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".

 

Ahhhh, now everything starts to make sense! I wondered the whole time how the I/O can bring a lot of the benefits, when the large linear supply is kept for the Extreme. Well apparently, it‘s the parts like XDMI that benefit the most from the BPS. Alright, alright, now I get it… well, thanks for explaining and removing that question mark from my forehead.

It’s a good example of how things can change during a design process. It starts with an idea, followed by prototype(s), then concrete designs. During that process you may end up making new discoveries. We went through 4 actual switch designs before we had a final design, for the GaN regulators we’re even at the 8th iteration! For the BPS we “only” have 2 designs, for XDMI we are at the second baseboard design but have designed 2 different digital and 4 different analogue output stages with dozens of smaller changes/adjustments. It always ends up different then you expect somehow.

The downside of sharing information during the design process is that what you share in earlier stages may be obsolete by the time the design is finished. That absolutely applies to both the BPS and XDMI. For the BPS the way its applied has changed, smaller multiple supplies in stead of one large supply. For XDMI we may have been a bit to conservative in predicting its performance level.

 

Emile, it’s Kevin here again : ) - I’m sorry that I forgot another important question earlier - my DAC is the wadax atlantis which, for how good it sounds, doesn’t work with XDMS, on account of what I have come to believe is the result of USB protocol. I was reassured by Ed earlier that the DAC card you were producing would allow me to hear XDMS through the wadax atlantis, by way of the AES/EBU connection.

Does this still apply with the Olympus, and will I be able to listen to and compare XDMS worh roon, and receive all the benefits that XDMI offers through the AES/EBU connection through my DAC?

Thanks again! : ) - kevin

Yes!

 

Hi Emile,


If I may, four quick questions:


1 - What will be the height of the Olympus + Olxmpus I/O when stacked?

I am in the process of finalizing the construction of my audion room as well as the rack. It will be made to measure for the equipment and for the Taiko Audio set (Olympus + Olxmpus I/O and Switch, Router, DCD).


2 - Do you have a rough idea when prices and orders will be available?


3 - For a DAC like mine (Soulution 760) which interface do you recommend?


4 - Which LPS would you recommend for the Switch, Router, DCD?
I'm looking for something discreet, small, but of sufficient quality to make the whole kit shine.


Thank you for your help and a big bravo for all this work. I hope it gets the success it deserves!

Cheers,

Thomas

 

For this comparison we used XDMI with AES/EBU to the Horizon.

Not sure if I am getting this correct.
Was XDMI RCA exit better than XDMI with AES exit to Horizon ?
If the answer is yes than there is no brainer, skeep Horizon for better sound.
Please correct me if I am wrong

 

Hi Emile, I am using Merging Ravenna. Is there any benefit upgrading to Olympus if I intended to continue using Ravenna? The reason is that I have digital XO and I am using Merging Hapi with 9 channels DAC

It’s a good example of how things can change during a design process. It starts with an idea, followed by prototype(s), then concrete designs. During that process you may end up making new discoveries. We went through 4 actual switch designs before we had a final design, for the GaN regulators we’re even at the 8th iteration! For the BPS we “only” have 2 designs, for XDMI we are at the second baseboard design but have designed 2 different digital and 4 different analogue output stages with dozens of smaller changes/adjustments. It always ends up different then you expect somehow.

The downside of sharing information during the design process is that what you share in earlier stages may be obsolete by the time the design is finished. That absolutely applies to both the BPS and XDMI. For the BPS the way its applied has changed, smaller multiple supplies in stead of one large supply. For XDMI we may have been a bit to conservative in predicting its performance level.

I appreciate you’re giving us a glimpse into the design/production process. Fascinating!

 

We have pricing information. As XDMI is new technology which has to prove itself we have decided to offer it at a temporary introductory discount.

The first batch of Olympus and Olympus I/O is expected to ship out in 3 months (halfway march).

Export pricing means exclusive sales taxes/shipping where applicable.

Olympus Export Pricing:

Olympus server USB: € 52.000

Olympus I/O USB: € 24.000

Olympus server + Olympus I/O USB : € 72.800

Olympus server XDMI: € 65.400 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 60.400

Olympus I/O XDMI: € 37.400 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 32.400

Olympus server + Olympus I/O XDMI : € 86.200 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 81.200

Olympus I/O to add to an Extreme server: € 20.800 (return your old USB and Network card)

Olympus I/O XDMI to add to an Extreme server: € 34.200 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 29.200 (return your old USB and Network card)

 

View attachment 121649

The Olympus I/O contains 1 linear power supply which is only used to recharge it's 2 battery power supplies. You could argue the power cord to have little to no relevance there.

