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".

 

Olympus 2A for 230/240V, 4A for 110V, slow blow.
I/O 1A for 230/240V, 2A for 110V, slow blow.

Thanks so much Emile : )

 

Many of the “believers” that have gone down the rabbit hole appear to be among the top 2% and for them any wager they’ve made on Emile/Taiko that in the end they don’t feel paid off will just put a check mark in the loss column and move on to Wadax. I don’t think there is too much concern for those individuals. That being said, we are all grown ups here, so it’s all good.

 

Many of the “believers” that have gone down the rabbit hole appear to be among the top 2% and for them any wager they’ve made on Emile/Taiko that in the end they don’t feel paid off will just put a check mark in the loss column and move on to Wadax. I don’t think there is too much concern for those individuals. That being said, we are all grown ups here, so it’s all good.

Wadax fanboy party crashing?

 

Many of the “believers” that have gone down the rabbit hole appear to be among the top 2% and for them any wager they’ve made on Emile/Taiko that in the end they don’t feel paid off will just put a check mark in the loss column and move on to Wadax. I don’t think there is too much concern for those individuals. That being said, we are all grown ups here, so it’s all good.

I think there are alot of assumptions in your statement above, including that folks that buy the Extreme or Olympus believe price is inconsequential or inelastic where demand remains the same regardless of price. I think for many, including myself, thus far what Taiko has created, and priced, has exceeded on the performance/price metric.... on every item (e.g. server, router, switch, power supply) they have delivered thus far in relation to other offerings in audio. Also, I don't think folks are going to just 'move on to Wadax' and I don't think most on this thread have a limitless stream of cash regardless. I also think current owners/potential buyers do not make their decisions lightly with respect to audio proclivities/preferences as well as their pocketbooks. Thus far, there is a real reason for Taiko's reputation and I suspect it will continue to deliver. imho

 

We are lucky enough to pick what we want , often regardless of price and that's why we picked Taiko.
I was early adopter of Taiko in 2019 when Emile was personally in contact with everyone considering top server.

Once I seen what is inside wadax that time and being able to audition both the choice was simple. Taiko was a clear winer.
Also I had a luxury to return Taiko in case I don't like it so zero risk.

Additional thing is the design.
I really like the modern industrial simple look of Taiko .
Wadax design is totally not my cup of tea.

 

Good morning WBF!

Time for an update on our progress.

We have so far managed to machine 40 Olympus Chassis, unfortunately the first 12 failed anodising quality control, that does not mean that we have to trash those, but there's also no guarantee they will be good after a refinish. So we're assuming we're at 28. For reference we have 125 firm Olympus server orders, 40 of which include an I/O. On a personal note I just cannot wait for you all to receive your servers and share your impressions on "jitter free" digital playback.

On a production level we are maxing out at 12 Olympus servers a week, and we can produce 20 I/O's in a week (not in the same week). As I shared before we have been trying to boost the production rate but there's just a limit set by the laws of mechanics. We're using custom manufactured machining tools (this is quite common for complex part manufacturing), these have been fine tuned to the processes, but there are just physical limitations to the combination of tool diameter, depth/reach, type and volume of waste produced and the maximum force which the tools can be subjected to. If you push everything to the limit accidents happen, machine crashes, damage, which results on downtimes for maintenance etc. Next to all that we also have to produce Extreme servers which are still selling well, switches, routers, DC distributors etc.

With all that said, some quick maths tell us we're looking at 10 more weeks to machine all orders, servers + I/Os, we're currently running 2 shifts, 6 days a week, with about 228 effective machining hours (on 2 machines), which also maxes out the crew/family life compatibility. On top of that we should add 2 weeks to account for people taking up holiday leave. Meaning we're fully booked till halfway September. And the last placed order will therefor ship at the end of September.

The international airfreight shipping certificate should be formalised/finalised this week, and we have a new employee starting next week to assist in assembly, she has already been helping out in weekends for a while, things can really start moving now, including the much visited website counter

 

We are lucky enough to pick what we want , often regardless of price and that's why we picked Taiko.
I was early adopter of Taiko in 2019 when Emile was personally in contact with everyone considering top server.

I do miss that personal contact, one of the benefits of @tsaett joining the team is that it should free me up enough to re-establish those direct communication lines, which besides being pleasurable also have been an invaluable source of information, greatly benefitting advances in sound quality. As software is now a larger then ever before part of the Olympus/XDMI, this communication will have an even larger significance to future improvements.

 

You really have to be a “believer”, to after hearing how Extreme sounds after the new Backend of Setup 19, invest a large amount of money in the conviction that the new thing is going to be much better than the fantastic sound we already have, but well, THAT'S WHAT WE ARE.

The Extreme is here to stay and will get a lot better, I'm under a gag order by an overwhelmed support team, but once we're through the Olympus launch, you can expect some mayor updates coming up for the Extreme!

Although the XDMS playback application suite appears to be moving slowly, let's try to keep in mind that the majority of effort of the XDMS team is invested in "coding for sound quality", which is a tremendously inefficient process, as from the sidelines I would estimate a good 75% (and that might be a conservative estimate) is discarded for some kind of negative effect on sound quality.

 

for Extreme and Olympus? (re: stream from device)

Yes. In a nutshell we have a different team working on functional improvements, they did the BMS app and are now working on the "service" app, this service app will allow things like calling in support, changing settings if necessary, apply software updates etc.

Next up they will work on adding functionality for controlling the router from (the same) app, like changing Wi-Fi settings, a port forwarding wizard, managing storage connected to the router etc.

Then they'll start working on the much wanted ipad/android tablet stream direct to server function, and add additional functionality like UPNP, allowing you to use a variety of available UPNP based software solutions, like for example minim server (which can run on most NASes), and UPNP remote control apps like mconnect, Jplay IOS etc.

