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".

 

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

Great news. I'll be buying the drinks myself pretty soon.

Steve Z
Olympus #15 silver

 

Great news. I'll be buying the drinks myself pretty soon.

Steve Z
Olympus #15 silver

15 seemed to be lingering in the wind for sometime Steve...Happy for you and this group...

 

I just wanted to quickly share my thoughts since receiving my Olympus, the black beauty!

I’ve been letting things burn in over the past week and I think it’s finished cooking. There is no doubt that the Olympus trumps the Extreme by a fairly large margin.

To be honest the difference is so obvious, I haven’t felt a need to plug the Extreme back in to compare - simply no need . The improvement just using USB is quite startling, and the music has much more energy and a noticeable improvement in bass compared to before. I’m hearing deeper into recordings and just have a greater sense of engagement with the music. We all talk about noise floor and what we don’t hear being important, well it’s the same again here.

The internal Taiko DAC is actually very good as well - unfortunately I only have an old shitty RCA cable as I’ve always been running XLR but I have got some new cables on the way which I’ll be testing across the entire range so stay tuned for that! This has made it difficult to fairly compare my external DAC with the Taiko DAC but so far the Taiko DAC has held it’s ground very well - the tubes in my Aries Cerat DAC add something a little different, so will be interesting once I plug a decent cable in to see what the difference is. The Aries interface is not ready yet, but that will be very interesting indeed!

Kudos to team Taiko for bringing this to us all - I feel very privileged to be able to experience music this way and while things haven’t gone as smoothly as Emile may have liked, the hard work is clearly evident and deserves recognition. I’m sure those eagerly awaiting their Olympus will be extremely happy!

 

I just wanted to quickly share my thoughts since receiving my Olympus, the black beauty!

I’ve been letting things burn in over the past week and I think it’s finished cooking. There is no doubt that the Olympus trumps the Extreme by a fairly large margin.

To be honest the difference is so obvious, I haven’t felt a need to plug the Extreme back in to compare - simply no need . The improvement just using USB is quite startling, and the music has much more energy and a noticeable improvement in bass compared to before. I’m hearing deeper into recordings and just have a greater sense of engagement with the music. We all talk about noise floor and what we don’t hear being important, well it’s the same again here.

The internal Taiko DAC is actually very good as well - unfortunately I only have an old shitty RCA cable as I’ve always been running XLR but I have got some new cables on the way which I’ll be testing across the entire range so stay tuned for that! This has made it difficult to fairly compare my external DAC with the Taiko DAC but so far the Taiko DAC has held it’s ground very well - the tubes in my Aries Cerat DAC add something a little different, so will be interesting once I plug a decent cable in to see what the difference is. The Aries interface is not ready yet, but that will be very interesting indeed!

Kudos to team Taiko for bringing this to us all - I feel very privileged to be able to experience music this way and while things haven’t gone as smoothly as Emile may have liked, the hard work is clearly evident and deserves recognition. I’m sure those eagerly awaiting their Olympus will be extremely happy!

I sent my Extreme back to Taiko 2 days after I got the Olympus. Even without adequate burn in it was simply no contest

 

The internal Taiko DAC is actually very good as well - unfortunately I only have an old shitty RCA cable as I’ve always been running XLR but I have got some new cables on the way which I’ll be testing across the entire range so stay tuned for that! This has made it difficult to fairly compare my external DAC with the Taiko DAC but so far the Taiko DAC has held it’s ground very well - the tubes in my Aries Cerat DAC add something a little different, so will be interesting once I plug a decent cable in to see what the difference is. The Aries interface is not ready yet, but that will be very interesting indeed!

Hmm, Aries Cerat likes to distribute the gain between DAC, preamp, and amplifier differently than most other manufacturers.

A lot of gain is added to the source ( for reasons Stavros explains very well in his interview with @Ron Resnick )

A standard Aries Cerat DAC output has at least five times more gain than the Olympus XDMI analog output. Some of the Aries Cerat DACs have a user-switchable output gain, but even at the lower gain settings, they still have much higher gain than the Olympus XDMI analog.

That makes me wonder if XDMI analog really is a good match in a full Aries Cerat system. The answer is probably “it depends,” but something to keep in mind. Generally speaking, a higher gain source should sound better in a typical Aries Cerat system - it should have more drive, dynamics, etc. System synergy is something we can’t ignore!

