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".

 

FWIW pleaase stay tuned to an announcement coming in the next few days but Ihave finally sealed a weekend date for an open house here in Southern California. On display for all to peruse will be the new Horizon 360 along with the Olympus/IO and the Taiko XDMI digital card

my house willl be open to all wishing to hear the digital card with a world class DAC and a premium XDMI cable

Presently I can say that Lukasz and Fred will be here and the hope that Emile will be as well. Emile however being the mensch that he is and finally back to all hands on deck he won't commit to coming until he feels that he has raised production to such levels that he feels comfortable leaving for a long weekend. The date is definite but I will be posting the announcement early this week. It is my hope as well that Emile will be bringing with an IO loaded with the analogue card for direct A-B comparisons.

Should Emile not be able to attend this weekend I will soon announce I do plan on therefore having a second weekend at a date TBD solely by Emile so rest assured this is happening. I have waited over 2 years to be able to finally announce this weekend and in the interim it only got better with the just released Horizon 360. From what I have heard with both Horizons each via USB as well as XDMI I think everyone will be in for a treat.In fact I have kept the recent Horizon with the XDMI port here for comparisons should people wish to A-B the Horizon vs the Horizon 360.

I will be posting this announcement with time and date in several subforms through out WBF this week so that everyone who is interested can RSVP, I live in a guarded gate community so I will need all those planning to attend to RSVP along with any guests you might be bringing for the garte pass as well as to try and stagger times. I did this last in Feb 2022 with the release of the Taiko Horizon when Lukasz and Fred were here. There were about 45 attendees that weekend

I need a head count also to plan on refreshments and snacks

This will be a weekend not to be missed

For those coming form out of town I will give names of some very nice hotels within a 10 minute drive to my house

 

amazing and thank you @nenon
u might have saved more than a few folks $100k

Put another way, short of having msb XDMI interface, u pay ~$75 - 80k for the Olympus (forget the I/O for the moment) and it sounds better than the $35k extreme coupled w the msb select 2 w director (~140k)?
better sound for $100,000 less…. if remotely the case, that is audioland earth shattering

sorry. still digesting this and imagining emile’s smile

sounds like DAC manufacturers maybe huddling this week to chart a future path w XDMI (hopefully)

 

Does Olympus XDMI analog imply the DAC is housed within the Olympus? There’s technical reasons why internal DACs might work better due to timing issues than external DACs that are not synchronized by an external clock.

Yes

 

amazing and thank you @nenon
u might have saved more than a few folks $100k

Put another way, short of having msb XDMI interface, u pay ~$75 - 80k for the Olympus (forget the I/O for the moment) and it sounds better than the $35k extreme coupled w the msb select 2 w director (~140k)?
better sound for $100,000 less…. if remotely the case, that is audioland earth shattering

sorry. still digesting this and imagining emile’s smile

sounds like DAC manufacturers maybe huddling this week to chart a future path w XDMI (hopefully)

Can't wait to hear back from nenon on the upcoming comparison between the Olympus XDMI (MSB ProISL)—> MSB Digital Director -> MSB Select 2 DAC versus the Olympus XDMI analog. That will answer a lot of questions.for high end DAC owners.

 

That will answer a lot of questions.for high end DAC owners.

well it will answer questions as I think I read it for MSB DAC owners. Come to the open house at my house to hear yet another iteration and hopefully Emile will be bringing an IO with analogue board for quick comparisons . Announcement coming this week

 

well it will answer questions as I think I read it for MSB DAC owners. Come to the open house at my house to hear yet another iteration and hopefully Emile will be bringing an IO with analogue board for quick comparisons . Announcement coming this week

Yes you are correct Steve. It will “begin” to answer questions for high end DAC owners.

And thank you for the kind invitation and graciously hosting what will be a great listening experience.

 

Aries Cerat is developing its Xdmi interface, but haven’t heard any progress reports.

 

Can't wait to hear back from nenon on the upcoming comparison between the Olympus XDMI (MSB ProISL)—> MSB Digital Director -> MSB Select 2 DAC versus the Olympus XDMI analog. That will answer a lot of questions.for high end DAC owners.

Indeed!

@nenon 's initial feedback has been truly insightful.

We're comparing a reference DAC with the XDMI DAC daughterboard, and despite the massive price difference (around a factor of 150) the XDMI module seems to hold against one of the top DACs on the market.

Now, imagine an even more advanced XDMI DAC daughterboard featuring fully balanced output...

