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".

 

I would not at all be shocked if the current XDMI analogue (O or I/O) was better / very competitive with Select DAC / USB (as @nenon hinted at in his earlier posts), the key comparison for me (as a Select DAC owner) is the comparison with Select DAC via XDMI.

I also see this as a long term process, so obviously MSB, Lampi, or whoever will continue to push the state of the art wrt the D-A conversion process, and Taiko will (hopefully) continue to release new improved analogue XDMI daughterboards. I think the BPS is also a huge advantage for Taiko, it'll be interesting to see how that evolves (e.g. hypothetical standalone BPS products?).

 

I heard a rumor that my Ollie (#32) will be on the way shortly. Great news, but strangely mixed with a vague sense of dread, as my system, seemingly at the random whim of the audio gods, has hit it's zone. It might be the 5 RPG quadratic diffusors I was able to buy used (recommended by Vassil btw). It might be the XDMS software which keeps getting better and better. In any case, I'm reluctant to even move a cable, much less replace a major component (and software).

But I'm confident the Olympia will be worth it. The big question is how the analog out will compare with the Areis Cerat Ithaca dac. My thinking at present is, if the Oly Analog sounds better, I will let the Ithaca go. This is tempered by the fact that Aries is working on it's own XDMI implementation which I'm confident will be very good.

If the Ithaca dac via usb is as good or better than the Taiko analog, I'll stick with Ithaca and wait for the Aries xdmi. If the Taiko analog via xdmi is better, and keeping in mind that Taiko will also be continuing development/improvement of it's dac, it may make the most sense to leave the source and conversion to Taiko, save some $$, and run the signal straight from the Taiko source into the Aries Ageto pre and Essenita amps.

 

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!

Were these units shipped? Do you anticipate shipping others this week?

 

I heard a rumor that my Ollie (#32) will be on the way shortly. Great news, but strangely mixed with a vague sense of dread, as my system, seemingly at the random whim of the audio gods, has hit it's zone. It might be the 5 RPG quadratic diffusors I was able to buy used (recommended by Vassil btw). It might be the XDMS software which keeps getting better and better. In any case, I'm reluctant to even move a cable, much less replace a major component (and software).

But I'm confident the Olympia will be worth it. The big question is how the analog out will compare with the Areis Cerat Ithaca dac. My thinking at present is, if the Oly Analog sounds better, I will let the Ithaca go. This is tempered by the fact that Aries is working on it's own XDMI implementation which I'm confident will be very good.

If the Ithaca dac via usb is as good or better than the Taiko analog, I'll stick with Ithaca and wait for the Aries xdmi. If the Taiko analog via xdmi is better, and keeping in mind that Taiko will also be continuing development/improvement of it's dac, it may make the most sense to leave the source and conversion to Taiko, save some $$, and run the signal straight from the Taiko source into the Aries Ageto pre and Essenita amps.

Wil, having an AC system myself I will be most interested in your comparisons.

 

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.

Would someone who has a Synology NAS, attached to their main network (rather than to the Taiko Router), be able to outline the steps to set up port forwarding so that an Olympus / Extreme attached to the Taiko Router can access the music library on the Synology NAS attached to the main network?

 

Were these units shipped? Do you anticipate shipping others this week?

This week is even worse, 5 on holiday now. We’re shipping what we managed to build last week but there’s just no way we can build any more this week.

@EuroDriver is flying in next week to help, and @Christiaan Punter will be back and has offered to spend another few nights in an hotel to help, so then we should be able to build a bunch. But we really need the main crew back to build large numbers.

On a positive node, this monday the anodising company reached 10 anodised chassis for the first time, which they can maintain now. This can be increased by using specialised shipping crates which skips the necessity to pack/unpack each chassis part individually. And we’re going to replicate their bead blasting facilities here with their help, which moves the limitation largely to us.

 

This week is even worse, 5 on holiday now. We’re shipping what we managed to build last week but there’s just no way we can build any more this week.

@EuroDriver is flying in next week to help, and @Christiaan Punter will be back and has offered to spend another few nights in an hotel to help, so then we should be able to build a bunch. But we really need the main crew back to build large numbers.

On a positive node, this monday the anodising company reached 10 anodised chassis for the first time, which they can maintain now. This can be increased by using specialised shipping crates which skips the necessity to pack/unpack each chassis part individually. And we’re going to replicate their bead blasting facilities here with their help, which moves the limitation largely to us.

Thanks for the update. Hopefully things will advance once the crew is back.

 

Thanks for the update. Hopefully things will advance once the crew is back.

Of that I’m sure, we’ll have over 30 chassis waiting for them.

 

This week is even worse, 5 on holiday now. We’re shipping what we managed to build last week but there’s just no way we can build any more this week.

@EuroDriver is flying in next week to help, and @Christiaan Punter will be back and has offered to spend another few nights in an hotel to help, so then we should be able to build a bunch. But we really need the main crew back to build large numbers.

