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".

 

I have experienced the same thing with Qobuz recently and the timing seems to be similar -- 6 to 12 hours into a session with Qobuz. I haven't yet pulled the plug on my Tidal subscription so I will check that later this evening.

Steve Z

Roon just released an update:

“We’ve resolved an issue in version 2.0.43 that caused disruptions to playback queues in for zones.”

2.0.43 was released 8 days ago so this could be the culprit. I’ve installed the update and will let it run overnight again.

 

Roon just released an update:

“We’ve resolved an issue in version 2.0.43 that caused disruptions to playback queues in for zones.”

2.0.43 was released 8 days ago so this could be the culprit. I’ve installed the update and will let it run overnight again.

I'm confused/perplexed here. I do NOT have the Olympus yet. I've been listening to Qobuz for several days in a row including all of yesterday. No issues whatsoever. Tablet 2.0 (build 1480) Extreme version 2.0 (build 1483). I promptly do all updates upon notifications. No issues on my end. Are you certain yet if this is a Roon issue? Or is this Olympus/Roon Version related?

 

I'm confused/perplexed here. I do NOT have the Olympus yet. I've been listening to Qobuz for several days in a row including all of yesterday. No issues whatsoever. Tablet 2.0 (build 1480) Extreme version 2.0 (build 1483). I promptly do all updates upon notifications. No issues on my end. Are you certain yet if this is a Roon issue? Or is this Olympus/Roon Version related?

Have you been listening all day without modifying your playback queue? Aka not changing tracks / not operating your Roon remote?

 

Roon just released an update:

“We’ve resolved an issue in version 2.0.43 that caused disruptions to playback queues in for zones.”

2.0.43 was released 8 days ago so this could be the culprit. I’ve installed the update and will let it run overnight again.

I noticed an issue with random stoppage as well, but put it down to network outage - interestingly since I did the Roon update 2 days ago, I haven’t had any stoppages in Roon playback as I’ve been burning in some new cables and just had things playing non-stop.

 

In case of interest, here is an extra data point on the Olympus. I have been experimenting with a selection of power cables. Irrespectively of the power cord, the Olympus sounds absolutely marvelous. For me the rubicon has been crossed in terms of realism. I had good success with the Extreme with the Shunyata Omega XC, the Extreme was really scaling well with raw power. Here, I found a pairing made in heaven with the recently upgraded Sablon Prince 2025. I have to say Mark has been really down playing the amplitude of the upgrade: his new cord brings an entire palette to the mid-range that combined with the Olympus agility is really to die for. I can’t imagine a better pairing and the Sablon Prince definitely is here to stay! Hopefully this may be helpful for others to experiment. My only point of comparison as to how power cords affect the Olympus is akin to the Taiko router, dynamics is always there, but the subtle balance between textures, timbre, and the tonal palette remains largely affected by the choice of cord. BTW Mark also has now an excellent DC cable for the router/switch combo that I had missed, another great pairing i am hoping that one day someone will provide an explanation of this elusive phenomenon, electrical wiring tuning the audible properties of a distant magnetic coil, I am scratching my head!

 

i am hoping that one day someone will provide an explanation of this elusive phenomenon.

I was hoping you'd be able to provide the answer to that puzzling question

 

Have you been listening all day without modifying your playback queue? Aka not changing tracks / not operating your Roon remote?

I'm always using the remote, jumping around, exploring, skipping tracks...No issues..BTW I also have Tidal, no problems with that either...

 

I'm always using the remote, jumping around, exploring, skipping tracks...No issues..

Indeed, there is (was) no issue with that. The issue is if you leave it playing unattended, it will (would) stop after somewhere between 6 and 12 hours of continuous playback.

 

Indeed, there is (was) no issue with that. The issue is if you leave it playing unattended, it will (would) stop after somewhere between 6 and 12 hours of continuous playback.

OHHH, got it...Sorry for the confusion...Guys who are breaking the units in...Got it...

 

Samsungs don’t work with the BMS app, we only found out last week, on the todo list to figure out why.

We have Samsung phones and tablets only in my house. Is it necessary to access the BMS app to use the Olympus or can I just let it at factory settings and use it plug-and-play?