The Olympus contains 2 linear power supplies, one to recharge it's 3 battery supplies, and another one to power the most power hungry part of the server, being the motherboard, motherboard and CPU.

The Extreme's power consumption varies between 60 and 80 watts. Here the power cord matters.

The Olympus power consumption is 45 watts. Here the power cord matters as well although arguably just for "modulating the current draw sound signature effect" on your power strip.

The Olympus and Olympus I/O chargers power consumption depends on how you configure it's charging behaviour. If you choose a short window to charge the battery packs all at once this can be up to 100 watts for the Olympus I/O and 150 watts for the Olympus. Here the power cord would only matter if you're charging while listening for the same reason as described above.

He Emile,

Thank you for all the information you've been providing us. I wanted to understand how adding the i/o to the olympus would bring a benefit over the olympus alone. Is it just in the isolation of components? As i understand it the 3 batteries inside the olympus are powering all the peripherals and lps is powering the motherboard which has the cpu ram etc. If you're removing the peripherals and powering them via the 2 isolated bps in the i/o what is left in the olympus that will be powered by the 3 bps?

I'm asking because i'm interested in knowing if the olympus' 100% increase over the extreme + i/o is from the new components (motherboard cpu etc) or if the gains are from the BPS being internal.

thanks again

 

Hi Emile,


If I may, four quick questions:


1 - What will be the height of the Olympus + Olxmpus I/O when stacked?

I am in the process of finalizing the construction of my audion room as well as the rack. It will be made to measure for the equipment and for the Taiko Audio set (Olympus + Olxmpus I/O and Switch, Router, DCD).


2 - Do you have a rough idea when prices and orders will be available?


3 - For a DAC like mine (Soulution 760) which interface do you recommend?


4 - Which LPS would you recommend for the Switch, Router, DCD?
I'm looking for something discreet, small, but of sufficient quality to make the whole kit shine.


Thank you for your help and a big bravo for all this work. I hope it gets the success it deserves!

Cheers,

Thomas

1 - 180mm (180+100mm)
2 - Just posted!
3 - If a 24/192 sample rate is acceptable AES/EBU (for now)
4 - I'm actually not that up to speed on commercial LPS offerings, a few popular ones I know our customers frequently use to satisfaction are Plixir, Uptone, Sean Jacobs

Thanks

 

Yes that actually was the initial intent and why we designed the "large" high capacity BPS. But we subsequently discovered that the impact of separately powering (In / Output) peripherals was far larger, virtually eliminating the advantage of powering the "core" from a BPS. Indeed a surprising and admittedly unexpected outcome, but here we are! Hence adding the Olympus I/O to the Extreme also provides it with all of the benefits of battery power.

I belive this is true.
Actually I did experiment long ago with powering the Adnaco module that had usb card and network card with LPS insted of ATX SPS and to my surprise this was the same when powering BOTH Adnaco and server with LPS.
That was long ago with very low level components in comparison to todays standards but it confirms there is no difference if the motherboard + cpu are powered with or without better supply as long as the cards are powered with better supply.

 

Emile, how will the Extreme trade-in get valued?

 

Emile. I wonder what’s the hard disc size for the Olympus server? With extreme we got to choose various terabytes SSD

 

Not sure if I am getting this correct.
Was XDMI RCA exit better than XDMI with AES exit to Horizon ?
If the answer is yes than there is no brainer, skeep Horizon for better sound.
Please correct me if I am wrong

I really cannot answer that question as XDMI provides a different experience then traditional digital. On top of that a DAC has a specific “voicing” or “sound signature”. The Horizon is a tube DAC with adjustable voicing by means of tube rolling. Your Totaldac is a R2R solid state DAC.

 

We have pricing information. As XDMI is new technology which has to prove itself we have decided to offer it at a temporary introductory discount.

The first batch of Olympus and Olympus I/O is expected to ship out in 3 months (halfway march).

Export pricing means exclusive sales taxes/shipping where applicable.

