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".

 

On the server side it would only entail swapping the AES/EBU daughterboard.

correct....and what is going to be the cost of a replacement daughterboard?

 

Emile, if I remember correctly the Olympus is a mixture of aluminium (outer casing) and copper (part of the inside): Does that mean our beloved Daizas are still a good starting point as they are targeted at aluminium vibrations (not good for copper though) or would you recommend not using the Daiza?
What are you placing the Olmypus on yourself… my guess is on the upcoming waffle maker (of course switched ON) which provides a heated air cushion - hovercraft style.

 

A big part of this "equation" is XDMS-NSM which many people have yet to hear. After installing the switch/router/DCD combo Roon sounded better to me than XDMS. However, NSM sounds much better than Roon which has elevated things to a new level. When people add this to their setup I think they will start to fully appreciate and understand all the work Taiko has been doing.

 

And on that note, the advancement in sound from the contributions of the switch, DCD power supply, router and NSM is absolutely audibly incredible. Easily 50% increase on top of the original Extreme. Arguably 100%. To think Olympus tops this by a substantial margin, i just cannot wrap my head around yet. Is this like amazing car phones from the late 80s jumping to today’s bluetooth enabled calling? Not sure what the appropriate analogy is but this really does feel like a new chapter in hifi audio in serious suspenseful prologue, low key Taiko style

 

correct....and what is going to be the cost of a replacement daughterboard?

I cannot tell you that, it will depend on development cost divided by expected number of sales + parts cost and DAC manufacturer expenses, but I cannot imagine it coming anywhere near XDMI cost which has truly been a huge effort.

 

Emile, if I remember correctly the Olympus is a mixture of aluminium (outer casing) and copper (part of the inside): Does that mean our beloved Daizas are still a good starting point as they are targeted at aluminium vibrations (not good for copper though) or would you recommend not using the Daiza?
What are you placing the Olmypus on yourself… my guess is on the upcoming waffle maker (of course switched ON) which provides a heated air cushion - hovercraft style.

I’ll retry that when I get a chance but the last time I tried it was negative. I have it on the floor currently..

 

What is the output connector for the xdmi digital output (dd) daughter board?

Marc

 

I’ll retry that when I get a chance but the last time I tried it was negative. I have it on the floor currently..

Alright. Either way would be fine, because I could re-use the Daizas from the Extreme and DAC and put them under my monos.

 

What is the output connector for the xdmi digital output (dd) daughter board?

Marc

We actually have 2 versions right now:

RCA+BNC
RCA+AES/EBU

But we’re just looking into integrating them so we have all 3 on one board, should be quite easy.

 

Yes, same card, USB performance from the Olympus is similar to adding this to your Extreme:

Olympus I/O to add to an Extreme server: € 20.800 (return your old USB and Network card)

Hi Emile, May I know how to connect Extreme to Olympus I/O?

 

Hi Emile, May I know how to connect Extreme to Olympus I/O?

With these 2 interface cards and a pair of QFSP cables.

 

A big part of this "equation" is XDMS-NSM which many people have yet to hear. After installing the switch/router/DCD combo Roon sounded better to me than XDMS. However, NSM sounds much better than Roon which has elevated things to a new level. When people add this to their setup I think they will start to fully appreciate and understand all the work Taiko has been doing.

The most impressive improvement in my system is NSM too. It's indeed a game changer.

 

We actually have 2 versions right now:

RCA+BNC
RCA+AES/EBU

But we’re just looking into integrating them so we have all 3 on one board, should be quite easy.

Yes Please.
I dont use RCA as This has 50 ohm connectors.
Only BNC is a true spidf with correct 75 ohm connectors and cable.
Spdif via BNC + AES via XLR
But if all 3 will be there that is ideal for everyone I believe

 

With these 2 interface cards and a pair of QFSP cables.

View attachment 122472

Actually I belive Emile wanted to say there are 2 PAIRS of This interface cards
so 4 cards in total. 2 in Extreme ( or Olympus) and 2 in Olympus IO.

 

XDMI -> I2S -> USB -> USB -> I2S will be inferior to USB -> I2S

MSB will not be Olympus/XDMI ---- XDMI/DAC, but Olympus/XDMI/Pro ISL --- DAC

Totaldac will be Olympus/XDMI/AESEBU --- DAC

DCS will be Olympus/XDMI/dual AESEBU -- DAC with perhaps external clocking options (unless they're interested in adopting XDMI natively, which I doubt)

Aries Cerat and Lampizator are interested in adopting XDMI natively

For the rest we'll have to see how things develop. There's a limit to what we can handle simultaneously.

Hi Emile, I am a dCS user. Now I use Extreme USB out to Vivaldi upsampler and upsampler Dual AES out to Vivaldi DAC. If I use Olympus/XDMI/ single AESEBU to Vivaldi upsampler in the future, it can support PCM up to 192k and Dop DSD/64?

Thanks.

 

Actually I belive Emile wanted to say there are 2 PAIRS of This interface cards
so 4 cards in total. 2 in Extreme ( or Olympus) and 2 in Olympus IO.

The Olympus IO side is different.

 

Hi Emile, I am a dCS user. Now I use Extreme USB out to Vivaldi upsampler and upsampler Dual AES out to Vivaldi DAC. If I use Olympus/XDMI/ single AESEBU to Vivaldi upsampler in the future, it can support PCM up to 192k and Dop DSD/64?

Thanks.

Yes, but we do have Dual AES/EBU on the to-do list.

 

Yes, but we do have Dual AES/EBU on the to-do list.

Sounds great. But Vivaldi upsampler only has a single AES/EBU input.

 

Sounds great. But Vivaldi upsampler only has a single AES/EBU input.

Well you’re all set then

 

I there any chance that in 3 months when the Olympus and OIO XDMI ships it will ship with finished native daughterboard and native XDMI input module for horizon?