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".

 

Just quick info from Tidal

UPCOMING CHANGES TO AUDIO FORMATS - TIDAL - The Absolute Sound

UPCOMING CHANGES TO AUDIO FORMATS - TIDAL - News about upcoming changes to audio formats on TIDAL.

www.theabsolutesound.com

I knew the MQA is NOT my cup of tea long ago, turning it off completely. Now it’s gone.
Flac remains.

 

Totally aligned! It is about chasing the stress away, not stressing over



We just got back from a quick "Tree Hugging" holiday. Nothing like a some 2000+ year old giants to put things in proper perspective!

View attachment 133507

How long a power cable did that require?

 

Olympus Server and I/O's design is genuinely stunning!

Both understated and sophisticated.

It'll blend nicely with my system!

 

Good morning forum members, mountain climbers and tree huggers!

Today the first Olympus servers are shipping out.

Unfortunately the I/Os did not make it back in time from the Anodising company, those will start shipping next week.

We have had all chassis re-anodised by the new anodising company, the finish quality is so much better I just could not live with myself shipping out lesser quality finished chassis just to get them out the door quicker, even though those receiving them may have not even have noticed, it does really make a significant difference to the appearance of the product. The big difference is the procedure this company uses, I'm no expert in anodising but they told me they apply a process which determines the hue/colour before the actual anodising takes place. This creates a better final surface quality / consistency and additionally the colour shade is always the same. These are really nice people, they have allocated their Saturdays for the foreseeable future exclusively to finish our chassis parts!

Being fully aware the wait time has been longer then anticipated, our own impatience may actually very well have exceeded yours, we're beyond excited to finally start receiving feedback from the "field" as of next week.

 

The attention to detail speaks volumes...

My hat is off to you and your team.

Tom

 

Amazing Emile! Thank you to you and your team for the consistent openness to share w an ‘energetic’ community ongoing developments in virtual real time.
And to Ed for uploading latest xdms updates w a moments notice. Truly unique compared to any hi end audio company out there. All the utmost care/diligence will only payout multiple fold of course independent of a few days or weeks of ‘wait’. we all just stand to benefit ultimately and i think most of us are in this/have been for the long glorious haul.

Received new Horizon today w taiko xdmi input this time. Ready to roll.

 

Good morning forum members, mountain climbers and tree huggers!

Today the first Olympus servers are shipping out.

Unfortunately the I/Os did not make it back in time from the Anodising company, those will start shipping next week.

We have had all chassis re-anodised by the new anodising company, the finish quality is so much better I just could not live with myself shipping out lesser quality finished chassis just to get them out the door quicker, even though those receiving them may have not even have noticed, it does really make a significant difference to the appearance of the product. The big difference is the procedure this company uses, I'm no expert in anodising but they told me they apply a process which determines the hue/colour before the actual anodising takes place. This creates a better final surface quality / consistency and additionally the colour shade is always the same. These are really nice people, they have allocated their Saturdays for the foreseeable future exclusively to finish our chassis parts!

Being fully aware the wait time has been longer then anticipated, our own impatience may actually very well have exceeded yours, we're beyond excited to finally start receiving feedback from the "field" as of next week.

Hey Emile (@Taiko Audio )

A few more weeks doesn't really matter, does it?

All that matters is that it arrives well-packaged and confy, and that everything is in place: ten fingers, ten toes, two ears, and so on.


Cheers,

Thomas

 

That is one strong-necked Stork...

 

That is one strong-necked Stork...

Yea, it's one of a kind!!!

 

I got word that mine ships next week. I heard they come on a palette that weighs (mine) 135 Kg and mine ships with a return for my Extreme

Im hoping team Taiko will finally be able to catch up on some much needed sleep as they have been working 16-18 hour days to commence the shipment process

Ed tells me my Extreme with its very large internal library will be used by him in Oldenzaahl to further the development of the new scanner which presently scans 5 times faster with smaller libraries and they are working on the same for larger libraries. Im going to miss XDMS until it become a reality for Olympus owners

 

I thought we were suppose to remove the internal storage in our Extreme before we return them...is yours an exception?

