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".

 

ohhhhhh…. 5 more added. Liking this momentum!! good work Team Taiko!

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Thanks for posting. Very exciting as #39 is getting really close now!
I'm wondering if I should skip the internal storage and get a USB drive to plug into the Taiko router for my music files. I believe the router needs a firmware update to be able to use a windows formatted drive. Is that capability expected soon? Or is it better to use a NAS?

 

I'm wondering if I should skip the internal storage and get a USB drive to plug into the Taiko router for my music files. I believe the router needs a firmware update to be able to use a windows formatted drive. Is that capability expected soon? Or is it better to use a NAS?

If you choose to not use internal storage, then I'd say a NAS is the best choice.

It offers a lot of advantages:

- redundancy
- you can use it for more than just music
- you can place it well away from your hi-fi system.
- its capacity is almost limitless (depending on the NAS you choose)
- data access is very fast (depending on the NAS you choose)
- it's not expensive ( at least compared to the rest).

 

I think a NAS is an ideal solution. It can be connected directly to the router and thus take advantage of the router's design. It seems as though USB

If you choose to not use internal storage, then I'd say a NAS is the best choice.

It offers a lot of advantages:

- redundancy
- you can use it for more than just music
- you can place it well away from your hi-fi system.
- its capacity is almost limitless (depending on the NAS you choose)
- data access is very fast (depending on the NAS you choose)
- it's not expensive ( at least compared to the rest).

I agree with Tom’s list but i will add some additional thoughts:

I have a NAS but have created an array without redundancy so I can use a lower powered NAS, have enough storage, and power it via the DCD. I think there is some advantage to doing that. Redundancy adds a level of convenience so you can have a drive fail without having to rebuild the array. I haven’t chosen to do that but I see why others may.

 

I think a NAS is an ideal solution. It can be connected directly to the router and thus take advantage of the router's design. It seems as though USB

I agree with Tom’s list but i will add some additional thoughts:

I have a NAS but have created an array without redundancy so I can use a lower powered NAS, have enough storage, and power it via the DCD. I think there is some advantage to doing that. Redundancy adds a level of convenience so you can have a drive fail without having to rebuild the array. I haven’t chosen to do that but I see why others may.

Have you found a SQ advantage to powering from the DCD vs. the stock SMPS? Maybe common grounding helps here?
Is the 12v input of the Synology 5.5mm x 2.1mm? My ancient DS215 has this input. But I’m looking at the DS224+ as a RAID 0 music server.

 

Have you found a SQ advantage to powering from the DCD vs. the stock SMPS? Maybe common grounding helps here?
Is the 12v input of the Synology 5.5mm x 2.1mm? My ancient DS215 has this input. But I’m looking at the DS224+ as a RAID 0 music server.

I never used the stock SMPS since Emile suggested the DCD so that’s what I did.

I am using the DS224+ with 2 12 TB drives, RAID0. I do believe the input is a standard 5.5 x 2.1.

 

I never used the stock SMPS since Emile suggested the DCD so that’s what I did.

I am using the DS224+ with 2 12 TB drives, RAID0. I do believe the input is a standard 5.5 x 2.1.

Thanks. I’ll use the DCD as well, but just curious.

 

Thanks. I’ll use the DCD as well, but just curious.

What LPS are you using with the DCD? Mine is 3-4A which is fine with the NAS, switch and router.

 

Good question. It’s an LTA rated for 12v/3A. The stock SMPS for the DS215 is rated for 5A. The switch and router don’t draw much, but maybe 3A is marginal when adding a NAS. However, RAID 1 with two big drives at full crank will draw a bit more than a single drive transferring low bit rate. If 3-4A works for you, then maybe. Could just use the SMPS for the initial copy.

Are you using the SJ DC4/ARC6?

 

I am using a SJ DC3.5 that I built myself. I chose the DS224+ because it doesn't draw a lot of current and I knew the LPS could handle the router, switch and NAS.

 

I’ll upgrade the LPS sometime. Not sure how good is good enough. I saw a new SJ heading your way when at Vassil’s. A very nice looking build. Didn’t know if it was warranted/required for network duty. He was using a cheap battery for the DCD during our session, lol.

