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".

 

Exactly why I asked Bob, it is quite SIGNIFICANT...Also appealing for more people...

Yeah, big time!

 

The more this is dissected, the more you realize how cutting EDGE it is. This has the potential of changing digital in a much larger scale...

 

I think this is a SIGNIFICANT statement. I was thinking that Olympus/XDMI/I-O pretty much applied more to XDMS. A lot of people love and use Roon.

Roon is the primary playback software on our servers and is used by at least 80% of our customers.

We are and remain committed to extracting the best possible sound quality from the Roon platform.

The purpose of XDMS is three-fold:

1) A technological deep dive, a research project if you will, on the relationship between software, hardware and sound quality. We have gained invaluable insights from the development progress and continue to learn from it. This has led to numerous improvements benefitting not only XDMS, but also Roon and hardware developments, XDMI wouldn’t be what it is today without.

2) An alternative interface / playback software suite for those who don’t like the Roon interface or it’s sound signature, and yes every piece of software does have a sound signature.

3) An “insurance policy” in case something happens to Roon, if they change direction/policy, or anything else unforeseen.

 

May I ask is Olympus a dual CPU or single CPU server? What CPU to be used? The motherboard is custom-made or off-the-shelf? Thank you.

 

May I ask is Olympus a dual CPU or single CPU server? What CPU to be used? The motherboard is custom-made or off-the-shelf? Thank you.

We’re using a 4th gen AMD Epyc. This is actually a quad CPU centered around an I/O die on a single socket and can be utilised in the same way we do with the dual CPUs of the Extreme.



A custom made motherboard for these kinds of CPUs is a waste of development resources. 6096 contacts for the CPU alone The router motherboard we developed already has a questionable ROI, a motherboard for this has zero change on that, the necessary sales volume is just not there. Add to that it’s influence is significantly reduced by powering peripherals from a BPS, aka very limited benefits, it’s just not interesting.

 

Using AES/EBU or SPDIF.

of these 2 choices does aes/ebu or s/pdif give the better resolution.

AES/EBU goes to 24/192 and no DSD. Is it the same for s/pdif

 

of these 2 choices does aes/ebu or s/pdif give the better resolution.

AES/EBU goes to 24/192 and no DSD. Is it the same for s/pdif

Neither will do DSD...

 

Neither will do DSD...

that I know

 

of these 2 choices does aes/ebu or s/pdif give the better resolution.

AES/EBU goes to 24/192 and no DSD. Is it the same for s/pdif

Sorry misunderstood the question...Resolution...Understood..

 

@Taiko Audio

here's what I don't understand.......if we Horizon users can make use of XDMI with aes/ebu , what sort of cable does one use to connect as the interface for XDMI is different than the socket for aes/ebu

 

@Taiko Audio

here's what I don't understand.......if we Horizon users can make use of XDMI with aes/ebu , what sort of cable does one use to connect as the interface for XDMI is different than the socket for aes/ebu

AES/EBU = XLR to XLR
SPDIF = RCA to RCA

The difference between the two is that SPDIF is unbalanced and AES/EBU is balanced. The same difference as with analogue interconnects.

Their performance is pretty similar.

 

So a single XLR cable from Horizon to XDMI ?

 

Can the standard Olympus be upgraded to XDMI at a later date? If so, what would that entail?

 

Emile perhaps I missed it but have you shown us what your interface looks like in the Olympus or I/O

 

So a single XLR cable from Horizon to XDMI ?

Yes.

 

Yes.

That’s understandable even by me

 

Emile perhaps I missed it but have you shown us what your interface looks like in the Olympus or I/O

post #131

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...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

Can the standard Olympus be upgraded to XDMI at a later date? If so, what would that entail?

Yes, it can be done by yourself.

 

post #131

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...

www.whatsbestforum.com

adapters are needed??

 

No. But agree that a photo of the output sockets of the XDMI board would neatly answer many of these Qs.