I'm very eager to see what Nenon discovers next!

I could be mistaken, but if the feedback continues to be this positive, @Taiko Audio may no longer need DAC manufacturers to adopt the XDMI interface.

With the Olympus XDMI, Taiko Audio could naturally position itself as a strong alternative to even the best reference DACs.

Interesting times to come

Cheers,

Thomas

 

announcement will be posted later today with time and dates

I hope hope tp see everyone here. Getting here through John Wayne airport is the best option however for this coming from afar, LAX and San Diego are the best options.

 

Nuance doesn't travel well sometimes on the internet -- I'm a little puzzled by the comments about branding the Rohm chip as the Taiko DAC.

Emile has been very transparent about most of what goes into his Extreme and Olympus. I'm not aware of any server or DAC "manufacturer" who calls their product by anything other than by their brand name while precious few actually design and build their server motherboards or DACs from scratch. dCS, Chord, Playback Designs being the ones to come to mind in the latter camp.

Or is this poking good-natured fun at the Taiko community quickly adopting the shorthand, "Taiko DAC"?

Maybe I need another cup of coffee this morning.

Steve Z

 

Hi Steve, I only intended to point out the shortening of "XDMI analog output" to "XDMI analog" (and not by Taiko), which may shortchange what Olympus can do with more substantial DACs.

When selecting the ASIO output in Roon, Taiko DAC is exactly what you see and select to listen to “Taiko DAC”. So you referred to it correctly.

 

When selecting the ASIO output in Roon, Taiko DAC is exactly what you see and select to listen to “Taiko DAC”. So you referred to it correctly.

Taiko XDMI with Analog daughter card --> XDMI Analog for me

 

MEET AND GREET LUKAS FIKUS AND EMILE BOK - HEAR THE HORIZON 360/ TAIKO OLYMPUS & IO

It was Feb 2022 when the LampizatOr DAC was introduced to the world and I was proud to be the first recipient and was even prouder to help Lukas Fikus launch this magnificent product by having a weekend long open house at my home here in Southern California. There were about 45 attendees during that weekend and it was a huge success. Half the fun was meeting many WBF members

Well since that time the Horizon has been eclipsed with the just released Horizon 360 and I am once again happy to announce that those members , friends, relatives and audiophiles who wish to hear this most amazing DAC will be able to do such as once again I will be hosting a weekend long OPEN HOUSE for all interested

Please mark your calendars. Lukasz is confirmed to be attending from Poland and Fred (LampiNA) will be coming from New York for the event

This will be by RSVP only as I live in a guard gated community in Southern California and only those whose names are at the gate willl be admitted by the guard

Lukasz arrives the evening of Oct 31/2024 and we will get the system tweaked to his satisfaction on Friday and begin festivities Friday evening Nov 1/2024 for those who want an early audition. I suspect most people will prefer to attend on Saturday and/or Sunday November 2-3. For those who know me or attended the last event, you now that my room is modestly sized and I will need to stagger listening times to accommodate all attendees. Feel free to spend the day here as I will be providing light snacks and refreshments as I did the last time

Since the last open house my Server has changed and most know that previously I showed the Horizon with the Taiko Extreme. Well suffice it to say that I am a die hard LampizatOr and Taiko fan so the server side of my system this time will be the just released Taiko Audio Olympus and IO with the Taiko XDMI Digital cards using the newly released and updated KBL XDMI cable.

With that in mind there is continues to be strong hope that Emile and Christoph (tsaett) will be able to attend to also demo this most amazing battery powered server. I am also of the hope that if Emile is able to attend that he will be bringing an IO with the Taiko XDMI analogue card. I have the analogue card but for purposes of a faster A-B test a second IO would help maker for a speedier transition as my IO sits below the Olympus and it would take some time and manpower to switch out my digital XDMI card for the Analogue XDMI card. This will be of great interest for those considering the use of the analogue card in lieu of an outboard DAC

However the Taiko 360 will be on full display and spending sufficient time in use for all to hear. I think for semantics, I am leaning towards the Horizon 360 for all of Friday, Saturday morning and then switch to the analogue XDMI card (if Emile is present). Sunday I would likely run the same schedule if Emile is present

If Emile is unable to make this planned event most listening will be done with the new Horizon 360

To say a few words as to Emile being present......Taiko Audio is finally back to all staff being present and Emile is only going to attend if he feels comfortable that he and his staff are able to bring the Olympus and IO production rate up to a number that he feels comfortable leaving Oldenzaal for a few days. His priority is to get everyone's orders out in a timely fashion.

