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".

 

As for the purported 1-2% improvement of streaming over local playback, I am curious about the following: the path of at least 2 ethernet ports, the innards of a router and the kind of ethernet and DAC cables used, the length of the cables - none of them is 100% transparent and I suspect that they too detract a bit of SQ (just like the addition of an internal hard drive, which should have much shorter distance to the data processing heart of Olympus). Should the router be ideally battery powered? (I could find one who has deep knowledge of battery power to produce a 2-unit battery power to power Router and Switch individually, which will be better than DCD or any LPS.) The kind of ethernet and DAC cables used should matter too (as our experience with cables in general). And the kind of router (Taiko vs another kind) used. Plus my continued belief in the superiority of WAV over FLAC (especially the most compressed kind). I am not sure streaming would be indeed 1-2% better to MY ears (if I could even hear such teeny difference). We all have different ears.

 

I know it doesn't phase a techno competent individual such as yourself, but all operational commands in the Extreme are Windows based.. Since I'm a MAC guy, that's yet another worrisome thing for me. Believe me, clonig a gene is easier!

Me too, Marty. But you don't need to know Windows commands to move your music files around. Drag and drop still works.

Steve Z

 

As for the purported 1-2% improvement of streaming over local playback, I am curious about the following: the path of at least 2 ethernet ports, the innards of a router and the kind of ethernet and DAC cables used, the length of the cables - none of them is 100% transparent and I suspect that they too detract a bit of SQ (just like the addition of an internal hard drive, which should have much shorter distance to the data processing heart of Olympus). Should the router be ideally battery powered? (I could find one who has deep knowledge of battery power to produce a 2-unit battery power to power Router and Switch individually, which will be better than DCD or any LPS.) The kind of ethernet and DAC cables used should matter too (as our experience with cables in general). And the kind of router (Taiko vs another kind) used. Plus my continued belief in the superiority of WAV over FLAC (especially the most compressed kind). I am not sure streaming would be indeed 1-2% better to MY ears (if I could even hear such tiny difference). We all have different ears.

I mean this in the kindest and admiring way…reading these posts are like AI’s version of Emile’s alter ego that might just eliminate his last two hours of sleep a night. but I know that is selling Emile short. while all good questions I am sure, I feel my own anxiety and BP rise, and must manage my intake.
I am all in w 7.67TB internal. Not overthinking it further, easy enough to have a back up and to remove if necessary. And I definitely don’t want a NAS drive taking up any space (don’t have the luxury to site in another room) nor the concern that I will hear it as a result which my networked audiophile friends say is the case, in part due to my room setup. Friends that have gone to huge lengths to get their drives out of ear shot. We know that is not a universal opinion/observation re: noise but feeling good about this decision. Also does feel like adding NAS s is not as elegant of a solution as integrating within the Olympus itself, 1% be damned.

Cannot wait for arrival of Olympus and new Horizon w XDMI. Taiko doing great job building the suspense in a transparent/humble way.

 

Could anybody guide me in my choices for the order? For the question: What should be the pre-mounted module in your Olympus?*

_ Analog out (RCA)
_ Lampizator out (Taiko Link)
[Note: I am not getting RCA/ AES EBU digital].

I want both Taiko's DAC (analog out) and Lampizator XMDI out. Does it mean that both boards will be supplied but only one of the two will be pre-mounted in one bay? If so, I want the analog board pre-mounted because my Horizon needs to be retrofitted (and afterwards I can swap out the analog board and in the Lampi out). Do I understand it correctly?

Then there is this language in the email received from Taiko: "USB comes as standard output option with every order." Does it mean that there will be a standard USB board mounted in Olympus? I cannot imagine using USB with Olympus: why is it a standard output? Thanks in advance for clarification.

Part 1: you understood correctly.
Part 2: The Olympus comes with a USB output by default, but it's not removable like the USB card in the Extreme, the Olympus is a fundamentally different design, what works best in the Extreme does not work best in the Olympus.

 

But that would mean sending the Dac to Cyprus. Apart from that much distance from the box to the DAC chips, it is not ideal for an I2s connection.
Frankly this is an “enigma”

According to Stavros they don't need to ship back, we can already disclose it will come in the form of an external add on chassis, further details to be announced when ready.

 

I mean this in the kindest and admiring way…reading these posts are like AI’s version of Emile’s alter ego that might just eliminate his last two hours of sleep a night. but I know that is selling Emile short. while all good questions I am sure, I feel my own anxiety and BP rise, and must manage my intake.
I am all in w 7.67TB internal. Not overthinking it further, easy enough to have a back up and to remove if necessary. And I definitely don’t want a NAS drive taking up any space (don’t have the luxury to site in another room) nor the concern that I will hear it as a result which my networked audiophile friends say is the case. Friends that have gone to huge lengths to get their drives out of ear shot. We know that is not a universal opinion/observation that I have gone way too far down the rabbit hole and frankly am not interested in further opinions. Also does feel like adding NAS s is not as elegant of a solution as integrating within the Olympus itself, 1% be damned.

