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".

 

Percentages are open to interpretation and have the disadvantage of having a maximum of 100, and I do not want to resort to using values such as 110%, 150%... The chosen words were intended as an indication of an increasing scale. In any case, I have now modified the diagram to contain no words or percentages.

Good point
But a scale would work, no interpretation needed

 

Hi Emile, thanks for clarifying that @Moladiego is using the Extreme server — I had been under the impression it was an Olympus. And Olympus, really, to me at least, is all about FLAC files from the cloud and NAS instead of WAV files from a local drive. So in that context, focusing on local WAV playback feels a bit out of place.

I don’t understand why discussing WAV files from an Olympus Nas is out of place on this Olympus thread?

I believe @cat6man mentioned that he has heard the difference between Flac and WAV on the Olympus as well as the Extreme.

I also may recall there was some discussion of whether streamed Flac files could potentially someday be converted to WAV. Or is that just a wishful hallucination on my part?

 

The abundance of additional information discussed on this forum is often preliminary and fresh from Emile's mind, or very case-specific and frequently unsuitable for a manual.

...when I read something that I feel is noteworthy, or helpful to me or my use-case, I copy it and paste it into a Notepad file on my phone. The file title helps me identify it. I also add my own note/comment, as applicable. Sometimes, over time, it's not so important any longer, or has been superseded by new info, so I delete it.

This info seems to find its way into manuals, FAQs, etc. eventually, but that is how I manage this content for my own reference and use. Saves me from awkward search-guesses and miles of back-and-forth posts that don't have tech or use info I prefer. Works for me.

 

File transfer from local drives is inferior to TCP/IP transfer on the Olympus when combined with the router.

This is due to a protocol limitation—we cannot modify the local drive protocol to a sufficient degree. However, we can manipulate the TCP/IP data stream to a more meaningful extent.

A NAS acts like a local storage to tcp/ip transfer converter.

The DCD is mentioned because it appears to be a critical component for achieving audiophile-level sound quality with the vast majority of “audiophile” power supplies on the market. If your power supply is of high enough quality, the DCD may not offer an upgrade and can be omitted. That said, I have yet to encounter one that meets that threshold. I would have expected several companies to have incorporated this technology into their designs by now. It seems we are among the most copied companies in the space—but oddly, not in this particular area, despite the fact that it’s not rocket science. Clean power is however more or less a requirement with SFP copper DAC (Direct-Attach) links, which is why we keep mentioning it.

The switch is not mentioned, as it’s not a critical component in achieving this goal—it has no intelligence that affects the data stream.

By the way, this mechanism is why XDMS performs worse than Roon on the Olympus + Router/DCD setup. Bypassing this mechanism would require a significant rewrite of one of XDMS’s core systems. As an alternative, we’ll be offering UPnP support soon. It’s actually ready, but we’re holding off on release to create some breathing room in our current workload, which continues to shift. At the moment, I’m spending most of my time sourcing critical components that went out of stock in many regions after the tariffs were announced.

Maybe it is just me and maybe I'm easy to please but I have to admit that I have followed Emile's advice in this thread from its very inception as to advice. I use the Taiko router , switch and DCD and ordered my Olympus without any internal storage. I leave my Olympus on 24 x 7 and never worry as to what the Taiko app says about % battery storage. All I know is that everything works. I did take Emile's advice and bought a better LPS to power the DCD (Switch and Router) and indeed the sound was better. I also use an external NAS that is powered by the LPS. this was for me a labor of love because frankly I have stopped caring about what format file I am listening to, nor do I worry if my battery on the morning says 97% and not 100%. What counts from is the sound and frankly even though I have 16TB of music on my NAS I rarely play this as for my ears using Roon and streaming, the sound is frankly better than any digital I have heard heretofore. As Emile has said this thread has devolved into so many directions that what used to be a daily first read for me is not any more as there are just too many what ifs, and can I and how much better in % SQ is one format over another. Everyone who is enjoying their Olympus should IMO just sit back and enjoy the music and stop perseverating about all of the comparisons because all it seems to do is create consternation amongst readers of this thread which for me is so convoluted now that I do agree with Emile about starting a new thread .I would almost suggest however that this thread be strictly informational with bullet points and closed to comment. I agree about wav vs Flac etc but TBH as I have stated the enjoyment I get from Roon and streaming is such that all the rest of this just doesn't matter. Why do members who still use an Extreme and are awaiting their Olympus try to suggest what should be done to an already exceptional piece of equipment. For me now this has been a set it and forget it. It's all about the music. Put your legs up, sit back and enjoy. As a final caveat I I must admit that I do miss XDMS but Roon with the Olympus is so good that at the moment this matters not. I did read Emile's post about the shortcomings XDMS has when used in the Olympus but I do have faith that if Ed and his team find the path to make XDMS happen in the Olympus I do know that it will be better than Roon. You Extreme users are lucky IMO to have XDMS but for me at the moment life is too short to second guess Taiko about % improvements because once again for my ears there is just nothing better than the Olympus/ IO. I no longer compare file format when I create a playlist as I used to. My O/IO always brings a smile to my face whatever I play

