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".

 

Thanks for the explanation Vassil, you had many of us wondering "what the Hell is that" At first I thought it was an optical illusion...

These were really just behind-the-scenes photos taken during the setup, John.

The key takeaways are:

1. Glass is very bad.
2. Always use four footers, placed under the original Taiko footers. The original Taiko footers can be removed, as CMS recommends - worth experimenting with that.
3. I’m very impressed with these Hifistay footers and plan to bring some home to explore further (whether they worked so well because of the glass or in general). I’ll have the exact model later today.

 

These were really just behind-the-scenes photos taken during the setup, John.

The key takeaways are:

1. Glass is very bad.
2. Always use four footers, placed under the original Taiko footers. The original Taiko footers can be removed, as CMS recommends - worth experimenting with that.
3. I’m very impressed with these Hifistay footers and plan to bring some home to explore further (whether they worked so well because of the glass or in general). I’ll have the exact model later today.

I have an idea I'm going to experiment with this spring. I shared a little with Marc @RUIN*ish. Concrete Discs, steel inside, with Sorbothane Pads. Meant for both Olympus/IO...1.25" thick, 5" across...

 

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to give you all a quick update before the weekend rolls in! I think it's only fair to keep you in the loop.

We’ve just received a fresh batch from our new anodiser. I haven’t had the chance to inspect everything fully yet, but so far, it looks like a solid batch. We’ll be shipping out some servers to our dangerous goods specialist on Monday (Silver and Black), and then they'll head out for delivery. The Monday after, we’ll also be shipping at least 5 more, or more depending on how the rest of the batch checks out.

The reason I’m posting now is that I previously mentioned we were testing powder-coated versions of the Olympus model. Well, the first test run has come in, and it’s looking really promising! You can see the photos below. So far, we’ve only been able to test black, as we’re waiting for a specific type of coating to arrive for the silver version. That should be in after the weekend, and we’ll test it right away.

Personally (and I know Emile agrees), we’re really happy with how the test turned out. We actually prefer the coated version!

The best part about switching to powder coating is that it significantly boosts our yield, from about 50% to around 95%. I’d really appreciate your thoughts, especially from those of you waiting for a black Olympus. Let me know what you think based on the pictures (and feel free to share your personal preferences).

I totally understand if some of you prefer the anodised look, but if not, we’re open to moving forward with the coated version to speed up the process. This would shorten the wait for anodised versions since we’d have more options available.

I’m testing out different approaches to streamline things, but I’m not an audiophile (yet—Emile keeps teasing me), so I don’t have all the fine-tuned knowledge of what audiophiles might prefer. As a musician, my setup is a bit of a mix-and-match of what sounds best, with a splash of all the colours that exist. So, your input is super valuable, and with it, I can continue working to get everyone’s Olympus out as quickly as possible.

Right now, we’re able to build about 10–15 units a week (if the yield allows it), and we still have about 94 orders to go. So, my goal is to have everything shipped out within the next 10–15 weeks (I tend to be on the cautious side with these predictions).

I don’t usually check the forum (nothing personal, Steve! I’m just focused on the project at the moment), but I’ll make an effort to read your replies this weekend.

Thanks so much, everyone!

 

Do you have any images of a black anodized Olympus for comparison?

 

Do you have any images of a black anodized Olympus for comparison?

It's good that you ask that, one of these is anodised and one of these is coated.

 

Well, as far as I'm concerned, I'm waiting for an Olympus in black, if this new system is faster, it's perfect for me.

 

It's good that you ask that, one of these is anodised and one of these is coated.

that speaks volumes. Kudos Julien and to the Taiko team

 

My guess is that if the powder coat looks fabulous, most would be happy if it results in faster delivery times.

Most companies do not expose all the sordid details, and I don’t expect there will be many who feel cheated “Joe got his anodized, mine is powder coated” because few if any will compare side by side. Will it matter in the used market — I doubt it unless one finish is durable and the other is not.

And most companies would, at best, simply state “all our newest products have the finest, most durable, state of the art powder coated finish available in black or silver. For an upcharge (and additional wait time) we can also offer custom colors.”

Sometimes in business its best not to expose the making of the sausage!

If the finish passes Emile’s high standards I’m sure it’ll pass my own. Bring on the Olympus! (Plural of Olympus… Olympuses? Olympi?)

 

@JulienVermeiren thank you for the update and the pictures. From the photos, it looks good!

As @Bobvin notes, personally my main concern is durability of powder coating vs anodizing. Is there expected to be a meaningful difference? Certainly if the coat starts peeling or wearing faster than anodized then that would be the bigger issue.

I do not have an anodized switch/router but potentially that could also cause somewhat of a mismatch if perceivable.

Another question @JulienVermeiren - many of us, myself included, switched our orders from silver to black many months ago as it was understood that black anodizing was not having the same degree of issues as silver. I have not seen accelerated deliveries of black so far - did that make any difference in terms of delivery times? or are silver and black anodizing both experiencing the same complications now?