Olympus Export Pricing:

Olympus server USB: € 52.000

Olympus I/O USB: € 24.000

Olympus server + Olympus I/O USB : € 72.800

Olympus server XDMI: € 65.400 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 60.400

Olympus I/O XDMI: € 37.400 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 32.400

Olympus server + Olympus I/O XDMI : € 86.200 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 81.200

Olympus I/O to add to an Extreme server: € 20.800 (return your old USB and Network card)

Olympus I/O XDMI to add to an Extreme server: € 35.800 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 30.800 (return your old USB and Network card)

Not sure if I got this correct , but it looks this is no near the mentioned
3x the performance for 2x the money for the Olympus + Olympus IO.
And this is with no VAT that adds about 20% to it.

So if I count it properly it is 3x performance for 4 x the money in this case.
If am not getting this right please correct me.

 

He Emile,

Thank you for all the information you've been providing us. I wanted to understand how adding the i/o to the olympus would bring a benefit over the olympus alone. Is it just in the isolation of components? As i understand it the 3 batteries inside the olympus are powering all the peripherals and lps is powering the motherboard which has the cpu ram etc. If you're removing the peripherals and powering them via the 2 isolated bps in the i/o what is left in the olympus that will be powered by the 3 bps?

I'm asking because i'm interested in knowing if the olympus' 100% increase over the extreme + i/o is from the new components (motherboard cpu etc) or if the gains are from the BPS being internal.

thanks again

The 2 spare Olympus battery supplies will then power the interface cards. The I/O cards will then be situated in the I/O chassis. Altogether you’ll have an increased level of isolation in a reduced EMI/RFI environment.

The 3rd Olympus battery supply powers the OS / music drives.

The improved performance of Olympus over Extreme + I/O is larger for XDMI then for USB as USB has a relatively high noise level itself. Where XDMI noise levels have to be measured on a nanovolt scale, a best effort USB implementation is more in the micro/millivolt range, aka thousands of times higher.

 

Emile, how will the Extreme trade-in get valued?

At your purchase price excluding storage.

 

I really cannot answer that question as XDMI provides a different experience then traditional digital. On top of that a DAC has a specific “voicing” or “sound signature”. The Horizon is a tube DAC with adjustable voicing by means of tube rolling. Your Totaldac is a R2R solid state DAC.

Thank you .
I believe in this case we need you to describe the sonic difference and what is so different ?
in which way this is different ?

If this is impossible than we will have to ask for a one unit to be shipped from one home to the other for 1 day to evaluate / learn what is a difference.

If I would be able to skeep totaldac than the pricing will make a much better sense to me , if not than it starts to be very expensive.

 

Not sure if I got this correct , but it looks this is no near the mentioned
3x the performance for 2x the money for the Olympus + Olympus IO.
And this is with no VAT that adds about 20% to it.

So if I count it properly it is 3x performance for 4 x the money in this case.
If am not getting this right please correct me.

I’m not following you here + I did not mention anything like x performance x money?

 

We have pricing information. As XDMI is new technology which has to prove itself we have decided to offer it at a temporary introductory discount.

The first batch of Olympus and Olympus I/O is expected to ship out in 3 months (halfway march).

Export pricing means exclusive sales taxes/shipping where applicable.

Olympus Export Pricing:

Olympus server USB: € 52.000

Olympus I/O USB: € 24.000

Olympus server + Olympus I/O USB : € 72.800

Olympus server XDMI: € 65.400 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 60.400

Olympus I/O XDMI: € 37.400 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 32.400

Olympus server + Olympus I/O XDMI : € 86.200 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 81.200

Olympus I/O to add to an Extreme server: € 20.800 (return your old USB and Network card)

Olympus I/O XDMI to add to an Extreme server: € 35.800 / introduction discount € 5.000 -> € 30.800 (return your old USB and Network card)

I would like to see the colour chart. Always fancied a bright red Extreme.

 

Not sure if I got this correct , but it looks this is no near the mentioned
3x the performance for 2x the money for the Olympus + Olympus IO.
And this is with no VAT that adds about 20% to it.

So if I count it properly it is 3x performance for 4 x the money in this case.
If am not getting this right please correct me.

Kris, people here pay 2x, 5x, hell 10x the cost for going from 90% to 95%, to 99%, to 99.999%.

 

I would like to see the colour chart. Always fancied a bright red Extreme.

Haha, well the finish is anodised. I’m not sure if red is an option there but we can make some enquiries. Silver, black, gold every anodising company can do.