 

I thought we were suppose to remove the internal storage in our Extreme before we return them...is yours an exception?

you can do whatever you want I suppose or do you have a problem with what I am doing. My library has been copied to an NAS, Ed has been working on my Extreme for several weeks to help develop the new scanner which is written in a different language code and he told me he would be working on my internal librarywhen it returns to Oldenzaahl. Whether mine is an exception or not I have no idea. If it makes you feel better it is a simple task to wipe the internal storage

 

you can do whatever you want I suppose or do you have a problem with what I am doing. My library has been copied to an NAS, Ed has been working on my Extreme for several weeks to help develop the new scanner which is written in a different language code and he told me he would be working on my internal librarywhen it returns to Oldenzaahl. Whether mine is an exception or not I have no idea. If it makes you feel better it is a simple task to wipe the internal storage

Steve, I think he was asking more about the hardware (m.2 cards) than the library. My understanding is that we can remove the hardware before shipping and use the storage in another machine if we do choose.

 

Steve, I think he was asking more about the hardware (m.2 cards) than the library. My understanding is that we can remove the hardware before shipping and use the storage in another machine if we do choose.

understood and youre likely correct.Lately kings rule has been yelling at me so I guess my defense mechanisms kicked in

 

For myself I have seen many products (hardware AND software) from other companies rushed out in the past to meet promised deadlines, with many flaws and issues unaddressed. I feel that is even more frustrating than a delay in delivery.

Having experienced that, I am always of the opinion that I will take some further delay for a polished and elegant experience rather than get it precisely when promised and deal with recurrent flaws/issues.

Just my two cents. As long as the allocation and shipping process is handled fairly and openly I'd rather Taiko spend additional time (within reason) for a near perfect product.

 

For myself I have seen many products (hardware AND software) from other companies rushed out in the past to meet promised deadlines, with many flaws and issues unaddressed. I feel that is even more frustrating than a delay in delivery.

Having experienced that, I am always of the opinion that I will take some further delay for a polished and elegant experience rather than get it precisely when promised and deal with recurrent flaws/issues.

Just my two cents. As long as the allocation and shipping process is handled fairly and openly I'd rather Taiko spend additional time (within reason) for a near perfect product.

This is so very true!!

Clearly, Taiko Audio goes against the usual pattern.

And that is an entirely positive thing!

IMO, better late and flawless than "quick and dirty".

Cheers,

Thomas

 

As the first Olympus servers are making their way to their new owners, we wanted to share some photos for all of those who committed the big mistake of ordering silver units ( just kidding of course... )

Here's a small section of our Olympus storage facility - all customs boards waiting to be deployed. For the curious eye: on the bottom is an earlier Olympus prototype that did not make the cut.


Below some charger power supply modules - extremely heavy and non-resonant due to being fully immersed in epoxy resign.



More interesting, a shot of a nearly finished unit. Emile listens to every unit that goes out the door in our reference listening room, to ensure every Olympus sounds the same. This unit has the analog output option mounted, but is still waiting for the input/output labeling.



Here's a close-up of the XDMI module, base board towards the front, daughter card towards the rear. Every part you see is custom built.


This is a shot of the battery supply and the charger supply. Please note that we use many different cable gauges and types throughout the whole design. Every possible combination has been tested by ear, which has been a crazy undertaking.



Classic front view - the middle LED is off, as the unit itself is switched off.



... And finally, to appreciate the complexity of the design, here's a global shot - this is what you will be receiving:



I think it has turned out pretty well

 

Something I'll be listening for with the lowered noise floor of the Olympus:
Small low level detail that *startles* me, repeatedly. It's not just hearing things previously unnoticed, but the surprise of hearing things coming organically out of 'nowhere.'

The Jan11 xdms released achieved my personal definition of "magic" in all aspects (soundstage, low level details, bass) except for this startle factor which I had achieved once upon a time (but lost with s/w changes) and never recovered (who knew back then that EFTM with software???).

[Old news below--if you've read the Taiko threads for the past years]
Not mythical system reference was:
Hqplayer playing wav from nas, streamed to micro rendu in NAA mode (very low processing load), USB to sotm USB - AES/ebu converter/reclocker to totaldac. Microrendu and sotm running off of sotm battery supplies. This is also where I first came across the obvious superiority of wav versus flac.

 

I think it has turned out pretty well

Absolutely gorgeous!

(could use some more copper though

 

Absolutely gorgeous!

(could use some more copper though

I know your comment was meant to be tongue in cheek, but would you believe there is such a thing as too much copper. At some point there was indeed more copper deployed in various applications, but in the end what you see here has turned out to be just the right amount