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".

 

This is a better pic...Up close it's a definite different surface...

 

Yes the H360 has a different kind of coating with more “texture” , here’s a close up of black:

 

Emile, I assume you are pleased with the powdered coated results and the company has orders to produce more?

 

Yes the H360 has a different kind of coating with more “texture” , here’s a close up of black:

View attachment 147360

This shows it well. Less obvious in silver than black...

 

It’s very difficult capturing the difference between coated and anodised accurately on camera.

Coated is mainly slightly more light reflective and a bit of a deeper black:

On the photos:

Lampizator Horizon 360 (coated)
Coated Olympus
Anodised Olympus
MSB Reference (anodised)

View attachment 147343

View attachment 147344

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View attachment 147346

Send them to me - I won’t charge☝ !!!

/ Jk

 

Thanks for the efforts to show the differences!

The Horizon coating looks to be less refined (larger grain than the coated Oly). Is that what you see in person? I prefer the finer grain on the Oly.

But It’s pretty much impossible to show these fine differences without carefully set up identical lighting and a higher resolution camera.

From what I can tell, the coating and anodizing is so close that it would make sense to choose whichever one has the most consistent quality control.

 

A video captures it best. I’ve uploaded one to wetransfer as if I upload it to youtube it gets compressed too much and the differences disappear:

https://we.tl/t-5ci5TQCBws

 

Thanks for the pics Emile, it's good to hear the powder had such a good success rate. Are we still waiting for silver powder coated samples?

 

Thanks for the efforts to show the differences!

The Horizon coating looks to be less refined (larger grain than the coated Oly). Is that what you see in person? I prefer the finer grain on the Oly.

But It’s pretty much impossible to show these fine differences without carefully set up identical lighting and a higher resolution camera.

From what I can tell, the coating and anodizing is so close that it would make sense to choose whichever one has the most consistent quality control.

To me it looks like the coating on the Horizon was chosen deliberately, it gives it a more "retro" vibe, the "glittery" effect matches well with tubes. The black coating on the Olympus does indeed have a "finer/smoother" texture which matches the Oly design better.

It is indeed close, for me it's an eeny, meeny, miny, moe, the 2 other audiophiles present here, @Christiaan Punter and @audioquattr, both prefer the coated version.

 

Thanks for the pics Emile, it's good to hear the powder had such a good success rate. Are we still waiting for silver powder coated samples?

We have one but it’s a no for me, the surface isn’t smooth enough and too glossy. They’re going to try something else (coated on the left):

 

Thanks Emile! Fingers crossed they can eventually meet your quality standards..

 

Emile, I assume you are pleased with the powdered coated results and the company has orders to produce more?

Yes we've send them a double batch. Fingers crossed.

Pleased, well, in all honesty, I just really would have preferred to have just one type of finish. So I have mixed feelings on that.

With that said, there's no denying they do look good, even preferred by those who’ve seen it in the flesh.

The anodised black chassis on the photo came back in from the new anodising company though, and as you can (maybe) see, they did this one right. They also send us silver chassis, which appear to look good too, in artificial light, will need to check them in daylight tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the efforts to show the differences!

The Horizon coating looks to be less refined (larger grain than the coated Oly). Is that what you see in person? I prefer the finer grain on the Oly.

But It’s pretty much impossible to show these fine differences without carefully set up identical lighting and a higher resolution camera.

From what I can tell, the coating and anodizing is so close that it would make sense to choose whichever one has the most consistent quality control.

My preference is silver anodized. If some prefer powder coated, and Taiko wants to offer both, so be it, as long as Taiko can juggle two finishes. Perhaps this is an avenue going forward to clear the backlog...