I would expect each of these projects to take around 3 months, their effect on sound quality is either completely irrelevant, or not nearly as direct as XDMS, which makes coding all this quite efficient.

 

Regarding the I/O interface, I mentioned there are different types of QFSP interfaces, we did end up going for the QFSP-DD variant, which has a 400Gb maximum bandwidth, although that appears to be gross overkill, and perhaps unnecessarily expensive, it did end up sounding better. @Kris , yes I’d rate the I/O a bit higher then before using this particular interface, now at 15% in stead of 10%

 

Many of the “believers” that have gone down the rabbit hole appear to be among the top 2% and for them any wager they’ve made on Emile/Taiko that in the end they don’t feel paid off will just put a check mark in the loss column and move on to Wadax. I don’t think there is too much concern for those individuals. That being said, we are all grown ups here, so it’s all good.

You are so far off base here. Yes, many of us are quite fortunate to be able to play around in this league. That doesn't mean we have unlimited funds to do as we please. However, it appears you don't understand how passionate most of us are regarding this obsession. Nor do you understand the faithfulness we all share with Emile and Taiko...Furthermore you don't have any skin in this game, easy to comment from the sidelines...

 

Many of the “believers” that have gone down the rabbit hole appear to be among the top 2% and for them any wager they’ve made on Emile/Taiko that in the end they don’t feel paid off will just put a check mark in the loss column and move on to Wadax. I don’t think there is too much concern for those individuals. That being said, we are all grown ups here, so it’s all good.

Fact checked: Fake news..

 

The Extreme is here to stay and will get a lot better, I'm under a gag order by an overwhelmed support team, but once we're through the Olympus launch, you can expect some mayor updates coming up for the Extreme!

Well Emile, I don't think I'm going to see those updates for Extreme, I've already jumped on the Olympus ship.

 

Emile wrote:

„…we also have to produce Extreme servers which are still selling well …“
„The Extreme is here to stay and will get a lot better, I'm under a gag order by an overwhelmed support team, but once we're through the Olympus launch, you can expect some mayor updates coming up for the Extreme!“

I am very glad to hear that the more pedestrian members of the Taiko family will not be forgotten, as I am one of these.
Great news, thank you!

 

Many of the “believers” that have gone down the rabbit hole appear to be among the top 2% and for them any wager they’ve made on Emile/Taiko that in the end they don’t feel paid off will just put a check mark in the loss column and move on to Wadax. I don’t think there is too much concern for those individuals. That being said, we are all grown ups here, so it’s all good.

What kind of "grown up" would even make this statement?

 

I am also an early adopter of Taiko, and something they have done that I have not seen from any other audio manufacturer, is consistently provide free upgrades/updates that have improved the sound of the Extreme from it’s original form.

The extreme sounds so much better now than it did from day one, and I am sure the same thing will happen with the Olympus.

I am all in on Taiko!!

 

wow, just woke up and reading these recent posts all spurred by the reappearance from our fearless leader . A few posts from Emile in these early hours seems to energize this thread with fresh vigor. Im sure Emile and his crew have been working dauntlessly to make this happen. Hopefully the reanodizing will bring the number quickly back to 40 and as he promised the Taiko link to check orders will indeed become active. Thanks for all the updates Emile . Made my day and it only 0630 here . Kudos on the news as well for Extreme owners. The software updates are likewise very much appreciated.

 

Regarding the I/O interface, I mentioned there are different types of QFSP interfaces, we did end up going for the QFSP-DD variant, which has a 400Gb maximum bandwidth, although that appears to be gross overkill, and perhaps unnecessarily expensive, it did end up sounding better. @Kris , yes I’d rate the I/O a bit higher then before using this particular interface, now at 15% in stead of 10%

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Fantastic!
Glad this is moving in a good direction and we are getting additional few % of SQ for free.

Emile . Am I seeing it correctly that this board version is from June ?
You corrected the interface already ?

 

End of XDMI Introductory Discount

At Taiko we have been overwhelmed with the numbers of preorders from all of you. We are very thankful for your trust in us, both from current Extreme owners as well as new customers - welcome on board!

With the imminent launch of the Olympus platform, we are announcing the end of our XDMI introductory offer at the 1st of August 2024, which included a €5.000 early bird discount as well as 2 XDMI output cards for free. Orders filed after that date will be applicable for the regular pricing.

These will be:

- €67.000 for Olympus XDMI (DAC included)
- €22.000 for adding an Olympus I/O to an existing Olympus Server with XDMI
- €89.000 for the bundle of Olympus + Olympus I/O XDMI (DAC included)

Any additional digital output will come at a reasonable €900 each.

Since demand for an USB only version has been (for good reason) practically zero so far, we have decided to not offer USB-only versions of our Olympus products anymore. USB will of course still be a default output option that comes with every Olympus XDMI Server.

The Extreme trade in program will remain in place unchanged.

Adding an Olympus I/O XDMI (DAC included) to an existing Extreme will be €37.000.

The available storage options remain as follows:

- no storage (-350€ discount)
- 3,84 TB (+0€)
- 7,68 TB (+1000€)
- 15,4 TB (+1800€)
- 30,72 TB (+3600€)
- 61,44 TB (+8000€)

Again, many thanks to our early birds!

Chris

 

Fantastic!
Glad this is moving in a good direction and we are getting additional few % of SQ for free.

Emile . Am I seeing it correctly that this board version is from June ?
You corrected the interface already ?

The 01/06 indicates it’s the first (top) layer of 6 layers in total, aka it’s a 6 layer PCB. The bottom says 06/06.

I’m trying to upload a photo but I keep getting a “parsing response failed” error, will retry later.