 

Good point
But a scale would work, no interpretation needed

Scale good.
Words bad.
% misleading.
Brevity good.

 

Maybe it is just me and maybe I'm easy to please but I have to admit that I have followed Emile's advice in this thread from its very inception as to advice. I use the Taiko router , switch and DCD and ordered my Olympus without any internal storage. I leave my Olympus on 24 x 7 and never worry as to what the Taiko app says about % battery storage. All I know is that everything works. I did take Emile's advice and bought a better LPS to power the DCD (Switch and Router) and indeed the sound was better. I also use an external NAS that is powered by the LPS. this was for me a labor of love because frankly I have stopped caring about what format file I am listening to, nor do I worry if my battery on the morning says 97% and not 100%. What counts from is the sound and frankly even though I have 16TB of music on my NAS I rarely play this as for my ears using Roon and streaming, the sound is frankly better than any digital I have heard heretofore. As Emile has said this thread has devolved into so many directions that what used to be a daily first read for me is not any more as there are just too many what ifs, and can I and how much better in % SQ is one format over another. Everyone who is enjoying their Olympus should IMO just sit back and enjoy the music and stop perseverating about all of the comparisons because all it seems to do is create consternation amongst readers of this thread which for me is so convoluted now that I do agree with Emile about starting a new thread .I would almost suggest however that this thread be strictly informational with bullet points and closed to comment. I agree about wav vs Flac etc but TBH as I have stated the enjoyment I get from Roon and streaming is such that all the rest of this just doesn't matter. Why do members who still use an Extreme and are awaiting their Olympus try to suggest what should be done to an already exceptional piece of equipment. For me now this has been a set it and forget it. It's all about the music. Put your legs up, sit back and enjoy. As a final caveat I I must admit that I do miss XDMS but Roon with the Olympus is so good that at the moment this matters not. I did read Emile's post about the shortcomings XDMS has when used in the Olympus but I do have faith that if Ed and his team find the path to make XDMS happen in the Olympus I do know that it will be better than Roon. You Extreme users are lucky IMO to have XDMS but for me at the moment life is too short to second guess Taiko about % improvements because once again for my ears there is just nothing better than the Olympus/ IO. I no longer compare file format when I create a playlist as I used to. My O/IO always brings a smile to my face whatever I play

I listen to music every day and am happy with what I'm hearing. I try to keep my perseverating at a minimum, but Audiophiles will keep audiophiling and manufacturers will keep improving and innovating. In a competitive environment, not to do so can have grave consequences.

So, I think it is a wonderful thing that companies like Taiko are exploring every corner to keep improving digital playback-- such as whether or not WAV sounds better than Flac, developing the V2 dac, and on and on.

 

File transfer from local drives is inferior to TCP/IP transfer on the Olympus when combined with the router.

This is due to a protocol limitation—we cannot modify the local drive protocol to a sufficient degree. However, we can manipulate the TCP/IP data stream to a more meaningful extent.

A NAS acts like a local storage to tcp/ip transfer converter.

