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".

 

Nice to see the defaults now handle all the connection scenarios.

Nothing really changed.
Roon always worked from both networks with the default settings. Just plug and play, zero configuration.

Early on I remember some questions on port forwarding when devices were on separate networks.

A couple of people wanted to get XDMS and VNC to their Taiko Extreme work from their home network. None of that is relevant to the Olympus, though (as the Olympus does not run XDMS and access to the Operating system is locked down).

We have people with very different levels of technical skills on this forum. It's common for the people with more advanced technical skills to confuse the ones with very little technical skills. I am also guilty of that.

The bottom line is that with the Taiko Olympus, router, switch, etc. everything works with the default configs. It's all really plug and play and forget type of thing.

 

Nothing really changed.
Roon always worked from both networks with the default settings. Just plug and play, zero configuration.


A couple of people wanted to get XDMS and VNC to their Taiko Extreme work from their home network. None of that is relevant to the Olympus, though (as the Olympus does not run XDMS and access to the Operating system is locked down).

We have people with very different levels of technical skills on this forum. It's common for the people with more advanced technical skills to confuse the ones with very little technical skills. I am also guilty of that.

The bottom line is that with the Taiko Olympus, router, switch, etc. everything works with the default configs. It's all really plug and play and forget type of thing.

Very true. What I really like is that I can either be on my home network or Taiko Audio network and access Roon. If I am downstairs in my family room on my home network and want to create a playlist or add Albums etc, I don't have to be on Taiko network ( I can access Taiko from my kitchen and family room and back yard but occasionally I might drop the signal so I am always on Taiko in my sound room

 

I wish I was10 years younger! All of the forementioned future advancements are so very, very, exciting. Face it, we're audio Junkies! However, I want musical enjoyment to the best I can afford now. Right now! I try not to think too far down the road. No doubt the proverbial surface hasn't been scratched by Emile/Taiko. I hope some of these advancements come to fruition sooner than later. Everyone of us is pulling for Taiko. I get it, its fun to imagine future upgrades. But for now, I'll be very happy with the Olympus when it arrives and explore the two possibilities it will provide for me...

John, maybe we should take that high speed trip to the edge of the solar system now. When we get back a week from now, Taiko product will be plentiful, WI will have palm trees, and just as importantly, my savings account will be flush with interest.

 

John, maybe we should take that high speed trip to the edge of the solar system now. When we get back a week from now, Taiko product will be plentiful, WI will have palm trees, and just as importantly, my savings account will be flush with interest.

I'm game Greg, I still have some Cosmic Cowboy left! I think I see Shangri-La in the distance...

 

...hey! Can I tag along? You'll need comic relief, after all.

 

Happy New Year to everyone from me as well.
Below is some speculation from me, after reflecting on the difficult and challenging year for Taiko in 2024.

What products Taiko will release will be entirely driven by market demand and perception.

I see the XDMI analog on the Olympus as a product to test the market. It's already better than most high-end DACs out there, although it was designed to compete with DACs at the price range of an Aqua Formula DAC.

One of the intentions of the XDMI analog card was to get a better understanding of how easy or difficult it will be for new innovative technology to change what people have been taught about high-end audio over the years (typically from manufacturers that do very little to no innovation, distributors/dealers who get very healthy margins, and massive marketing campaigns).

We can already see massive resistance by a lot of people here. It does not have my favorite tube, so it can't match my current DAC. It does not have XX DAC chips (5000?) in parallel, so it can't be good. It's just a small board in a very noisy computer environment, and it can't be better than my DAC. It does not have the analog stage of my X or Y DAC, and it can't be that good. It does not have the fancy (5-digit priced) clock on my DAC, so it can't be taken seriously. The resistance from quite a few people here so far has been so big, that they refuse to pop in the XDMI analog card they have on hand and have a listen to it.

But as it always happens with innovative technology, there is always a massive pushback in the beginning, but the technology always wins in the end. Uber is a good example of a new technology that was difficult to accept. And look at Uber now... Not much in common with the Taiko Olympus XDMI of course other than both companies are "innovators" in their field.