Can’t wait to hear more feedback from Aries Cerat users who get their Olympus. I am an Aries Cerat dealer but waiting for the native XDMI implementation before bringing some Aries Cerat DACs into the mix. In the meantime, I’ll gladly soak up any feedback from my friends who have the Olympus and Aries Cerat gear without offering much in return - for now, at least!

What I should be able to offer soon is my subjective comparative analysis of what adding the I/O to the Olympus does in my system. Although I ordered an Olympus plus an I/O, I deliberately requested that Taiko ship me the Olympus only at first, so I could get used to it. I knew if I had the I/O here, I would not be able to resist installing it… and once installed, I would not be able to remove it. So, I was adamant that I not receive the I/O for some time (ironically, because of that, I ended up getting my Olympus sooner).

It will be two months soon, and I feel I have a good understanding of how the Olympus XDMI analog sounds. I will be adding the I/O ASAP (as soon as I receive it, of course). It will be really interesting to experience firsthand in my system exactly what the I/O brings.

I am also hoping to hear XDMI to Horizon (original Horizon, not Horizon 360) vs. XDMI analog output early next month. Although it won’t be in my system, I am very excited for this comparison.

 

I just wanted to quickly share my thoughts since receiving my Olympus, the black beauty!

I’ve been letting things burn in over the past week and I think it’s finished cooking. There is no doubt that the Olympus trumps the Extreme by a fairly large margin.

To be honest the difference is so obvious, I haven’t felt a need to plug the Extreme back in to compare - simply no need . The improvement just using USB is quite startling, and the music has much more energy and a noticeable improvement in bass compared to before. I’m hearing deeper into recordings and just have a greater sense of engagement with the music. We all talk about noise floor and what we don’t hear being important, well it’s the same again here.

The internal Taiko DAC is actually very good as well - unfortunately I only have an old shitty RCA cable as I’ve always been running XLR but I have got some new cables on the way which I’ll be testing across the entire range so stay tuned for that! This has made it difficult to fairly compare my external DAC with the Taiko DAC but so far the Taiko DAC has held it’s ground very well - the tubes in my Aries Cerat DAC add something a little different, so will be interesting once I plug a decent cable in to see what the difference is. The Aries interface is not ready yet, but that will be very interesting indeed!

Kudos to team Taiko for bringing this to us all - I feel very privileged to be able to experience music this way and while things haven’t gone as smoothly as Emile may have liked, the hard work is clearly evident and deserves recognition. I’m sure those eagerly awaiting their Olympus will be extremely happy!

I heard that they are working on a XLR version internal DAC

 

@nenon

I am also hoping to hear XDMI to Horizon (original Horizon, not Horizon 360) vs. XDMI analog output early next month. Although it won’t be in my system, I am very excited for this comparison.

It's happening at my house Nov 1-3. Everyone is invited.

 

I'm using an Aries Cerat system from DAC to Pre to Amps. I switched to Taiko xdmi analog and probably have about 80 hrs burn in so far.

I'm very happy with what I'm hearing and I think it's getting better to the point where it has possibly surpassed the Olympus/USB/Ithaca Dac. But it's not "quantum" or "destroying" anything yet! I sincerely want it to take the Ithaca dac and "blow it out of the water." (Naval warfare metaphors seem appropriate for audio).

I'll give the xdmi analog another 50 hours and then go back and compare Ithaca/USB.

I noticed, like Vassil mentioned, that the Aries gain at the DAC is much higher than the Taiko DAC and have been wondering what I could be losing by not having the dac/pre/amps system all in play.

If the Olympus/Taiko dac is not better, or only marginally better, than the Ithaca/usb, then I might have to hold out for the Aries xdmi implementation. I'd much rather save $$ and sell the Ithaca, though...

 

I'm using an Aries Cerat system from DAC to Pre to Amps. I switched to Taiko xdmi analog and probably have about 80 hrs burn in so far.

I'm very happy with what I'm hearing and I think it's getting better to the point where it has possibly surpassed the Olympus/USB/Ithaca Dac. But it's not "quantum" or "destroying" anything yet! I sincerely want it to take the Ithaca dac and "blow it out of the water." (Naval warfare metaphors seem appropriate for audio).

I'll give the xdmi analog another 50 hours and then go back and compare Ithaca/USB.