The DCD is mentioned because it appears to be a critical component for achieving audiophile-level sound quality with the vast majority of “audiophile” power supplies on the market. If your power supply is of high enough quality, the DCD may not offer an upgrade and can be omitted. That said, I have yet to encounter one that meets that threshold. I would have expected several companies to have incorporated this technology into their designs by now. It seems we are among the most copied companies in the space—but oddly, not in this particular area, despite the fact that it’s not rocket science. Clean power is however more or less a requirement with SFP copper DAC (Direct-Attach) links, which is why we keep mentioning it.

The switch is not mentioned, as it’s not a critical component in achieving this goal—it has no intelligence that affects the data stream.

By the way, this mechanism is why XDMS performs worse than Roon on the Olympus + Router/DCD setup. Bypassing this mechanism would require a significant rewrite of one of XDMS’s core systems. As an alternative, we’ll be offering UPnP support soon. It’s actually ready, but we’re holding off on release to create some breathing room in our current workload, which continues to shift. At the moment, I’m spending most of my time sourcing critical components that went out of stock in many regions after the tariffs were announced.

Copying Taiko. There's one in particular that should call themselves, "Shime-Daiko".

 

#92 arrived earlier than expected on Monday. A quick run to Chicago and back lead to a midnight install of the 145 lb. package myself. Oof! This is not a featherweight like the Extreme.

With months of anticipation it was done in a flash. Morning was the first attempt to operate. There was a small glitch to work through and Nenon did not hesitate to assist immediately. A short bit later I was up and running. Much thanks to Nenon and the factory for making this quick work. None better.

I’m running-in with the analog out card. After three plus days of continuous playback, it's improving steadily. It’s been said before, don’t be quick to judge analog out. Initially it was silky smooth, but the sound hit the ditch quickly after. Regardless, it’s easy to hear the potential. Unwavering is the immense spatial presentation with a solid, visceral low end that I’ve never had here before. This will be fun. Micro detail is starting to reappear, but all along I’m hearing new things. Very curious to find out how much farther this goes.

 

Copying Taiko. There's one in particular that should call themselves, "Shime-Daiko".

Tightened drum?

 

#92 arrived earlier than expected on Monday.

FedEx has been all over the place this week!
Several Olympus units were shipped last Friday, and I tracked four of the ones headed to the U.S.:

• @Tuckia’s arrived lightning fast - FedEx was at my door at 8 AM on Monday. Super quick turnaround.
• @dminches’s sat in customs from Saturday through Tuesday with no movement, then suddenly showed “out for delivery” Wednesday morning. FedEx initially delivered it to the wrong address, but thankfully they corrected the mistake.
• A third unit was stuck in customs from Saturday until Thursday. It was finally released last night and is now out for delivery.
• The fourth is still sitting in customs (Memphis, TN), same location as the others, with zero movement - despite multiple calls and emails to FedEx.

 

I don’t understand why discussing WAV files from an Olympus Nas is out of place on this Olympus thread?

I believe @cat6man mentioned that he has heard the difference between Flac and WAV on the Olympus as well as the Extreme.

I also may recall there was some discussion of whether streamed Flac files could potentially someday be converted to WAV. Or is that just a wishful hallucination on my part?

I’ve been following Taiko for many years—not as an investor, but as an admirer. Over time, I’ve bookmarked many insightful comments from Emile across various Taiko threads. Looking back at those quotes, my impression is that Taiko has always been clear about their direction. But if I recall correctly, even back in 2023 and 2024, Taiko had already stated they didn’t have much time to compare WAV versus FLAC, as their priority was clearly on optimizing streamed FLAC playback—especially given their investment in the network stack. That seems to have paid off for most users. I’m not saying WAV sounds bad, but unless Taiko decides to implement FLAC-to-WAV conversion as a future enhancement, I personally see this as the natural end of WAV—at least on Olympus. Just reading between the lines of where Taiko is heading.

 

The chart remains valid regardless of whether you have internal storage or not. That said, adding an internal storage drive to the Olympus very slightly degrades overall SQ compared to using no storage and relying solely on a NAS. This is a minute difference, far less than the effect of interlinks or the use or absence of the Switch, or even the DCD alone. But you can hear it on a highly resolving system. The difference is so slight that I opted not to include it in the chart, as it would skew the other increments. Emile rates this at a 1-2% impact, and adds that it is not enough to warrant concern.