If Emile finds Nov 1-3 being still too soon for him to reach that comfort level I want all who read this to know that a second weekend open house event will be held with a date determined by Emile......so to all rest assured and feel comfortable to attend one or both events (should a second one become necessary). I have told Emile not to feel any pressure to make this event as his only goal is to get production ramped up sufficiently that he feels comfortable in attending. If not a second weekend open house will be in the works

So for all who want to attend please contact me by Private Message here at WBF. I will need full name as well as names of any one else attending with you for purposes of the gate passes as well as to plan for adequate refreshments and snacks

I reside in beautiful Southern California in south Orange County where the weather should be divine for the event. Fothose needing a hotel, there are several affordable and good ones within a 10 minute drive to my house.

Those who will be flying in, the quickest airport is John Wayne Airport (SNA) or Los Angeles (LAX) or San Diego (SAN)

Finally depending on interest I am planning to take Lukasz, Fred,, Emile and Christoph along with all interested for a great dinner by the ocean in either Laguna Beach or Dana Point

Please contact me here via PM for my address, hotel names and number of guests etc.

This promises to be a great weekend. Lukasz is booked to leave on Sunday evening out of LAX on a 900 PM flight so Sunday listening will have to be done by 400 PM at the latest for me to get him to Los Angeles. Listening each day will start at 1000and go to 600 PM Saturday and to 400 PPM on Sunday

Friday evening will be open for those who wish to come for an early listen

So mark your calendars and I look forward to once again meeting WBF members from last visit and to make new acquaintances for those attending for the first time

I will be posting this same announcement throughout pertinent locations on WBF so all interested can attend

Steve Williams, aka oneobgyn
There's ALWAYS another Steve Williams BUT there's only "oneobgyn"
My System

 

Is anybody besides me wishing for an update to the shipping history/plan? The Order Status page has become so neglected that it is not worth a click anymore. Come on, Taiko! You have done such a great job until now. You have a couple of hundred eager beavers hanging out every day, hoping for a hint at where their O or O/IO might be in the shipping plan. All of us recognize that unexpected challenges arose. I think we have all been quite mature in our implied patience. A little loving care to your loyal customers might be in order?

 

Is anybody besides me wishing for an update to the shipping history/plan? The Order Status page has become so neglected that it is not worth a click anymore. Come on, Taiko! You have done such a great job until now. You have a couple of hundred eager beavers hanging out every day, hoping for a hint at where their O or O/IO might be in the shipping plan. All of us recognize that unexpected challenges arose. I think we have all been quite mature in our implied patience. A little loving care to your loyal customers might be in order?

While I am sure you are not alone, I can imagine a short lull as new staff get up to speed on their roles etc. and the wheels are greased for ramping up production. I imagine the ticker will be updated soon too. I do check it 20 to 30 times a day. Not sure what that says about me, but can't be good.

 

Is anybody besides me wishing for an update to the shipping history/plan? The Order Status page has become so neglected that it is not worth a click anymore. Come on, Taiko! You have done such a great job until now. You have a couple of hundred eager beavers hanging out every day, hoping for a hint at where their O or O/IO might be in the shipping plan. All of us recognize that unexpected challenges arose. I think we have all been quite mature in our implied patience. A little loving care to your loyal customers might be in order?

Unfortunately I don't think the Order Status page is neglected, for the last fortnight there have simply been no devices shipped. Sigh!

 

Unfortunately I don't think the Order Status page is neglected, for the last fortnight there have simply been no devices shipped. Sigh!

I believe there are 4 units that have been shipped that aren’t reflected on the status page.

 

I believe there are 4 units that have been shipped that aren’t reflected on the status page.

Shipping page has been updated.

Currently under construction:
4* black Olympus
4* black I/O
6* silver Olympus

Fridays have proven to be challenging/inefficient for shipping so we’re switching to Monday/Tuesday as shipping days.

 

Shipping page has been updated.

Currently under construction:
4* black Olympus
4* black I/O
6* silver Olympus

Fridays have proven to be challenging/inefficient for shipping so we’re switching to Monday/Tuesday as shipping days.

Emile
Is it possible for you to communicate the order numbers associated with your list or just communicate the order #s you're working on?

Then, when shipped, update list?

Best
Mn

 

Emile
Is it possible for you to communicate the order numbers associated with your list or just communicate the order #s you're working on?

Then, when shipped, update list?

Best
Mn