Cannot wait for arrival of Olympus and new Horizon w XDMI. Taiko doing great job building the suspense in a transparent/humble way.

ctydwn,

That’s my plan as well: use internal storage and not deal with external music storage/networking issues - at least not in the beginning.

Except once I’ve gained some time with the new Olympus system, including how to use Roon which I’ve eschewed entirely in favor of XDMS, and experimented with the analog versus digital outputs, then, and only then, will I experiment/deal with setting up the external storage options and see how much removing the internal storage card will improve things.

Either way it’s going to be an interesting and exciting journey thanks to the hard and dedicated work of the Taiko team!

 

About storage:

Congratulations! You bought a new music server Exciting times ahead with a device touted to provide previously unattainable performance from digital music playback!

In the past, when buying a new source, you did not have to worry about your music collection, as that would stay in your home as physical purchased media. With music servers your media collection is made up of files. The only way these can physically stay in your home is:

1) (temporarily) keeping your old music server
2) storing them on a NAS
3) keeping a copy on an additional drive

Let's take a closer look at the options with using your music collection with your new music server in these 3 scenarios:

1) (temporarily) keeping your old music server:
You can use your old music server as a NAS, you can access your music library from Roon by adding \\ip-address\sharename as a storage locations in the Roon settings section.

This would not be a very common scenario as most likely you'd prefer either selling or trading in your old music server with your dealer.

That leads us to the second option, copying your music collection from your old to your new music server. This would typically entail using a computer or laptop, access both servers by means of:
\\OLDserver ip-address\sharename and \\NEWserver ip-address\sharename and drag/drop the contents of window 1 to window 2.

This is by far the easiest way to do it, but it's not the fastest way. Unfortunately faster means more complex, you may need more then the most basic computer operating skills for that.

If you prefer faster methods of transfer, or if even this seems daunting to you, do not hesitate to ask your dealer for help. The transferral of a music library is something you can expect your dealer to help you with as part of after sales / installation service, you're not buying a cheap mass production device at Walmart!

2) storing them on a NAS:
Keeping your music collection on a NAS is actually how things started out in the early era of music servers, they were called streamers back then, although online streaming services like Tidal/Qobuz did not exist back then, they were called streamers, as they would stream files from your NAS. Over the years, in the pursuit of better sound quality, streamers turned into music servers as companies started incorporating local storage devices for improved performance. This is nowadays the norm.

With the launch of the Router and the Olympus, and the disappearance of the sound quality benefit of local stored files, returning to storing your music collection on a NAS becomes a viable option again.

The benefits of NAS based storage libraries are:
1) improved safety/protection of your music collection,
2) not having to copy your music collection again if the internal drive of your music server, or your entire music server fails, and when moving to a different server, as I'm sure although we may be the first, others will follow.
3) it's an always online "remote" storage location on which you can store your Roon backups. Simply tell Roon to backup once a day, or once a week, to the NAS, if your music server fails, you can always restore from your NAS and retain all your settings and Roon playlists.

If you have your music collection stored on a NAS, all you need to do is add \\NAS ip-address\sharename as a storage locations in the Roon settings section, and you're done!

3) keeping a copy on an additional drive:
If you have an external drive on which you keep a copy of your music collection, you would connect that drive to your computer / mac, open a window to the drive, open a window to your music server \\NEWserver ip-address\sharename in apple finder or windows explorer and drag/drop the contents of window 1 to window 2.

Naturally we're here to help with tips / tricks for anyone wanting to perform any of these operations themselves, and/or by helping you out with deciding which storage strategy to employ with your new Olympus server. But don't assume this forum thread to being a common practices guide on how to migrate your music collection, a lot of members are users with advanced computer skills, reading their content may be very confusing to “normal people” . Ask your dealer for help / guidance when in doubt or if everything posted here is gibberish to you. You can even contact our support desk (support@taikoaudio.com) if things remain unclear, we're here to help, happily, as we've always been!

 

According to Stavros they don't need to ship back, we can already disclose it will come in the form of an external add on chassis, further details to be announced when ready.

Yes, I understand that since there is an external box, it will contain an XDMI “receiving card”. But AC DACs only have inputs: USB, RCA Spdif, BNC spdif, and XLR spdif (AES/EBU). It's not that I intend for you to discover the surprise, but how to connect the AC box to the DAC with the inputs it has (it is not sent to Cyprus) and without spoiling the XDMI "invention", is quite intriguing.

 

In the era of “silent computers” e.g. Taiko Extreme, does anyone know of a silent NAS that uses SSD? That would be an awesome answer for those concerned about hearing a bunch of spinning drives and fans of a typical NAS.