I ordered my Olympus #19 with a small internal storage, and I have the Taiko dcd/router/switch, and a NAS. I removed the internal storage and the improvent in sound was very meaningful, it was not slight. So, for anyone who has an Olympus with internal storage and Taiko dcd/router and a NAS, I suggest you remove it (carefully) and hear the effect in your own system.

If your order still in the queue has an internal storage, I suggest you change your order to no internal storage and buy a good NAS (and a good linear power supply and power cable for the power supply).

 

I’ve been following Taiko for many years—not as an investor, but as an admirer. Over time, I’ve bookmarked many insightful comments from Emile across various Taiko threads. Looking back at those quotes, my impression is that Taiko has always been clear about their direction. But if I recall correctly, even back in 2023 and 2024, Taiko had already stated they didn’t have much time to compare WAV versus FLAC, as their priority was clearly on optimizing streamed FLAC playback—especially given their investment in the network stack. That seems to have paid off for most users. I’m not saying WAV sounds bad, but unless Taiko decides to implement FLAC-to-WAV conversion as a future enhancement, I personally see this as the natural end of WAV—at least on Olympus. Just reading between the lines of where Taiko is heading.

Wav file 100% better than Flac in any products. If your ear doesn’t like WAV, then you can use Flac.

 

I ordered my Olympus #19 with a small internal storage, and I have the Taiko dcd/router/switch, and a NAS. I removed the internal storage and the improvent in sound was very meaningful, it was not slight. So, for anyone who has an Olympus with internal storage and Taiko dcd/router and a NAS, I suggest you remove it (carefully) and hear the effect in your own system.

If your order still in the queue has an internal storage, I suggest you change your order to no internal storage and buy a good NAS (and a good linear power supply and power cable for the power supply).

you have to follow Emile's recommendations.

 

I ordered my Olympus #19 with a small internal storage, and I have the Taiko dcd/router/switch, and a NAS. I removed the internal storage and the improvent in sound was very meaningful, it was not slight. So, for anyone who has an Olympus with internal storage and Taiko dcd/router and a NAS, I suggest you remove it (carefully) and hear the effect in your own system.

If your order still in the queue has an internal storage, I suggest you change your order to no internal storage and buy a good NAS (and a good linear power supply and power cable for the power supply).

I still have faith that when the software of the router will be updated, we can obtain a great SQ from a USB disk attached to it.
Emile, whenever possible, please don’t forget this task on your to do list. Thank you.

 

I’m currently waiting for unit #155. I do not own the Extreme, and it’s been a few years since I last listened to streamed music (other than for discovering new music). However, just a couple of extended listening sessions with @austinpop —using the Olympus and the Taiko network stack—were enough to convince me that streamed music can indeed sound excellent. That experience, along with the reassurance that @nenon will be available to provide support in North America, sealed the deal for me. I had listened to Extreme too in the past, as impressive as the Extreme was, it did not sway me the way Olympus + XDMI analog did!

Based on recent posts by @Taiko Audio and @Christiaan Punter , I’m now convinced that I’ll also need to add the DCD and the Router. Even though some information may be buried in manuals or FAQs, for those of us who don’t yet own these components and are trying to make informed decisions, the discussions here are incredibly valuable—even if they sometimes veer off track.

It would be great to have a dedicated, curated thread maintained by the Taiko team—something like a blog—where the latest updates could be shared more clearly in what seems to be a constantly evolving landscape.

I’m not saying WAV sounds bad, but unless Taiko decides to implement FLAC-to-WAV conversion as a future enhancement, I personally see this as the natural end of WAV—at least on Olympus. Just reading between the lines of where Taiko is heading.

Any perceived differences between FLAC and WAV are most likely due to the additional processing required to decompress FLAC. Converting FLAC to WAV on the fly (in memory) and then playing the WAV file offers no added benefit. Once both formats are fully decoded to PCM, they are bit-for-bit identical.

For streaming, FLAC is the only practical option, and I think it was quite savvy of the Taiko team to focus on optimizing for it. Doing so would naturally lead to optimizations in FLAC rendering overall.