On a positive node, this monday the anodising company reached 10 anodised chassis for the first time, which they can maintain now. This can be increased by using specialised shipping crates which skips the necessity to pack/unpack each chassis part individually. And we’re going to replicate their bead blasting facilities here with their help, which moves the limitation largely to us.

September is coming soon.
You will get the staff back and things will roll quickly.

What numbers are already shipped and going to be shipped this week ?

 

Would someone who has a Synology NAS, attached to their main network (rather than to the Taiko Router), be able to outline the steps to set up port forwarding so that an Olympus / Extreme attached to the Taiko Router can access the music library on the Synology NAS attached to the main network?

No port forwarding needed. The Taiko network has full access to your home network by default.

 

This week is even worse, 5 on holiday now. We’re shipping what we managed to build last week but there’s just no way we can build any more this week.

@EuroDriver is flying in next week to help, and @Christiaan Punter will be back and has offered to spend another few nights in an hotel to help, so then we should be able to build a bunch. But we really need the main crew back to build large numbers.

On a positive node, this monday the anodising company reached 10 anodised chassis for the first time, which they can maintain now. This can be increased by using specialised shipping crates which skips the necessity to pack/unpack each chassis part individually. And we’re going to replicate their bead blasting facilities here with their help, which moves the limitation largely to us.

For those of us closer to the end of the order line, what is Taiko’s best estimate as to when #100 will ship?Helpful to know as a gauge for subsequent shipments. I’m #120.
Thanks.
Jerry

 

At #124, I've gone through this projection myself since their initial estimates have been "a little off". As a project manager, I can't not do this. It's too ingrained.

With (19) total units announced as shipped so far, and a guesstimated average production rate of (8) orders per week once a full crew has returned, I project both of our units will deliver December 13, 2024 at 2:36pm CDT. (Force Majeure and the November election results may impact this projection).

Of course Taiko may be running a different Gantt chart, and they are certainly free to correct or be more specific.

 

This has been a nightmare for Emile. It has been the Perfect Storm , between summer vacation in August for the EU and a shortage of Taiko man power, along with similar issues with his anodizer along with shipping issues for airborne parcels with batteries. I feel everyone's frustration and I know Emile is heartbroken and is doing everything he can

I believe that everything will go smoothly starting end of this month.

As for the issue with airborne batteries, Taiko has that solved.

On a positive note, mine just touched down in Indianapolis so Im now but a few days out. I have prepaid the duty taxes so once it clears I expect delivery shortly

 

At #124, I've gone through this projection myself since their initial estimates have been "a little off". As a project manager, I can't not do this. It's too ingrained.

With (19) total units announced as shipped so far, and a guesstimated average production rate of (8) orders per week once a full crew has returned, I project both of our units will deliver December 13, 2024 at 2:36pm CDT. (Force Majeure and the November election results may impact this projection).

Of course Taiko may be running a different Gantt chart, and they are certainly free to correct or be more specific.

That is in the range of my projection. I have updated the estimated arrival of my #82 to Thanksgiving.

 

This has been a nightmare for Emile. It has been the Perfect Storm , between summer vacation in August fore the EU and a shortage of Taiko man power, along with similar issues with his anodizer along with shipping issues for airborne parcels with batteries. I feel everyone's frustration and Iknow Emile is heartbroken and is doing everything he can

I believe that everything will go smoothly starting end of this month.

As for the issue with airborne batteries, Taiko has that solved.

On a positive note, mine just touched down in Indianapolis so Im now but a few days out. I have prepaid the duty taxes so once it clears I expect delivery shortly

Steve, how long has it taken from handoff to DHL in the Netherlands to reach Indianapolis?

 

I agree with Steve's comments (above)

Summer in Europe is truly a special time of the year.

The tradition of summer holidays is deeply ingrained here, though it's not always fully understood in Asia and North America.

During this period, both the economy and political activities often take a back seat.

Given the challenges associated with chassis production, being able to produce 5-6 Olympus units per week is already a significant accomplishment.


Cheers,

Thomas

 

I have a suggestion for those in the USA who are patiently awaiting shipment and delivery. This will save a day of waiting and it worked for me. Make sure Taiko has your SSN to include in their invoice as this will definitely save time but on top of that your shipment needs to clear customs and pay the duty tax. This also adds a day or more

Once you get a tracking number from FedEx call their toll free international order and tell them you want to prepay the duty on the shipment. They will connect you to their billing department. With the tracking number they can easily retrieve the invoice with the papers and declared value submitted to them by Taiko. With that in hand I was told the amount and with the FedEx invoice number I prepaid my duty fees online several days ago. So next leg for me will be the flight to :LAX and then out for delivery without repeated emails asking for my SSN as well as telling me there is a tax due. This should help expedite your delivery

 

Steve, how long has it taken from handoff to DHL in the Netherlands to reach Indianapolis?

4 working days days (it was FedEX not DHL) as it arrived late on a Friday eve after FedEX closing and arrived early this morning in Indianapolis

 

Social Security #? No other means of identification can be used?

 

Relax John

I use my SSN as I am retired. If you have a Federal ID number use that for whatever ID you use to pay the IRS