A lot of pushback... and yet, almost everyone who dared to listen to the XDMI analog card has decided to stay with it and sell their previous favorite DAC. That includes a wide range of what were considered state-of-the-art DACs ranging from $50K to $150K and from quite a few really good manufacturers.

Some of these more open-minded, less dogmatic people, who trust their ears and nothing else, managed to sell their DAC, DAC power cord, and USB cable. They freed up a shelf or two or three on their rack, simplified their system, and have a better sound than ever. Some of them even kept a little cash in their pocket in the end.

Thanks to the acceptance and the feedback of these people, Emile got excited and motivated and is working on XDMI analog v2. That will not be something released to compete just with $10K-$20K DACs... And it won't be just a "different flavor". It will be an answer to the small but good XDMI analog acceptance and the natural next step this product evolves to.

But that's just the beginning. When I was in the Netherlands and talked to people in the Taiko R&D, one thing was clear to me. What people are hearing from their Olympus right now is barely scratching the surface of what's possible with the Olympus and XDMI. There are so many major improvements to come for this platform and an abundance of ideas of new things to try. Emile and others at Taiko just need more time to focus on R&D.

Here is what I expect:
XDMI analog v1 is already a giant killer.
XDMI analog v2 will shake the market.
XDMI analog v3 will become the first sophisticated XDMI analog release with all the functions people need, such as volume control, additional inputs, etc.

But these things take time. A lot of time. So, I am guessing XDMI v2 sometime in the second half of 2025 and XDMI v3 in (probably late) 2026?

Can Taiko jump on multichannel now? Makes no logical or business sense to me. Taiko will instead be focusing on other things, such as increasing the manufacturing output, reducing the lead time to days or weeks instead of many months, building some stock, etc. And of course, releasing updates and upgrades for the Olympus and Extreme.

I hope I am not way off with my assessment and speculation. Wishing a healthy and successful year to the Taiko team and everyone here.

always appreciate your posts as i’m sure we all do. it is noteworthy imho you did not mention comps to Horizon 360 via xdmi.

also you say “We can already see massive resistance by a lot of people here. It does not have my favorite tube, so it can't match my current DAC. It does not have XX DAC chips (5000?) in parallel, so it can't be good. It's just a small board in a very noisy computer environment, and it can't be better than my DAC. It does not have the analog stage of my X or Y DAC, and it can't be that good. It does not have the fancy (5-digit priced) clock on my DAC, so it can't be taken seriously. The resistance from quite a few people here so far has been so big, that they refuse to pop in the XDMI analog card they have on hand and have a listen to it.”

Really do not know what “massive” resistance that you are referring to? or “resistance has been so big that they refuse to pop in the XDMI analog card”’…. are you implying SteveW? others?

Many of us are just hoping for an honest comp between analog XDMI out versus Digital XDMI out to Horizon or MSB compatible XDMI. would never describe this as “massive resistance” or some refusal to believe.

you say “A lot of pushback... and yet, almost everyone who dared to listen to the XDMI analog card has decided to stay with it and sell their previous favorite DAC. That includes a wide range of what were considered state-of-the-art DACs ranging from $50K to $150K and from quite a few really good manufacturers.”

almost everyone? “dared”? Has anyone sold their Lampizator or MSB xdmi compatible dacs? have they said olympus analog out is superior to them? Please share as noone has posted that here. Have you done those comparisons?

 

Nothing really changed.
Roon always worked from both networks with the default settings. Just plug and play, zero configuration.


A couple of people wanted to get XDMS and VNC to their Taiko Extreme work from their home network. None of that is relevant to the Olympus, though (as the Olympus does not run XDMS and access to the Operating system is locked down).

We have people with very different levels of technical skills on this forum. It's common for the people with more advanced technical skills to confuse the ones with very little technical skills. I am also guilty of that.

The bottom line is that with the Taiko Olympus, router, switch, etc. everything works with the default configs. It's all really plug and play and forget type of thing.