When it comes to local playback, using WAV or FLAC introduces another variable—namely, the potential noise or processing overhead associated with reading from local storage. To properly compare FLAC and WAV in this context, playback should ideally be done from a NAS, where these variables can be better isolated.

 

Maybe it is just me and maybe I'm easy to please but I have to admit that I have followed Emile's advice in this thread from its very inception as to advice. I use the Taiko router , switch and DCD and ordered my Olympus without any internal storage. I leave my Olympus on 24 x 7 and never worry as to what the Taiko app says about % battery storage. All I know is that everything works. I did take Emile's advice and bought a better LPS to power the DCD (Switch and Router) and indeed the sound was better. I also use an external NAS that is powered by the LPS. this was for me a labor of love because frankly I have stopped caring about what format file I am listening to, nor do I worry if my battery on the morning says 97% and not 100%. What counts from is the sound and frankly even though I have 16TB of music on my NAS I rarely play this as for my ears using Roon and streaming, the sound is frankly better than any digital I have heard heretofore. As Emile has said this thread has devolved into so many directions that what used to be a daily first read for me is not any more as there are just too many what ifs, and can I and how much better in % SQ is one format over another. Everyone who is enjoying their Olympus should IMO just sit back and enjoy the music and stop perseverating about all of the comparisons because all it seems to do is create consternation amongst readers of this thread which for me is so convoluted now that I do agree with Emile about starting a new thread .I would almost suggest however that this thread be strictly informational with bullet points and closed to comment. I agree about wav vs Flac etc but TBH as I have stated the enjoyment I get from Roon and streaming is such that all the rest of this just doesn't matter. Why do members who still use an Extreme and are awaiting their Olympus try to suggest what should be done to an already exceptional piece of equipment. For me now this has been a set it and forget it. It's all about the music. Put your legs up, sit back and enjoy. As a final caveat I I must admit that I do miss XDMS but Roon with the Olympus is so good that at the moment this matters not. I did read Emile's post about the shortcomings XDMS has when used in the Olympus but I do have faith that if Ed and his team find the path to make XDMS happen in the Olympus I do know that it will be better than Roon. You Extreme users are lucky IMO to have XDMS but for me at the moment life is too short to second guess Taiko about % improvements because once again for my ears there is just nothing better than the Olympus/ IO. I no longer compare file format when I create a playlist as I used to. My O/IO always brings a smile to my face whatever I play

Steve, your post really hit home. You’ve always been a generous presence here—sharing, hosting, and lifting the community. You used to say, “The pearl of the day, Emile.” Well, today you gave me mine. You've clearly arrived. Enjoy it! That joy you describe—that's the goal for all of us.
Thanks for everything you've shared along the way — it's helped more people than you probably know.

 

Wav file 100% better than Flac in any products. If your ear doesn’t like WAV, then you can use Flac.

Thanks for your comment, but I think we're talking about different things. I'm not making a general claim that FLAC is better than WAV or vice versa. My point is more specific:
On the Taiko Olympus, streamed FLAC—thanks to all the optimization in the network stack—can actually sound better than local playback of WAV or FLAC files. That’s not because WAV is “worse,” but because of how Taiko has engineered Olympus, focusing on streamed FLAC performance.

So it’s not about liking or disliking WAV—it’s about how the playback path affects the result, and how Taiko has prioritized that in their design. That’s the nuance I was trying to highlight.

 

My recollection is that it has to do with the power needed for the internal drive. That power affects sound quality. There is no computer power needed for a NAS. It is external to the system.

Also thought I share something @ray-dude shared with me, how a "NAS" doesn't have to be a specialized, multi-drive beast, but can be another computer on the LAN with a shared drive, which is what I plan to do with my main workstation.

 

Also thought I share something @ray-dude shared with me, how a "NAS" doesn't have to be a specialized, 4-drive beast, but can be just another computer on the LAN with a shared drive, which is what I plan to do with my main workstation.

This is my plan too (using my current Audio Linux based server as a temporary NAS) until I can attach a 4TB USB stick to the Router, I do not want to invest in a NAS and everything that goes with it. It also provides the additional benifit and guilty satisfaction of doing a A/B with my current audio chain.