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".

 

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)

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)

A minor inconsistency, for IO XDMI , extreme users returning USB / Net cards only bring a value of 1600€c whereas for the IO USB it is a return value or 3200€, wondering if a 1600€ got lost in translation? other than that it would be great if there was an option for 6 monthly payments

 

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

For the Olympus we can actually utilise datacenter grade MCIO/Oculink U.2/U.3 drives. Those go up to 30TB or even 60TB in a single drive.

 

Ic. So 30T is the standard?

 

I hope this isn’t a stupid question, but in the instance of an Extreme with the addition of an O I/O, could we run Roon on USB output from Extreme chassis and switch to using NMS output from XDMI on O I/O? And this might be similar in operation to current switch from XDMS to Roon on the current app?

Also, Roon through RAAT Ethernet still applies as current structure.

If yes, then my order for O I/O still stands - please note that I was the first order on here several pages back.

 

A minor inconsistency, for IO XDMI , extreme users returning USB / Net cards only bring a value of 1600€c whereas for the IO USB it is a return value or 3200€, wondering if a 1600€ got lost in translation? other than that it would be great if there was an option for 6 monthly payments

Thanks, adjusted!

 

Really much above what I expected, especially because in Europe you have to add 21% VAT. Never say never, but I think this is where my update on the Taiko universe ends.

 

Ic. So 30T is the standard?

No we'll have to quote storage, it's added at cost. A micron 9400 PRO 30.72TB drive costs around E 3.300 currently. I'm just mentioning this as there are virtually no storage capacity limitations for the Olympus. You can also use the same type of storage as used in the Extreme but there are some benefits to using these "new" types of drives / interfaces.

 

I hope this isn’t a stupid question, but in the instance of an Extreme with the addition of an O I/O, could we run Roon on USB output from Extreme chassis and switch to using NMS output from XDMI on O I/O? And this might be similar in operation to current switch from XDMS to Roon on the current app?

Also, Roon through RAAT Ethernet still applies as current structure.

If yes, then my order for O I/O still stands - please note that I was the first order on here several pages back.

Yes that's possible.

 

so now when I thought I finally understood, I am completely confused as to why one would need XDMI on the IO as well as the OLYMPUS

 

anodizing Aluminium knows some great colors and anything you can make with those;

 

so now when I thought I finally understood, I am completely confused as to why one would need XDMI on the IO as well as the OLYMPUS

You don’t.

If you purchase an Olympus + XDMI, XDMI is situated inside the Olympus.

Of you purchase an Olympus + Olympus I/O + XDMI, XDMI is situated inside the Olympus I/O.

In both cases you only have 1x XDMI.

 

anodizing Aluminium knows some great colors and anything you can make with those;
View attachment 121666

Yeah but it needs to be an option at a company which is capable of performing repeatable high quality surface finishing on large objects

 

Yeah but it needs to be an option at a company which is capable of performing repeatable high quality surface finishing on large objects

for sure, there actually are quite a few of those within the Netherlands!

 

No we'll have to quote storage, it's added at cost. A micron 9400 PRO 30.72TB drive costs around E 3.300 currently. I'm just mentioning this as there are virtually no storage capacity limitations for the Olympus. You can also use the same type of storage as used in the Extreme but there are some benefits to using these "new" types of drives / interfaces.

The HyperCards in Extreme or just the drives in the HyperCards?

 

Does the Olympus need two power cords, one for LPS and other for battery charger?

 

so now when I thought I finally understood, I am completely confused as to why one would need XDMI on the IO as well as the OLYMPUS

You don’t.

If you purchase an Olympus + XDMI, XDMI is situated inside the Olympus.

Of you purchase an Olympus + Olympus I/O + XDMI, XDMI is situated inside the Olympus I/O.

In both cases you only have 1x XDMI.

Thank you for the explanation . So I guess the next question is whether the XDMI is best seated in the Olympus or best seated in the Olympus IO

 

I was noticing that the XDMI module - especially at full retail (i.e. not introductory) price - has a significant cost. In my case I could justify it - at least in the short term - only if the sound quality of the analog output is in line or better than my current DAC.

Initially the TACDA was presented as capable to compete with DACs in the 10-20k range, but that was before a lot of further development and - most notably - the coupling of it with an advanced battery operation.

So my question is how the XDMI analog out in its current incarnations (inside the Olympus or - even better - inside the O. I/O) compares with state-of-the art desktop DACs?

 

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

post nr 103:
Very roughly I expect it to be around 1x Olympus + 1x Olympus I/O > 2x Extreme > 1x Olympus > 1x Extreme + 1x Olympus I/O > 1x Extreme > 1x Olympus I/O (based on USB / without XDMI).

so if I see correctly pricing of Olympus + Olympus IO is more than 2x Extreme from your post.

It looks in the end will be more like 4x , not 2x Extreme mentioned In post 103.

I was very enthusiastic after I was seeing it first time ( >2xExtreme) but now is difficult counting 4x.

 

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

True. There is no question about that.
I was always with Taiko as it was reasonably much cheaper and additional improvements made it justifiable easy. Its just this post nr 103 that mentioned pricing that was probably to optimistic but I just counted from it.

 

Regarding adding an Olympus I/O to Extreme; it requires returning old USB and NIC cards..."old" meaning original cards and not upgraded versions ?