 

We have Samsung phones and tablets only in my house. Is it necessary to access the BMS app to use the Olympus or can I just let it at factory settings and use it plug-and-play?

It can be plug&play, we pre-configure it to the timezone we ship to and configure it to charge between 0:00 and 7:00 AM. If that is ok for you there's nothing that needs to be changed. Besides that I don't think it will be very difficult to make it work on Samsung devices, we're on it.

 

...my BMS was set to Dutch Time (which I always thought was time for beer), so in my case I preferred it to local NY/US. But the Taiko fellas are on the fix and it can't be much to resolve.

 

...my BMS was set to Dutch Time (which I always thought was time for beer), so in my case I preferred it to local NY/US. But the Taiko fellas are on the fix and it can't be much to resolve.

Oh really, they must've configured yours on a Friday afternoon then (beer time)

 

Indeed, there is (was) no issue with that. The issue is if you leave it playing unattended, it will (would) stop after somewhere between 6 and 12 hours of continuous playback.

In my case (OP), my interruptions do occur in the course of a session where I am regularly selecting new albums, always from Qobuz ( I have not set up my local files yet and I do not use Tidal). I do sometimes interrupt those albums, and change to another. I have noticed no correlation between what I am playing, or how long the playlist might be. My interruptions are not requiring 6-12 hour playlists. My Qubuz has the latest version.

 

Oh really, they must've configured yours on a Friday afternoon then (beer time)

Can it be (for some reason) Qobuz is arbitrarily timing you out based on a continuous use timer? When you break this timer for whatever reason, the time starts over? I have no idea..
I, occasionally, have this issue with the E...

I've experienced the same with my Statement and streaming radio in the past... music is on 24/7 in the house.
Since Innuos has had multiple updates, the issue seems to have resolved itself.

 

In case of interest, here is an extra data point on the Olympus. I have been experimenting with a selection of power cables. Irrespectively of the power cord, the Olympus sounds absolutely marvelous. For me the rubicon has been crossed in terms of realism. I had good success with the Extreme with the Shunyata Omega XC, the Extreme was really scaling well with raw power. Here, I found a pairing made in heaven with the recently upgraded Sablon Prince 2025. I have to say Mark has been really down playing the amplitude of the upgrade: his new cord brings an entire palette to the mid-range that combined with the Olympus agility is really to die for. I can’t imagine a better pairing and the Sablon Prince definitely is here to stay! Hopefully this may be helpful for others to experiment. My only point of comparison as to how power cords affect the Olympus is akin to the Taiko router, dynamics is always there, but the subtle balance between textures, timbre, and the tonal palette remains largely affected by the choice of cord. BTW Mark also has now an excellent DC cable for the router/switch combo that I had missed, another great pairing i am hoping that one day someone will provide an explanation of this elusive phenomenon, electrical wiring tuning the audible properties of a distant magnetic coil, I am scratching my head!

Wholly concur with you. My updated King cords double up the goodness that XDMS on the Extreme provides.
Realism taken up another few notches.

 

In my case (OP), my interruptions do occur in the course of a session where I am regularly selecting new albums, always from Qobuz ( I have not set up my local files yet and I do not use Tidal). I do sometimes interrupt those albums, and change to another. I have noticed no correlation between what I am playing, or how long the playlist might be. My interruptions are not requiring 6-12 hour playlists. My Qubuz has the latest version.

Can you try updating Roon to the latest version?

 

It can be plug&play, we pre-configure it to the timezone we ship to and configure it to charge between 0:00 and 7:00 AM. If that is ok for you there's nothing that needs to be changed. Besides that I don't think it will be very difficult to make it work on Samsung devices, we're on it.

If you leave the Olympus/IO always on there will never be issues or even have to look at the Taiko battery app

 

Can you try updating Roon to the latest version?

My Roon server and App are both latest version ( I checked on Roon "About" before the last post). Says 2.0 build 1483

 

My Roon server and App are both latest version ( I checked on Roon "About" before the last post). Says 2.0 build 1483

Ok, if that doesn’t help we can examine your Roon logs and see what’s causing the interruptions. Could you be so kind as to open a support call by emailing support@taikoaudio.com ? If you include your Olympus serial number and symptoms the crew can take a look.