I noticed, like Vassil mentioned, that the Aries gain at the DAC is much higher than the Taiko DAC and have been wondering what I could be losing by not having the dac/pre/amps system all in play.

If the Olympus/Taiko dac is not better, or only marginally better, than the Ithaca/usb, then I might have to hold out for the Aries xdmi implementation. I'd much rather save $$ and sell the Ithaca, though...

Based on the reports that XDMI to DAC instead of USB results in a significantly more pleasing sound one would think that Aries XDMI implementation would result in a huge uptick over what you are hearing now. Thanks for the update.

 

The Olympus is great, as is Emile’s room. Thanks for letting me listen to both the Alsyvox Michelangelo and the JBL Kenrick sound.

dream To have a squat rack and other equipment next to the listening room.







The Olympus goes head to head with the horizon. Emile has lots of preamps to experiment and test with. Zandem top model with WE 300b, Aries cerat Incito S

 

Is your comment regarding Olympus xdmi analog out vs. Horizon 1 with xdmi link input?

Did you have a preference for which preamp to be fed by xdmi analog out?

 

Is your comment regarding Olympus xdmi analog out vs. Horizon 1 with xdmi link input?

Did you have a preference for which preamp to be fed by xdmi analog out?

We did not compare HDMI vs USB this time. Probably next time when I visit audioquattr who lives close to Emile’s factory.

As for preamps, the horizon direct was pretty impressive, and for an active preamp the Incito S with all tubes will be good and good value price.

BTW, I don’t understand much of the CNC and manufacturing process so no pics of that, but Emile has a serious crew and equipment, I met 4 other dedicated people working hard on a Friday afternoon, there is additionally Ed, Christoph, and audioquattr

 

We did not compare HDMI vs USB this time. Probably next time when I visit audioquattr who lives close to Emile’s factory.

As for preamps, the horizon direct was pretty impressive, and for an active preamp the Incito S with all tubes will be good and good value price.

BTW, I don’t understand much of the CNC and manufacturing process so no pics of that, but Emile has a serious crew and equipment, I met 4 other dedicated people working hard on a Friday afternoon, there is additionally Ed, Christoph, and audioquattr

I’m not clear on what you specifically listened to.

Did you listen to Horizon with Xdmi?
Did you listen to Xdmi analog out with a pre?
No usb?

 

I’m not clear on what you specifically listened to.

Did you listen to Horizon with Xdmi?
Did you listen to Xdmi analog out with a pre?
No usb?

Yes Horizon with XDMI, into two different preamps (Zanden and Incito S), as well as direct.

Also heard the Olympus direct via the zanden preamp

No USB.

 

I'm using an Aries Cerat system from DAC to Pre to Amps. I switched to Taiko xdmi analog and probably have about 80 hrs burn in so far.

I'm very happy with what I'm hearing and I think it's getting better to the point where it has possibly surpassed the Olympus/USB/Ithaca Dac. But it's not "quantum" or "destroying" anything yet! I sincerely want it to take the Ithaca dac and "blow it out of the water." (Naval warfare metaphors seem appropriate for audio).

I'll give the xdmi analog another 50 hours and then go back and compare Ithaca/USB.

I noticed, like Vassil mentioned, that the Aries gain at the DAC is much higher than the Taiko DAC and have been wondering what I could be losing by not having the dac/pre/amps system all in play.

If the Olympus/Taiko dac is not better, or only marginally better, than the Ithaca/usb, then I might have to hold out for the Aries xdmi implementation. I'd much rather save $$ and sell the Ithaca, though...

Hi Wil! My Olympus isn’t here yet (33B), but I am excited to test out the same. I only have the Kassandra (no Ithaca) but as @nenon points out, it sounds like biggest issue with this implementation is a potential voltage issue based on how AC splits out gain over multiple components. Have you noticed much variation between tracks—with so little gain on the Taiko side my understanding is that certain tracks could sound significantly less than others. Have you increased gain on downstream AC components to compensate?

 

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

We have a small number of orders that we had to sneak into the consecutive order number range for various reasons.
For example, a few people reached out that did not get an order number, because they ordered via Forum DM, or through a no-reply email address which did not reach us.
We needed a way to accommodate those cases, so 21.1 (or 21B as the customer would know it) simply means after 21 and before 22.

