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".

 

When will the current batch with six black servers ship?

The 6 silver are shipping now with a twist which I will write about as soon as time permits, the 6 black are going to be in the next batch (start of next week), and probably a few more.

 

Did you try to contact Rumen Artarski of Thrax Audio fame from Bulgaria? I have heard nothing, but good things about his CNC work and anodizing. You can send him a CAD file and have a full case made andotized to any color you like. He does all the metalwork for his products and many major european brands like Vitus Audio.

I did not, nor was I aware, thank you for the tip!

 

The 6 silver are shipping now with a twist

...I hope it's a good twist, like a nonnevot pastry, as I think one of those six Os may be mine!

 

Latest order numer is 2326. Maybe a 2-year wait?

 

Latest order numer is 2326. Maybe a 2-year wait?

If that would be a queue number more likely a 10-year wait

 

Just quoting a dealer (though I ordered directly this time Emile). I don't mind waiting. I think you'll figure it all out.

PS - made me think of Paul Hynes for a moment, who still owes me money

 

Just quoting a dealer (though I ordered directly this time Emile). I don't mind waiting. I think you'll figure it all out.

PS - made me think of Paul Hynes for a moment, who still owes me money

The actual queue number would be around 150.

 

The actual queue number would be around 150.

Thanks for that Emile. I'm confident in your indefatigable drive, and by then we'll probably have advances rolled in anyway.

Cheers and congrats on the huge success here.

 

...I hope it's a good twist, like a nonnevot pastry, as I think one of those six Os may be mine!

What we’ve decided to change is to switch from a queue number driven approach to a yield based approach.

This is a different, 2 pronged, approach where we don’t instruct the anodising company to anodise x servers and I/Os in silver, and x in black, in an attempt to follow the queue order, but to just do full batches in a single colour each week.

Subsequently we just build servers and I/Os with good finish quality and ship what we (can) complete to the first matching spot in the queue.

The queue number order is going to be non linear this way but our output in sheer quantity will increase significantly.

 

What we’ve decided to change is to switch from a queue number driven approach to a yield based approach.

This is a different, 2 pronged, approach where we don’t instruct the anodising company to anodise x servers and I/Os in silver, and x in black, in an attempt to follow the queue order, but to just do full batches in a single colour each week.

Subsequently we just build servers and I/Os with good finish quality and ship what we (can) complete to the first matching spot in the queue.

The queue number order is going to be non linear this way but our output in sheer quantity will increase significantly.

Emile could you post a good quality picture of the Olympus in black?

 

What we’ve decided to change is to switch from a queue number driven approach to a yield based approach.

This is a different, 2 pronged, approach where we don’t instruct the anodising company to anodise x servers and I/Os in silver, and x in black, in an attempt to follow the queue order, but to just do full batches in a single colour each week.

Subsequently we just build servers and I/Os with good finish quality and ship what we (can) complete to the first matching spot in the queue.

The queue number order is going to be non linear this way but our output in sheer quantity will increase significantly.

Does this mean my silver O/IO at #48 just got shot way down the production list?

 

Does this mean my silver O/IO at #48 just got shot way down the production list?

Not sure how that's what you concluded from Emile's post. If the I/Os in silver are the first to be anodized then they could be the next to be built.

 

They have chosen to optimize the critical path (chassis production), instead of rigidly holding the queue order, which is the right thing to considering the circumstances, imo. But the queue numbers become fluid in a short time window, not shot way down.

 

Does this mean my silver O/IO at #48 just got shot way down the production list?

Let me know if @dminches and @Tuckia spot on replies leave any lingering questions.

 

As I look on from afar at this unfortunate anodizing adventure, I’m left thinking “if only Taiko could have foreseen the difficulties…”

If so, they might have decided to offer it only in (beautiful) Black.

And, if so, (as Emile has said here) all the Olympus orders would already be shipped!

I understand that the Silver is obviously preferred by many, but I can’t help but (respectfully) wonder: “Is the chassis color really worth the consequences?”

The consequences being:

1. presumably a far longer wait for all those in the queue.

2. diversion of time/resources of a small company away from further research/development.

We all know that Taiko has groundbreaking innovations in the works, but it takes a massive amount of time and effort to bring these about. I hate to see the anodizing hassle slowing their progress.

Maybe just think of Black as being a much darker version of Silver?

Just my 2 cents, etc.

 

We all know that Taiko has groundbreaking innovations in the works, but it takes a massive amount of time and effort to bring these about. I hate to see the anodizing hassle slowing their progress.

+1
if this block scheduling of black/silver speeds things up, please please!

anything that speeds up
1. XDMS going into beta phase
2. enhancements (previously hinted at with announcement delayed) to the Extreme
3. new higher end DAC for Olympus (and Extreme?)
4. BPS functionality to new use cases (Extreme?, other?)

@emile--any chance enhancements targeted to the Extreme might happen this year? 1Q25?

 

As I look on from afar at this unfortunate anodizing adventure, I’m left thinking “if only Taiko could have foreseen the difficulties…”

If so, they might have decided to offer it only in (beautiful) Black.

And, if so, (as Emile has said here) all the Olympus orders would already be shipped!

I understand that the Silver is obviously preferred by many, but I can’t help but (respectfully) wonder: “Is the chassis color really worth the consequences?”

The consequences being:

1. presumably a far longer wait for all those in the queue.

2. diversion of time/resources of a small company away from further research/development.

We all know that Taiko has groundbreaking innovations in the works, but it takes a massive amount of time and effort to bring these about. I hate to see the anodizing hassle slowing their progress.

Maybe just think of Black as being a much darker version of Silver?

Just my 2 cents, etc.

Dark silver. Nice.
Likewise the color palette could be expanded to - charcoal, onyx, obsidian, carbon, and burnt Wadax.

 

Dark silver. Nice.
Likewise the color palette could be expanded to - charcoal, onyx, obsidian, carbon, and burnt Wadax.

Maybe after current orders are filled, increase price for silver?

 

Does this mean my silver O/IO at #48 just got shot way down the production list?

Hi @gds7368 ,

We don't have an I/O listed for your order, only a silver Olympus server, which is ready to ship BTW!

 

Does anyone use Starlink as a dedicated isp for their kit?