 

Rajiv, are these listening impressions with the analog XDMI cards?

Yes, only XDMI Analog.

 

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to give you all a quick update before the weekend rolls in! I think it's only fair to keep you in the loop.

We’ve just received a fresh batch from our new anodiser. I haven’t had the chance to inspect everything fully yet, but so far, it looks like a solid batch. We’ll be shipping out some servers to our dangerous goods specialist on Monday (Silver and Black), and then they'll head out for delivery. The Monday after, we’ll also be shipping at least 5 more, or more depending on how the rest of the batch checks out.

The reason I’m posting now is that I previously mentioned we were testing powder-coated versions of the Olympus model. Well, the first test run has come in, and it’s looking really promising! You can see the photos below. So far, we’ve only been able to test black, as we’re waiting for a specific type of coating to arrive for the silver version. That should be in after the weekend, and we’ll test it right away.

Personally (and I know Emile agrees), we’re really happy with how the test turned out. We actually prefer the coated version!

The best part about switching to powder coating is that it significantly boosts our yield, from about 50% to around 95%. I’d really appreciate your thoughts, especially from those of you waiting for a black Olympus. Let me know what you think based on the pictures (and feel free to share your personal preferences).

I totally understand if some of you prefer the anodised look, but if not, we’re open to moving forward with the coated version to speed up the process. This would shorten the wait for anodised versions since we’d have more options available.

I’m testing out different approaches to streamline things, but I’m not an audiophile (yet—Emile keeps teasing me), so I don’t have all the fine-tuned knowledge of what audiophiles might prefer. As a musician, my setup is a bit of a mix-and-match of what sounds best, with a splash of all the colours that exist. So, your input is super valuable, and with it, I can continue working to get everyone’s Olympus out as quickly as possible.

Right now, we’re able to build about 10–15 units a week (if the yield allows it), and we still have about 94 orders to go. So, my goal is to have everything shipped out within the next 10–15 weeks (I tend to be on the cautious side with these predictions).

I don’t usually check the forum (nothing personal, Steve! I’m just focused on the project at the moment), but I’ll make an effort to read your replies this weekend.

Thanks so much, everyone!

View attachment 146207View attachment 146208View attachment 146209View attachment 146210View attachment 146211View attachment 146212

Thanks for the update Julien, silver is my colour but beyond that I don't care what technology is used to create it, as long as its durable (as others have said).

 

That’s a very good and fair question. The photo was taken at the end of the day when the room was somewhat dialed in (there was no point in playing with footers before that). Just before leaving, I wanted to experiment with isolation between the Olympus and the glass.

I found these Hifistay footers, but we only had three of them. I placed them just to see if they would make a difference, and the improvement was massive - even in a show environment. The importer of these products mentioned that he had more footers, which I’ll be getting in the morning. My plan is to install four today, preferably four under the I/O, and possibly something on the network stack at the bottom. Glass shelves are really bad!

Placing footers anywhere other than under the original Taiko footers is risky, as these chassis are very heavy. I was, of course, careful about where I placed that one footer and ensured it wouldn’t cause any damage, even though it was only temporary. Ideally, footers shouldn’t be positioned like that on the Olympus, but in this case, it’s actually okay. What’s more critical is to avoid doing this under the I/O when the I/O and the Olympus are stacked together.

I use 4 footers under my stacked O/IO around the stock footers and agree uptick is massive. As nenon says you need to be careful where they go

 

If anodized and powder coated versions sound equally fantastic , sounds like a great move! Both look beautiful to me.

 

I think it would be helpful, if possible to see higher rez photos comparing the anodized black to the powder coated black in the same light.

My 2cent opinion/suggestion would be to continue producing the Black in anodized, assuming the success rate is in the 90% + range.

And if the keeper rate on Silver is 75% or less anodized, switch it over solely to powder coating.

That being said, I doubt it would be possible to notice the difference between an anodized and powder coated server from more than a few inches away.

 

Taiko Olympus + I/O at the Florida Audio Expo.

View attachment 146173

View attachment 146174

(Stay away from glass shelves under the Olympus)

Really crossing my fingers that the YGs are getting the sufficient power that they would require in that system….

 

Can anyone help me here? My Olympus and I/O arrived and just got installed in my equipment racks, to be paired via XDMI into my MSB Cascade DAC.

This is as far as I could figure out. What do I connect next? Where is the XDMI connection?

For now I’m just skipping the router/switch to get it started BTW.

 

It looks as though your I/O was shipped with the analog DAC daughterboard and not the MSB XDMI board. If you were also sent the MSB XDMI board you will have to swap it in.

 

This was also in the box

It looks as though your I/O was shipped with the analog DAC daughterboard and not the MSB XDMI board. If you were also sent the MSB XDMI board you will have to swap it in.

I was also sent this …

 

This was also in the box

I was also sent this …View attachment 146239

That looks like the standard digital card. Did you order the MSB XDMI card?

 

My MSB board looks like this (for Olympus, assuming the same). The back plate, of course: