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".

 

Shipping Update

The heavily reduced team spent quite some over hours in the shop to assemble and test the next batch of servers.
We are getting in the groove and we see routine effects starting to develop.

Shipping battery powered equipment also has its quirks, at Taiko we now know why there is not much battery powered equipment on the market!

We barely missed the Friday courier deadline, but the following servers - that will get a good burn in over the weekend - are ready and will dispatch beginning of next week:

- 10 (silver Olympus + I/O)
- 11 (silver Olympus + I/O)
- 20 (black Olympus)
- 23 (black Olympus)
- 32 (black Olympus)
- 33 (black Olympus)

We are very excited to get the first Olympus + I/O feedback!

Thank you !
This is extremely helpful.
It's Cristal clear where we are and I can start preparing for my Olympus + IO.

Hopefully Steve is going to get his package and will share his first impressions.

 

I was thinking that in both instances the XDMI card needs to be powered but in the case of the internal DAC that would need power too while the external DAC wouldn’t.

Emile will have to (all though I certainly trust Vassil's Knowledge) eventually answer this. Less processing by an internal DAC, one would assume a lesser amount of power needed...

 

For those getting ready to experiment, anyone can do these measurements with the Taiko app (if they have the system configuration of interest)

If you unplug your Olympus, you’re in battery only. The app will show you system battery voltage and current. Multiply these and you have a power reading for the system.

It will also show you xdmi battery voltage and current. These will give power reading for xdmi

Do this in standby, system on but not playing music, and while playing music to analog/usb/xdmi DAC and you’ll get your power numbers for both the system battery and xdmi battery

 

For those getting ready to experiment, anyone can do these measurements with the Taiko app (if they have the system configuration of interest)

If you unplug your Olympus, you’re in battery only. The app will show you system battery voltage and current. Multiply these and you have a power reading for the system.

It will also show you xdmi battery voltage and current. These will give power reading for xdmi

Do this in standby, system on but not playing music, and while playing music to analog/usb/xdmi DAC and you’ll get your power numbers for both the system battery and xdmi battery

I better bookmark all these helpful hints since it’ll be 3-4 months before I can actually try things out.

 

For those getting ready to experiment, anyone can do these measurements with the Taiko app (if they have the system configuration of interest)

If you unplug your Olympus, you’re in battery only. The app will show you system battery voltage and current. Multiply these and you have a power reading for the system.

It will also show you xdmi battery voltage and current. These will give power reading for xdmi

Do this in standby, system on but not playing music, and while playing music to analog/usb/xdmi DAC and you’ll get your power numbers for both the system battery and xdmi battery

Just an idea Ray
Why don't you do it if you find a little time for this AND share it here ?
I really like very smart and clever ideas people have here and share with WBF community.

 

I intend to there will be a lot of permutations here I can’t test but I can get most of them. The power profile and battery power of this machine is a really big deal

 

Post in the Extreme thread.

You can remote into the Extreme and start Roon manually.

 

I posted here David because I thought it would be seen quicker.

 

@RUIN*ish helped sort me out...

 

A couple questions please.
Is having the IO directly under the Olympus going to produce marks on the top of the IO over time ?
Does the distance of the connection between the two unit have a effectiveness limitation? if say I wanted to place the IO 3/4 or 1 meter below the Olympus location on a lower rack shelf?

Hi Richard,

I'm in a similar situation: I'm going to stack the Olympus on top of the Olympus I/O.

To avoid marking the I/O I'm planning to tinker some pads to place under the feet of the Olympus. Probably a felt and leather sandwich (4mm).

Stacking the two devices may not be optimal, but it's certainly negligible compared to other parameters such as room acoustics and power management.

And stacking the two devices will avoid the need for an overly imposing rack.

As far as the distance between the devices is concerned, I think the limit will be the maximum length of the QSFP cable.

The length of the QSFP cable supplied is not specified in the Olympus manual, at least I haven't found it (@Christiaan Punter )

https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Olympus-Server-and-IO-Manual-v002.x80569.pdf

Cheers,

Thomas

Both Olympus units have Nylon footers which is a relatively gentle material. When stacked carefully and not sliding the unit(s) sideways after placement, the footers should not damage the surface of the Olympus units. However, the server is very heavy, and it if you want to be 100 certain to avoid scuffs, we recommend providing individual support for each unit.

Maximum QSFP cable length is 3 meters. 1 meter is standard.

 

Both Olympus units have Nylon footers which is a relatively gentle material. When stacked carefully and not sliding the unit(s) sideways after placement, the footers should not damage the surface of the Olympus units. However, the server is very heavy, and it if you want to be 100 certain to avoid scuffs, we recommend providing individual support for each unit.

Maximum QSFP cable length is 3 meters. 1 meter is standard.

Hi @Christiaan Punter ,

I plan to glue felt or leather discs (or a sandwich of both) under each foot of the Olympus Server before placing it on the I/O.

Which material would you choose? Felt, leather, chamois leather, alcantara (or equivalent), other... ?

As I'll be stacking the two machines, a shorter QSFP cable would be more practical.
Is it possible to use a 50 cm cable? Or is it too short?

Cheers,

Thomas

 

Both Olympus units have Nylon footers which is a relatively gentle material. When stacked carefully and not sliding the unit(s) sideways after placement, the footers should not damage the surface of the Olympus units. However, the server is very heavy, and it if you want to be 100 certain to avoid scuffs, we recommend providing individual support for each unit.

Maximum QSFP cable length is 3 meters. 1 meter is standard.

 

I will check but I'm pretty sure 1 meter will hit the right spot on my rack if I decide to place the IO lower by itself
Thanks for the information.

 

I would really like to see a rearview photo of the Olympus and IO with analogue out with all the connections in the photo.
If there is one I have not seen it.

 

Ethernet adapter for NIC, XDMI Analog

 

HDMI for video diagnostics?

 

If Steve's I/O gets redirected to San Diego, happy to post a picture of that as well

 

Thank you Ray. I think the analog card is on the IO when they are both used but I love the look of the silver.

 

Yes, I'm assuming it is the same card in the I/O but we'll know soon enough!

 

What are the two ground posts on the back grounding? Chassis and XDMI card?