'm settling for less, and i'm looking for the next best thing" (a great song, by the way)

None of it applies to that, it’s still the Extreme, but it is a significant upgrade otherwise.

 

i have to view the Olympus as 'unobtanium' here, but if the Extreme + IO + XDMI + TotalDAC is truly a major step up, i may have to consider the IO XDMI in next year's audio budget.

Another option to consider trying is "Extreme + Olympus I/O XDMI analog". If that sounds significantly better than what you have today, selling the TotalDAC will offset some of your cost.

Being able to sell our DACs if the Olympus I/O with XDMI analog output sounds better is a pretty good incentive. Whether it sounds better or not is yet to be seen / heard, but if I was a betting man, I would not underestimate XDMI analog.