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".

 

My library is bigger than yours

I wasn’t suggesting you go this route but one could have with a 2 bay NAS with 14 or 16TB drives to get you to close to 30 TBs.

 

I wasn’t suggesting you go this route but one could have with a 2 bay NAS with 14 or 16TB drives to get you to close to 30 TBs.

The 224+ is 30 watts...

 

My library is bigger than yours

The reality to all of this may very well boil down to the fact that streaming is indistinguishable from internal library and if indeed we find that to be the case our library might be used only infrequently. To my ears now using XDMS-NSM I find it almost impossible to audibly discern the difference in formats when I stream native. Bottom line therefore is that with Olympus and XDMI Emile promises it to be even better. So streaming might be all we need

 

The 224+ is 30 watts...

Where are you seeing that? Their specs say under 15W in typical use. That is just above a 1.25A since it runs at 12V.

 

The reality to all of this may very well boil down to the fact that streaming is indistinguishable from internal library and if indeed we find that to be the case our library might be used only infrequently. To my ears now using XDMS-NSM I find it almost impossible to audibly discern the difference in formats when I stream native. Bottom line therefore is that with Olympus and XDMI Emile promises it to be even better. So streaming might be all we need

I'm hoping and betting that the Taiko team will prepare a summary set of "recommended best practices" ranked by order of sonic importance ("must have" to "nice to have") for the more common configurations of the Olympus system installation including storage and connectivity options.

 

The reality to all of this may very well boil down to the fact that streaming is indistinguishable from internal library and if indeed we find that to be the case our library might be used only infrequently. To my ears now using XDMS-NSM I find it almost impossible to audibly discern the difference in formats when I stream native. Bottom line therefore is that with Olympus and XDMI Emile promises it to be even better. So streaming might be all we need

That will in fact be great. But I have custom files from Harry Weisfeld, Philip O'Hanlon, other obscure albums/tracks. I would love to just stream without any of this other stuff...

 

Where are you seeing that? Their specs say under 15W in typical use. That is just above a 1.25A since it runs at 12V.

This information was given to me from a Synology Rep. I'm looking now, I suspect your info is more accurate...

 

Where are you seeing that? Their specs say under 15W in typical use. That is just above a 1.25A since it runs at 12V.

Your correct David, I see quite clearly 15W at full usage. I know better to just take info without double checking!

 

My Sean Jacobs LPS is about 3A. I don’t think it could power a 2.5A NAS plus the switch and router. It would be close!

 

Your correct David, I see quite clearly 15W at full usage. I know better to just take info without double checking!

It is a great low powered NAS that can hold a very large library if you are fine with RAID0.

 

My new NAS setup, preparing for the Olympus:
- Existing Plixir Statement PS, 6A 12V = 72W + Taiko DCD
- Synology DS923+ (4 bay, 35,5 W - I suppose if using HDD, not SSDs) running in silent mode.
- 2x Samsung PM893 2.5" 7.68 TB SSD (completely quiet). Space for two more SSDs if necessary.
- Additional 4GB Synology memory
- 1TB NVMe Read Cache
- Synology 10Gbe module (to be used at 1Gb with Taiko Router, but better than original port).
The 10Gb port (running at 1Gb) will be connected to the Taiko Router, feeding audio to the Olympus, and the regular 1Gb port will be connected to the upstream top quality switch to feed dowloaded video to the appletv X. The NAS will have both music and video, which will never be used simultaneously.

 

My Sean Jacobs LPS is about 3A. I don’t think it could power a 2.5A NAS plus the switch and router. It would be close!

Taiko router is 500 mA
Taiko switch is 100 mA
If your NAS is 2.5A it is probably at max consumption when it is booting.
Normally it will probably drawn constantly about 1.5A if you use SSDs.
So it should be just OK.

Alternative is what I did
I got a SECOND DCD.
Having 2 of them is a fantastic addition to the system as I can power the modem and home router out of the second DCD.

 

Another possibility that crossed my mind is that the USB input on the A/C DAC uses a small plug-in PCB that appears could be easily swapped out in the field. Maybe that is the plan to swap it out with an XDMI receiver board that is powered by the said external powered box? Keeping an end-to-end XDMI solution.

You are the second person who speculates that this is the solution, changing the PCB, USB at the AC input for an XDMI PCB and frankly I think you are both probably right.

 

The blue PCB looks quite accessible.

 

Emile
Just wondering if you could confirm the digital outputs from XDMI
You mentioned it will be possible to incorporate the AES, Spidf at RCA and BNC
Are all 3 there ?
I am asking as RCA is usually 50 ohm
BNC (a true Spidf) is 75 ohm.

 

The blue PCB looks quite accessible.

Exactly. Remove the two screws holding it in place and it will simply unplug from the lower (I2S?) board. Also would explain the use of an external box that has its own power supply. For powering the XDMI input board. Actually, would be a very clever way to make the upgrade for Olympus owners without having to ship these uber heavy DACs back to Cyprus.
Incidentally, who else has made this prediction?

 

Well, since his assumption was in a private message, I don't know if it would be correct for him to give his name. Of course he is someone much more technically qualified than me and according to him the red PCB is the reclocker, the blue one is the USB receiver and the conversion to I2S takes place there.

 

Well, since his assumption was in a private message, I don't know if it would be correct for him to give his name.

It's fine

 

It's fine

@nenon if we are correct this will be a great solution and I would place an order as soon as it becomes available. I have no doubt that the XDMI interface will be sonically superior to USB. Taking the A/C DAC to another level.

 

If the suggested solution is correct (replacing USB board) most A/C DAC owners would need assistance in performing the swap.