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".

 

That type of information would greatly help all the rest of us that had been patiently waiting for their units!

On a separate note, have we given up on the idea of using a low powered USB attached hard drive into the USB port of the extreme router rather than using a NAS with the Olympus I/O for best sound quality?
It would seem that using the internal storage of the Olympus would degrade sound quality in contrast to the Taiko Extreme unit.
Any suggestions?

 

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

Yep will do!

 

Yep will do!

Thank you
Mn

 

That type of information would greatly help all the rest of us that had been patiently waiting for their units!

On a separate note, have we given up on the idea of using a low powered USB attached hard drive into the USB port of the extreme router rather than using a NAS with the Olympus I/O for best sound quality?
It would seem that using the internal storage of the Olympus would degrade sound quality in contrast to the Taiko Extreme unit.
Any suggestions?

We have updated firmware to facilitate that but we need to test it properly before we can offer it. Unfortunately this is one of the things we’ve had to sacrifice in exchange for building at least a few Olympus servers over the holiday season.

The internal storage in the Olympus degrades USB performance to a similar degree as the internal storage of the Extreme. It’s the low noise nature of the XDMI solution which makes internal storage noise more apparent. If this really bothers you we have the I/O, or you can choose to use external storage solutions.

 

We have updated firmware to facilitate that but we need to test it properly before we can offer it. Unfortunately this is one of the things we’ve had to sacrifice in exchange for building at least a few Olympus servers over the holiday season.

The internal storage in the Olympus degrades USB performance to a similar degree as the internal storage of the Extreme. It’s the low noise nature of the XDMI solution which makes internal storage noise more apparent. If this really bothers you we have the I/O, or you can choose to use external storage solutions.

Thanks for the quick reply!
I already had a NAS set up for use and just awaiting the arrival of my Olympus plus I/0 in the “near” future.
I remembered that some posts back, some members were exploring Low powered USB hard drive into the extreme router as an alternative for best sound quality. Since then no further posts.

 

Thanks for the quick reply!
I already had a NAS set up for use and just awaiting the arrival of my Olympus plus I/0 in the “near” future.
I remembered that some posts back, some members were exploring Low powered USB hard drive into the extreme router as an alternative for best sound quality. Since then no further posts.

No further posts as those members are likely waiting for that firmware update which allows those drives being formatted with other filesystems then ext4, for which you’d need a linux system. Aka this firmware update would allow you to use USB drives which are compatible with your mac or windows system.

 

has anyone yet heard the olympus with xdmi aes/ebu daughter board to a top notch dac like the totaldac?

 

has anyone yet heard the olympus with xdmi aes/ebu daughter board to a top notch dac like the totaldac?

I have my Olympus #19 connected to the Totaldac Sublime Reclocker and Totaldac Sublime DAC using XDMI AES. Connected last Sunday, still in burn in. Sounds much better than the Extreme in every aspect. After a few more days of burn in (still changing), I will provide more detail. Cheers.

 

I have my Olympus #19 connected to the Totaldac Sublime Reclocker and Totaldac Sublime DAC using XDMI AES. Connected last Sunday, still in burn in. Sounds much better than the Extreme in every aspect. After a few more days of burn in (still changing), I will provide more detail. Cheers.

Was your extreme feeding the sublime reclocker via USB or AES/ebu?

 

has anyone yet heard the olympus with xdmi aes/ebu daughter board to a top notch dac like the totaldac?

Not yet, but that is one of the things I'll be trying when silver #15 arrives. That is, if you consider a dCS Vivaldi APEX to be top notch. . .

Steve Z

 

Not yet, but that is one of the things I'll be trying when silver #15 arrives. That is, if you consider a dCS Vivaldi APEX to be top notch. . .

Steve Z

Yea, I'd include that DAC
Have you been using AES/ebu from the extreme?

 

Yea, I'd include that DAC
Have you been using AES/ebu from the extreme?

Nope, I've been using Taiko's improved USB card.

When I ordered the Extreme my dCS stack consisted of the Vivaldi DAC, Clock and Upsampler Plus. The Upsampler has dual AES/EBU outputs to connect to the Vivaldi DAC dual AES/EBU inputs, but the Upsampler itself does not have dual AES/EBU inputs, only USB and a variety of single-wire digital inputs. The only way to play digital files up to the hard limits of 384kHz PCM and DSD128 is to use USB, which is what I've been doing.

Steve Z

 

Was your extreme feeding the sublime reclocker via USB or AES/ebu?

USB, with a 1.5m Intona Ultimate USB cable, Taiko USB card, Taiko network card, Taiko router/switch/dcd.

 

Thank you
Mn

Under construction: 15,16,18,21,22,24,25,25.1,26,27

 

Under construction: 15,16,18,21,22,24,25,25.1,26,27

The best info we could possibly get !
Looks like 10 are build at the same time.
Also Silver Olympus and its silver IOs are in builds now.

 

USB, with a 1.5m Intona Ultimate USB cable, Taiko USB card, Taiko network card, Taiko router/switch/dcd.

thanks. so i guess your comparison is [extreme + usb] versus [olympus + aes/ebu] into totaldac.

i'm trying to get a sense of [extreme + usb] versus [extreme + aes/ebu] card for dacs that prefer aes/ebu.

enjoy your setup! it sounds like it will be fabulous.

 

thanks. so i guess your comparison is [extreme + usb] versus [olympus + aes/ebu] into totaldac.

i'm trying to get a sense of [extreme + usb] versus [extreme + aes/ebu] card for dacs that prefer aes/ebu.

enjoy your setup! it sounds like it will be fabulous.

Totaldac always prefers AES signal as this is its native language.
There will be no additional conversions.

Also please keep in mind USB chip in Totaldac is very old and is not optimal.
So if you will use AES signal for Totaldac you might get a big improvement.

 

Not yet, but that is one of the things I'll be trying when silver #15 arrives. That is, if you consider a dCS Vivaldi APEX to be top notch. . .

Steve Z

Same here. I’ll be trying aes/ebu and the XDMI analog options with a Totaldac sublime when silver Olympus-I/O #29 arrives.

And I’ve been using USB exclusively with the Extreme. Which by the way is sounding amazing lately with Roon.

 

Under construction: 15,16,18,21,22,24,25,25.1,26,27

"25, 25.1, 26..."
Just curious, did someone taking orders not know which whole number comes after 25?

 

"25, 25.1, 26..."
Just curious, did someone taking orders not know which whole number comes after 25?

Does 25.1 indicate an I/0? Olympus along with I/0...