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".

 

34.1

 

Part 1 of @ray-dude's wonderful, in-depth review of the Olympus is now available online.

Reality Quest: Review of the Taiko Audio Olympus Music Server (Part 1 of 2)

Audio: Listen to this article. In the before times, immediately prior to the start of the pandemic, I decided to put an end to my endless DIY digital music server tweaking and optimizing, and purchase a digital music server that had all the tweaks and optimizations I was exploring, but taken to t...

audiophilestyle.com

 

Traveling today, but looking forward to the discussion!

 

Traveling today, but looking forward to the discussion!

Thanks for the thorough report. I deleted the internal memory from my order after reading. Time to order a dedicated NAS.

Much to talk about here...

 

Traveling today, but looking forward to the discussion!

As I await my turn on The List, I appreciate getting your very thorough report on the Olympus. I laughed quite heartily when I read of your facility with heavier objects, thanks to your other hobby involving ~300 lbs. pinball machines. The friend that helps me with all of my heavy audio moves (and joins me for regular "stoner holidays" enjoying the system!) has all of the needed moving gear because his son buys old pinball machines, refurbishes them, and then sells them. A fun coincidence! Looking forward to Episode 2...

 

I like your style @jbrrp1 !

The hydraulic lift is a must, esp in the Taiko ecosystem

 

Another fantastic Reality Quest artical, RayDude!

On the Olympus ground posts, under what circumstances does Taiko advise it may be a good idea to use (or not use)?

I’m thinking to attach my ground box to the Olympus chassis ground (next to the usb ports) as I have every other component also chassis grounded to the box.

Or is there something in the Olympus tech that would advise otherwise?

 

I did some grounding experiments years ago; but my current set up doesn’t use any special grounding so I did not test.

I thought the recommendation from Taiko interesting because of the battery power newness of Olympus. Taiko team would be better to comment on the whys and when grounding makes sense, but the rules have definitely changed with the Taiko BPS

 

The little bit I have extrapolated is the direct correlation between the quality of the Power Cable and the ground. Perhaps by also grounding the chassis it creates a Negative effect?

 

Thanks for the thorough report. I deleted the internal memory from my order after reading. Time to order a dedicated NAS.

Much to talk about here...

As I shared with you Greg I have everything on a NAS now too. Synology DS224 +. @dminches recommended it. I have it right on the network rack and you don't even know its there. I wish I had a video of me setting it up! You would think I was dividing an atom! I think its pretty well known how incredibly inept/stupid I can be with this kind of stuff...

 

As I shared with you Greg I have everything on a NAS now too. Synology DS224 +. @dminches recommended it. I have it right on the network rack and you don't even know its there. I wish I had a video of me setting it up! You would think I was dividing an atom! I think its pretty well known how incredibly inept/stupid I can be with this kind of stuff...

Volume up, John T!

Steve Z

 

Volume up, John T!

Steve Z

Steve, I should have been listening to this while doing the setup! It would have been perfect as to what was happening in my brain at the time...

 

Steve, I should have been listening to this while doing the setup! It would have be perfect as to what was happening in my bran at the time...

Thermo nuclear fusion ☝ !!!

 

Volume up, John T!

Steve Z

Is this a photo of people in the queue?

Some days I feel like they look.

 

To help fill in the time....hope everyone well...enjoy the song:

 

And in other news, I received notification that my Olympus (#15 silver) cleared Customs in Seattle and is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow morning, 10/18. . .

Glad I did my workout this morning and that the lift-cart is ready!

Steve Z

 

Sorry if this question has been covered elsewhere, but which stacking option for the O and I/O units is preferable from a sound quality perspective (but keeping in mind potential structural damage concerns): a) O sitting on top of I/O; b) I/O sitting on top of O; or c) O and I/O sitting separately - not stacked? Thanks

 

Sorry if this question has been covered elsewhere, but which stacking option for the O and I/O units is preferable from a sound quality perspective (but keeping in mind potential structural damage concerns): a) O sitting on top of I/O; b) I/O sitting on top of O; or c) O and I/O sitting separately - not stacked? Thanks

Hi Cmarin,

The best option is obviously "c". Both devices on a dedicated shelf.

However, if you want to stack them, you should place the Olympus on top of the I/O.

The Olympus heats up and needs to dissipate that heat.

The real question would be :

Is there a significant advantage to having both devices on dedicated shelf???

From what I've gathered here and there, it seems not.

But I believe Emile (@Taiko Audio ) is in a better position to answer this question.

Cheers,

Thomas

 

Part 1 of @ray-dude's wonderful, in-depth review of the Olympus is now available online.

Reality Quest: Review of the Taiko Audio Olympus Music Server (Part 1 of 2)

Audio: Listen to this article. In the before times, immediately prior to the start of the pandemic, I decided to put an end to my endless DIY digital music server tweaking and optimizing, and purchase a digital music server that had all the tweaks and optimizations I was exploring, but taken to t...

audiophilestyle.com

Ray-dude’s review was outstanding. Better than most professional audio reviewers indeed! Informative, a concise history and extremely well-written! Stereophile and TAS- hire this guy!

 

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Hi Cmarin,

The best option is obviously "c". Both devices on a dedicated shelf.

However, if you want to stack them, you should place the Olympus on top of the I/O.

The Olympus heats up and needs to dissipate that heat.

The real question would be :

Is there a significant advantage to having both devices on dedicated shelf???

From what I've gathered here and there, it seems not.

But I believe Emile (@Taiko Audio ) is in a better position to answer this question.

Cheers,

Thomas

Hi Thomas,

Thank you for your reply. Your suggestion that having each unit on a separate shelf would be best from a sonic perspective (even if it is not a significant effect) makes sense.

In my case, I’m very much looking forward to changing/comparing between the digital XDMI (AES) and análog XDMI.

Not having to move the heavy Olympus around and potentially risking damage to the units (or my older back!) while changing between the analog and digital outs would be another major advantage of having the units on separate shelves.

Look forward to hearing from others including the Taiko team as well - as long as it doesn’t delay the shipping schedule!

Cheers