 

My Completely silent SSD NAS setup:

Synology 923+ (four bay, 35 watt), w/ Two Samsung PM893 2.5” 7.68TB Sata SSDs, w/4Gb additional memory, w/NVMe 1Tb cache, w; 10Gb optional port (used with 1Gb Taiko Router, but better quality port than standard).

Sablon Ethernet cable connecting NAS to Taiko Router. Guentaudio Mundorf DC cable to Taiko DCD, fed by Plixir Statement Power Supply with Shunyata Venon V14 power cord, with Nordost Qbase8 Mk3 power distributor, with Echole Omnia power cord, to Furutech NFC-r outlet.

 

My Completely silent SSD NAS setup:

Synology 923+ (four bay, 35 watt), w/ Two Samsung PM893 2.5” 7.68TB Sata SSDs, w/4Gb additional memory, w/NVMe 1Tb cache, w; 10Gb optional port (used with 1Gb Taiko Router, but better quality port than standard).

Sablon Ethernet cable connecting NAS to Taiko Router. Guentaudio Mundorf DC cable to Taiko DCD, fed by Plixir Statement Power Supply with Shunyata Venon V14 power cord, with Nordost Qbase8 Mk3 power distributor, with Echole Omnia power cord, to Furutech NFC-r outlet.

The Samsung SSDs are very nice. I am waiting (hoping) that the price will come down eventually.

 

Hi Emile.
. If it is never used, can the digital Spdif/AES card be replaced free of charge, when available, by the Aries Cerat digital output card from the Olympus? (It will be another matter what Stavros develops as a DAC input)

We'll have to look into that. There's a limit to what we can do, the Euro 6600 / USD 7200 early adopters discount combined with a full reimbursement of your prior Extreme purchase leaves us with little to no room for further discounts. To be blunt, the decision basically is to either charge more for future daughterboards and take trade ins, or price them lower and don't take trade ins. I'm currently leaning towards the latter, if only to save on personnel / handling costs.

 

Hi Emile,

I read the O-I/O instruction manual on switching the analog and digital xdmi cards and it instructs flipping the I/O unit upside down to make the switch. The manual instructs then flipping back the I/O unit right side up after switching the cards.

But your post suggests that leaving the I/O unit upside down not only makes switching the cards faster and more convenient, but the I/O unit also sounds just as great upside down
- at least for quick back and forth comparison purposes?

Yeah, that's what I do, mine is always upside down

 

Hi Taiko team!

Just had a question regarding the headphone amplifier into the Olympus? Has there been any more thought given to this over the past few months? Would make all headphone enthusiasts very happy!

Thank you!

Yes that is on the list too, most likely the "preamp" version will be able to either drive headphones directly or have an additional headphone output.

 

Thanks for posting. Very exciting as #39 is getting really close now!
I'm wondering if I should skip the internal storage and get a USB drive to plug into the Taiko router for my music files. I believe the router needs a firmware update to be able to use a windows formatted drive. Is that capability expected soon? Or is it better to use a NAS?

We have the USB drive support for the Router working but it's not completely stable yet.

 

Absolutely. —-huge difference indeed. I was astounded by that

Did you try a high quality power cord on the OIO as well? Did that also make a difference?

 

We'll have to look into that. There's a limit to what we can do, the Euro 6600 / USD 7200 early adopters discount combined with a full reimbursement of your prior Extreme purchase leaves us with little to no room for further discounts. To be blunt, the decision basically is to either charge more for future daughterboards and take trade ins, or price them lower and don't take trade ins. I'm currently leaning towards the latter, if only to save on personnel / handling costs.

It seems that Lampizator users were lucky then, as they are the only ones who could opt for the digital card of their DAC instead of the SPDIF-AES.

 

Did you try a high quality power cord on the OIO as well? Did that also make a difference?

Indeed yes. As always, Emile proves to be right

 

For those with interest, Part 2 of my Olympus review just got posted:

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

Audio: Listen to this article. In Part 1 of this review, I covered what has changed in the Taiko ecosystem in the past four years, dug into the hardware design and more unique aspects of the new Taiko Audio Olympus Music Server, and shared some curious first impressions. In this Part 2, I dig int...

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