 

In the era of “silent computers” e.g. Taiko Extreme, does anyone know of a silent NAS that uses SSD? That would be an awesome answer for those concerned about hearing a bunch of spinning drives and fans of a typical NAS.

A quick google search finds this:

HS-453DX | Silent but Powerful: Fanless Multimedia NAS with Hybrid Storage Structure, 10GbE connectivity, and HDMI™ 2.0 4K output

The 2018 Computex d&i Design Award-winning HS-453DX features a stylish minimalist appearance while providing maximum multimedia performance. Powered by an Intel® Celeron® J4115 quad-core processor with HDMI™ 2.0 (4K @60Hz) output, the HS-453DX allows you to directly enjoy high-quality videos on...

www.qnap.com

You could always build your own for those who are inclined. I love my TrueNAS Scale Threadripper with 146TB in RAIDZ3 with triple mirror Optane metadata special vdev. Runs all my VMs and a bunch of truechart apps in k3s too.

Alternatively getting a quiet/fanless NUC type thing and attaching external USB3.1 SSDs and powering all of it with a LPS might even be better.

Portable SSDs - SSD External Hard Drives | Samsung US

Select and compare the latest features and innovations available in all Samsung's Portable SSD. Find the perfect Solid State External Hard Drive for you!

www.samsung.com

 

Part 1: you understood correctly.
Part 2: The Olympus comes with a USB output by default, but it's not removable like the USB card in the Extreme, the Olympus is a fundamentally different design, what works best in the Extreme does not work best in the Olympus.

Thanks, Emile. Like ctydwn, I have opted in for 8TB internal storge and out of the fuss and troubles. Keep it simple, stupid (referring to myself).

 

Part 1: you understood correctly.
Part 2: The Olympus comes with a USB output by default, but it's not removable like the USB card in the Extreme, the Olympus is a fundamentally different design, what works best in the Extreme does not work best in the Olympus.

Sorry, Emile, I may be asking questions you have answered in the past. With the built-in USB out in Olympus, can it still be connected to an external DAC via USB cable? If so, I want to do so first with Horizon to get an idea of the sound before using the analog out to pre/amp.

 

Sorry, Emile, I may be asking questions you have answered in the past. With the built-in USB out in Olympus, can it still be connected to an external DAC via USB cable? If so, I want to do so first with Horizon to get an idea of the sound before using the analog out to pre/amp.

Emile did answer this a few days ago....


I posted a summary of his thought....

The other key statement I thought was very meaningful came yesterday when Emile stated not to have connected out from the Olympus to one's DAC is both USB and XDMI cables allowing one to easily switch inputs via the DAC remote control. The degradation in SQ to do that would be as much as 50% PLUS he also said that when switching back from USB to XDMI, always restart your Olympus.

 

I mean this in the kindest and admiring way…reading these posts are like AI’s version of Emile’s alter ego that might just eliminate his last two hours of sleep a night. but I know that is selling Emile short. while all good questions I am sure, I feel my own anxiety and BP rise, and must manage my intake.
I am all in w 7.67TB internal. Not overthinking it further, easy enough to have a back up and to remove if necessary. And I definitely don’t want a NAS drive taking up any space (don’t have the luxury to site in another room) nor the concern that I will hear it as a result which my networked audiophile friends say is the case, in part due to my room setup. Friends that have gone to huge lengths to get their drives out of ear shot. We know that is not a universal opinion/observation re: noise but feeling good about this decision. Also does feel like adding NAS s is not as elegant of a solution as integrating within the Olympus itself, 1% be damned.

Cannot wait for arrival of Olympus and new Horizon w XDMI. Taiko doing great job building the suspense in a transparent/humble way.

Should have added….now, if a Taiko NAS is around the corner… that could change things

 

Should have added….now, if a Taiko NAS is around the corner… that could change things

The current Taiko NAS is called the Extreme. Maybe they can pare it down a little bit.

 

Should have added….now, if a Taiko NAS is around the corner… that could change things

XDNS/BPS
sfp that bad boy to the O...

 

Sorry, Emile, I may be asking questions you have answered in the past. With the built-in USB out in Olympus, can it still be connected to an external DAC via USB cable? If so, I want to do so first with Horizon to get an idea of the sound before using the analog out to pre/amp.

Yes, but after you have listened to that you should unplug the USB cable, and even better reboot, before listening to XDMI.

 

XDNS

if it arrives at year end we could call it XMAS

 

Should have added….now, if a Taiko NAS is around the corner… that could change things

A good idea! However I think it would make more sense to have a storage expansion feature for the router then. The router actually already has built in NAS functionality so we more or less already have one! Just need to workout how to make it useable + easy to use!

 

The current Taiko NAS is called the Extreme. Maybe they can pare it down a little bit.

You could remove the USB card and use the freed up slot for 4 more drives