 

Hi Wil! My Olympus isn’t here yet (33B), but I am excited to test out the same. I only have the Kassandra (no Ithaca) but as @nenon points out, it sounds like biggest issue with this implementation is a potential voltage issue based on how AC splits out gain over multiple components. Have you noticed much variation between tracks—with so little gain on the Taiko side my understanding is that certain tracks could sound significantly less than others. Have you increased gain on downstream AC components to compensate?

No more variation between volume on tracks with the Taiko dac — just much lower.

The gain with the Taiko dac does seem more “normal.” With the Ithaca dac feeding the Ageto pre, I’m typically playing very low on the numerical scale— usually somewhere between 3 and 9. With Taiko dac to Ageto it’s typically 7 to 16. (and this is with resistors on the Ithaca Load terminals which Robert Do made for me).

I don’t know how to increase gain on the preamp or amplifiers or if that would be a good idea or not?

I guess the next step for me will be to compare USB to Ithaca and Xdmi to Ageto— once I get more time to run-in Xdmi and Taiko dac.

And that is taking longer than expected because Roon now habitually shuts down overnight for some reason. This seems to happen, (coincidentally?) around when the Olympus battery charging starts up at 11 PM.


Anyone have any idea what could be going on with that?

 

Hi Wil! My Olympus isn’t here yet (33B), but I am excited to test out the same. I only have the Kassandra (no Ithaca) but as @nenon points out, it sounds like biggest issue with this implementation is a potential voltage issue based on how AC splits out gain over multiple components. Have you noticed much variation between tracks—with so little gain on the Taiko side my understanding is that certain tracks could sound significantly less than others. Have you increased gain on downstream AC components to compensate?

I've been auditioning an Aries Cerat Incito S on long-term though the generous loan of a WBF member. I'm too am curious to hear how it will pair with Taiko's XDMI analog. It is an excellent sounding preamp, very dynamic and lively.

However in an otherwise non-Aries Cerat system the Incito's gain profile and large steps between adjacent volume levels can cause issues. Luckily, both amplifiers I have been using have their own input volume controls which can be adjusted to optimize source/preamp/amplifier gain profiles.

Low-gain components can, though don't have to, have lower signal to noise ratios than higher gain components, everything else being equal. However, given Emile's attention to details such as noise and the fact that the XDMI analog board is operating in a very low-noise, battery-powered, low-current environment I doubt SNR is going to be a problem. Finding the optimum volume setting for listening and inevitable track to track variation in volume might be, but I see that as an AC problem rather than a Taiko XDMI analog problem.

My current dCS Vivaldi DAC has user-adjustable output voltage settings of 0.2v, 0.6v, 2v and 6v. 2v output corresponds to what is widely accepted as industry standard line level, however more than a few high-end components depart from this level. In practice I've found either 2v or 6v output work well whether into a separate preamp or when the DAC is used alone with it's onboard volume control into an amplifier(s).

Steve Z

 

Feedback regarding Olympus #19 connected with Totaldac Sublime Reclocker using XDMI AES.

The Totaldac Sublime Reclocker and Sublme DAC use three AES cables. I had to add one more AES cable to connect to the Olympus, and this cable also required burn in.

I placed the Olympus directly on the floor, which is not level, so one of the feet is not touching the floor. I have purchased a CMS Maxxum Ultra rack to use with the Olympus, but it should arrive only in December. I will test using a set of Revopods with the Olympus.

First I must say that I was very happy with the sound of the Taiko Extreme with the USB card, network card, Taiko Router/Switch/DCD, and XDMS.

I connected the Olympus last Sunday, and while there was improvement in every aspect, I was not so impressed with the level of improvement, I was expecting more.

After a week, there was a massive improvement and now I am very happy with the purchase. The Olympus represents a massive improvement over the Extreme. I had an audiophile friend here yesterday and he has the same opinion.

I would say that the areas with the most improvement (in my system) are: Better focus, better soundstage, more micro-dynamics, better separation of instruments, more body in the vocals. It really sounds amazing. More realistic and the music more beautiful. Congrats to the Taiko team!!

I did not test the XDMI analog out for two reasons: I need two inputs in the DAC, for my Kaleidescape and Appletv X, and I don’t use a preamp (I use a pair of Totaldac Sublime drivers, which in my system sounded better than the CH L1+X1, which I sold). So I will be waiting for a new XDMI dac with at least two inputs, even if optional.

 

I am wondering how Olympus compares to a very good CD transport.