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".

 

An update for "team black":

Black Olympus servers finished: 34.1, 40, 42, 49
Black Olympus servers under construction: 44, 53, 54, 56, 60, 61, 62

We currently have 45 chassis waiting to be anodised, of which 30 in black, but now at 2 different anodising companies. And we have just hired another team member so hopefully we can build these fast upon their return!

"Black Olympus servers finished: 34.1, 40, 42, 49"
Shipped? If not, when?

 

To add to what others here have already said. My O&I/O have about 72 hours of continuous play on them now. The sound is incredibly solid and has the dynamics that I normally associate with analog tape or vinyl. One of the most elusive things has been trying to get digital with its superior dynamic range to sound subjectively as dynamic as analog. To me digital playback has always sounded a bit flat in comparison to analog when it comes to dynamics or its ability to make sound jump out of the speaker. That has always been my biggest complaint between the two. The things that good digital does well, low noise, bass extension, low level detail, wide and flat bandwidth etc. never completely made up for its lack of subjective dynamics IMHO. That is until now.

With the O&I/O it seems that we can have the best of both digital and analog with no downsides. All the positives of digital but now with the dynamics or “jump factor” of analog. Which for me leads to a more captivating and emotional listening experience. I haven’t tuned on my TV all week because I haven’t been able to stop listening to music. And this is just with the USB output so far....
More to come.

 

To add to what others here have already said. My O&I/O have about 36 hours of continuous play on them now. The sound is incredibly solid and has the dynamics that I normally associate with analog tape or vinyl. One of the most elusive things has been trying to get digital with its superior dynamic range to sound subjectively as dynamic as analog. To me digital playback has always sounded a bit flat in comparison to analog when it comes to dynamics or its ability to make sound jump out of the speaker. That has always been my biggest complaint between the two. The things that good digital does well, low noise, bass extension, low level detail, wide and flat bandwidth etc. never completely made up for its lack of subjective dynamics IMHO. That is until now.

With the O&I/O it seems that we can have the best of both digital and analog with no downsides. All the positives of digital but now with the dynamics or “jump factor” of analog. Which for me leads to a more captivating and emotional listening experience. I haven’t tuned on my TV all week because I haven’t been able to stop listening to music. And this is just with the USB output so far....
More to come.

Fantastic to hear! What DAC do you use?

 

Fantastic to hear! What DAC do you use?

Aries Cerat Kassandra MK2

 

Hi,

Is taiko working with ch precision for the XDMI connection?