Thanks Vassil, it was nice to have this summary for something I perhaps misunderstood, as networking is not an area of strength for me. You have a sharp, young mind for retention of technical detail And I have yet to even experiment with Windows 11, but seeing the warnings about W10 support going away this year, it won't be long.

 

...hey! Can I tag along? You'll need comic relief, after all.

Sure! I’ll have Elon warm up the Tardis.

 

Sure! I’ll have Elon warm up the Tardis.

We should take the electric school bus, A Ken Kesey reenactment...It would then truly be "The Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test"...

 

also you say “We can already see massive resistance by a lot of people here. It does not have my favorite tube, so it can't match my current DAC. It does not have XX DAC chips (5000?) in parallel, so it can't be good. It's just a small board in a very noisy computer environment, and it can't be better than my DAC. It does not have the analog stage of my X or Y DAC, and it can't be that good. It does not have the fancy (5-digit priced) clock on my DAC, so it can't be taken seriously. The resistance from quite a few people here so far has been so big, that they refuse to pop in the XDMI analog card they have on hand and have a listen to it.”

you say “A lot of pushback... and yet, almost everyone who dared to listen to the XDMI analog card has decided to stay with it and sell their previous favorite DAC. That includes a wide range of what were considered state-of-the-art DACs ranging from $50K to $150K and from quite a few really good manufacturers.”

Hope we don't engage in such inquiry or debate regarding insinuations, motives or justifications. Members should be able to freely express their opinions, as long as they are not directed to specific persons or expressed in bad faith. Nobody (including a manufacturer) owns the "truth". The so-called "data points" (implying objective facts) are mere personal views; what sounds good to you may not sound good to me. Let's leave it at that.

 

always appreciate your posts as i’m sure we all do. it is noteworthy imho you did not mention comps to Horizon 360 via xdmi.

also you say “We can already see massive resistance by a lot of people here. It does not have my favorite tube, so it can't match my current DAC. It does not have XX DAC chips (5000?) in parallel, so it can't be good. It's just a small board in a very noisy computer environment, and it can't be better than my DAC. It does not have the analog stage of my X or Y DAC, and it can't be that good. It does not have the fancy (5-digit priced) clock on my DAC, so it can't be taken seriously. The resistance from quite a few people here so far has been so big, that they refuse to pop in the XDMI analog card they have on hand and have a listen to it.”

Really do not know what “massive” resistance that you are referring to? or “resistance has been so big that they refuse to pop in the XDMI analog card”’…. are you implying SteveW? others?

Many of us are just hoping for an honest comp between analog XDMI out versus Digital XDMI out to Horizon or MSB compatible XDMI. would never describe this as “massive resistance” or some refusal to believe.

you say “A lot of pushback... and yet, almost everyone who dared to listen to the XDMI analog card has decided to stay with it and sell their previous favorite DAC. That includes a wide range of what were considered state-of-the-art DACs ranging from $50K to $150K and from quite a few really good manufacturers.”

almost everyone? “dared”? Has anyone sold their Lampizator or MSB xdmi compatible dacs? have they said olympus analog out is superior to them? Please share as noone has posted that here. Have you done those comparisons?

I wouldn’t take this as an affront or an insult because I think we all agree that at the end of the day, once again it comes down to one’s personal preference

I’m a tube guy. That’s my preference so for me the Taiko digital card to my ears using the KBL Supreme XDMI cable is the best digital my ears have ever heard “ in my system “

I know we will get a listen to the analogue card and it will indeed sound spectacular and perhaps o might be swayed but I’m loving what I hear now. I do know several here who as I stated are lurkers and have heard both and their nod is also the digital card but I cannot convince them to post.

 

I wish I had a 1/10th of Vassil's @nenon knowledge, its impressive to say the least. I don't want to speak for @ctydwn but I think he wanted a wider perspective...

 

There's room for everyone..
Remember, the Tardis is bigger on the inside.

 

We should take the electric school bus, A Ken Kesey reenactment...It would then truly be "The Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test"...

Would a blue VW bus with TARDIS license plates suffice? Could time travel through the desert to Vegas. A similar trip, just backward. Bring your camera. I know it's been a while.

