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".

 

The yield of impeccable chassis sections has been problematic. We have had intensive tests and discussions on site with our contractor in Germany and we are confident that the yield will be much better.

This contractor does top class work for Porsche, and understands the quality we are looking for.

 

The yield of impeccable chassis sections has been problematic. We have had intensive tests and discussions on site with our contractor in Germany and we are confident that the yield will be much better.

This contractor does top class work for Porsche, and understands the quality we are looking for.

How many good silver Oly chassis do you have in inventory ready for build ?

 

How many good silver Oly chassis do you have in inventory ready for build ?

We have an assembly room full of Olympus servers at or nearing completion, awaiting the delivery of pristine top sections. Anodized chassis parts are delivered on a regular base and we expect the next batch very soon.

 

How many bad silver Oly chassis do you have ready to become good black chassis?
Go team black.

 

How many bad silver Oly chassis do you have ready to become good black chassis?
Go team black.

In the recent batches, black chassis had a higher yield than silver ones, but we are working on changing that, and we have a large batch of silver tops on order.

 

For a variety of reasons, certain shipments may sometimes leave on non-standard days.

Let me take this occasion to introduce Julien Vermeiren who freshly joined Taiko last week. In his function as Chief Product Officer, he will take care of the logistics and other structural aspects. As we speak, he is checking with various couriers and is in the middle of making agreements to ensure fast and reliable delivery. As we are recovering from personnel shortage due to the hectic holiday period, and seeking ways to mitigate the anodizing issues, we are gearing up to move toward a much more structured process with fixed assembly, QC, and shipping routines.

Welcome Julien! Congratulations on your critical role with Taiko Audio. All the success in the world, to you.

Steve Z

 

Welcome Julien! Congratulations on your critical role with Taiko Audio. All the success in the world, to you.

Steve Z

Many thanks on his behalf, Steve. He's not yet on WBF, but I will relay the message!

 

Can anyone advise the output voltage of the XDMI analogue dac card? Sorry if I missed it in a prior post.

 

Also, would be helpful to know the output voltage of the Horizon 360 for comparison.

 

Can anyone advise the output voltage of the XDMI analogue dac card? Sorry if I missed it in a prior post.

That’s actually an interesting topic, we’ve been playing with gain to have something average compared to a range of DACs. We’re currently at ~ 2Vrms out (+6dBv), we’ve been comparing it to other DACs to find a most “compatible” sweetspot but this is really allover the place.

The more useful output stage specs people may be interested in are:

Maximum output voltage swing: 20 V
Output current: 50 mA
Output impedance: 100 Ohm

Btw, it’s very easy to find such info with the forum search functionality:

 

Thank you Nenon!

 

Welcome Julien! Congratulations on your critical role with Taiko Audio. All the success in the world, to you.

Steve Z

Many thanks Steve! I am excited to be part of the Taiko Team. I come from a long history of artist management, brand building and optimizing structures and schedules, hopefully my history in those segments along with extensive tour management history will assist the team in creating the best possible innovative creations.

 

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

Hi Emile.
I think that on the Taiko website page under the text “Order Self-check” the date when the list was last updated should be included.

 

Btw, it’s very easy to find such info with the forum search functionality:
View attachment 136832

Will also add this to the Olympus manual

 

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

Afternoon, Team Taiko. Understood that there have been staffing issues over the summer and that these have been addressed, and that there has been difficulty with obtaining satisfactory anodising for the casework but that this is being / has been addressed. Is there any more information which can be shared so that the audience better understands what the current shipping rate is for each finish, and whether or not those units under construction on 19 Sep have shipped? Fully cognisant of practical difficulties - and inevitable unanticipated issues - when bringing new product to market; at the same time, more regular material updates are always appreciated, especially for those with deposits down

 

Dear all,

Afternoon, Team Taiko. Understood that there have been staffing issues over the summer and that these have been addressed, and that there has been difficulty with obtaining satisfactory anodising for the casework but that this is being / has been addressed. Is there any more information which can be shared so that the audience better understands what the current shipping rate is for each finish, and whether or not those units under construction on 19 Sep have shipped? Fully cognisant of practical difficulties - and inevitable unanticipated issues - when bringing new product to market; at the same time, more regular material updates are always appreciated, especially for those with deposits down

Please expect an update tomorrow!

 

Dear all,

Please expect an update tomorrow!

Given that I have a high number, how many Olympus plans to produce per week once staff have returned from vacation?

 

Dear all, please find below an update on the Olympus shipping status.

We’re working closely with the aluminum supplier and anodizing company to solve the last remaining issues, but today, we’re still short on silver tops. However, there’s no shortage of silver bottoms, so we’re building large quantities of Olympus servers ahead in silver and black. This means that as soon as large quantities of tops arrive, we’ll be shipping a large volume of servers.

We will ship two silver servers, three black servers, and three black I/Os in the coming week, and six more servers are being prepared to ship as soon as we have received the tops.

Now that the holiday period is over, we are again fully staffed. In addition, we will get extra help in assembly, and we're working on further optimizing the production and assembly process.

We are now in a good position and fully committed to ramping up the production to produce more servers per week and fulfil the orders as soon as possible.

 

Just found a inconsistency in the internal pictures of Olympus.
The main big power supply has a big black capacitor on some pictures
and its missing in the other pictures.
Was that removed?
Why is that ?

 

Just found a inconsistency in the internal pictures of Olympus.
The main big power supply has a big black capacitor on some pictures
and its missing in the other pictures.
Was that removed?
Why is that ?

This has not changed. The capacitor is still there, under the PCB on the left. You can see its screws.

Naturally, there may be some changes if you are referring to earlier photos of prototypes and compare these to the final build.