We could pick up Vassil before the Field of Dreams, because somebody has to drive the bus.

 

Everyone seems to agree the Olympus is better than the Extreme regardless of how you configure it, so I don't see a big deal either way. I do, however, believe there was an agenda to go after the MSB Select 2, aggressively, and the resulting report, to me, was not convincing. There are just so many variables, and the music seemed cherry-picked. I like the way Steve W continues to express his preference, and I think @ray-dude did the most thorough job advocating for the new tech. FWIW

 

There's room for everyone..
Remember, the Tardis is bigger on the inside.

Yes, plenty of seats available on this Magical...
Ah nevermind, lol.

 

Would a blue VW bus with TARDIS license plates suffice? Could time travel through the desert to Vegas. A similar trip, just backward. Bring your camera. I know it's been a while.

We could pick up Vassil before the Field of Dreams, because somebody has to drive the bus.

Sure that will work. Having an analog photographer will be so appropriate! I can do some infrared time exposures...

 

At the end of the day, it is one's own ears that are decisive for oneself. Somebody may have more tech knowledge or skills, but his ears are not mine, and the kind of music he listens to is not my kind (and in the same genre of classical music, I find myself often in disagreement with, say, David Hurwitz of Classicstoday.com, who has made a big name for himself and has more "tech" knowledge in music). He is perhaps more passionate (at least subconsciously or even unconsciously) partly because he is a dealer, has a special affiliation with a business or has an interest to promote for himself (all legitimate as long as he is honest about disclosure). Unless one cannot decide without a guide, guru, leader to anchor oneself, why should he expect that somebody to be perfect, all-knowing and all-true?

 

Many of us are just hoping for an honest comp between analog XDMI out versus Digital XDMI out to Horizon or MSB compatible XDMI.

Agreed, there is indeed a great hunger for this vital comparison. But we really need to be patient.

There are only a few lucky souls who have:
- received their Olympi
- have MSB or H360 DACs
- have burned in their XDMI Analog daughter cards
- have burned in their XDMI Digital Lampi/MSB daughter cards
- have the motivation and skill to do the surgery to swap the daughter cards a few times to do A/B comparisons.

Those of us on this thread who are more technical and/or comfortable with computers may consider the last point no big deal, but for many, even the simple act of swapping daughter cards is a daunting proposition. I consider myself in the technical/skilled category, but even I had some choice swear words when I was bent over trying to align the six bolts on the back to fasten the XDMI card securely. And if you have to move the O and I/O to do this, there's the 130lb weight problem.

The point of all this is, we would hope that the lucky few would be more proactive in doing these comparisons (yesterday!) but let's give them some grace and understanding. This is NOT as easy as swapping cables, and so we just have to be patient until somebody with enough motivation gets around to doing this.

I should also mention that the Taiko community is a union of at least 2 sets of people:
- those who would love for XDMI Analog to render their current DACs redundant, thus mitigating the cost of the O by selling their DACs and
- those who would love for the XDMI digital interface to take their existing beloved DACs to new heights of performance. These folks aren't really looking to replace their beloved DACs, so would likely not be very motivated to do the comparison with XDMI Analog.

Both these groups can coexist, and the happy truth is that both groups are buying (or want to buy) Olympi. And that ultimately, is what we wish for Taiko's continued success!

 

I agree. When someone is intense, it gives pause, especially when it involves a sale

I was not insinuating against Vassil. I had the pleasure of speaking with him twice. Even though I have not purchased anything from him, I have the gut feeling that he is an honest and reliable dealer (so is Fred Ainsley). I was impressed by his passion and friendliness but could see that he had his preference or "bias" (who does not?) - I would hope that he can try himself the cables I recommend to him - but he is somebody I'd love to meet with and his system is one I'd love to experience (if I ever find myself in Chicago; I have never been to and have no intention to go to any tradeshow; I rarely go to a dealer either; just buy and sell over the years, treating audiophile passion as a disease to be guarded against). Continue to believe that if one cares too much about SQ (which could become an end in itself, an endless process, one could not have time and patience to appreciate the wealth and depth of classical music.