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".

 

Have anyone got their Olympus yet, or when is it released?

How much better than the Taiko Server will it be?

Weight of the box? The price is crazy high, so I am curious on how it´s motivated

 

Have anyone got their Olympus yet, or when is it released?

Not yet, but soon !

How much better than the Taiko Server will it be?

here's a start:

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...

www.whatsbestforum.com

Weight of the box? The price is crazy high, so I am curious on how it´s motivated

Most of the information you'll need can be found here :

https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Olympus-and-Olympus-IO-Introduction-FAQ_v015.x80569.pdf

 

thanks!

 

thanks!

I tried to do a little visual summary a couple of months ago.

I refer to a number of posts : you will find there some of the information you might need.

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...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

I think we can all hear the entire Taiko team working overtime on Olympii!
While I am sure many of us are beyond excited, just wishing the Taiko team hopefully some rest, good health, pacing as new frontiers are broken and everything gets tested, etc. We aren't going anywhere even if with bated breath.

 

I´m curious offcourse, so maybe I am confused, but

1) How much does the Olympus weigh (1box) in kg?

2) How do I attach my HDD with music? In Taiko Extreme, there is internal hdd:s

3) Does it include a DAC?

4) If I want to start with the "basic" model is that ok, so I can upgrade later? I dont understand the different solutions (set ups).

Thanks

 

I´m curious offcourse, so maybe I am confused, but

1) How much does the Olympus weigh (1box) in kg?

2) How do I attach my HDD with music? In Taiko Extreme, there is internal hdd:s

3) Does it include a DAC?

4) If I want to start with the "basic" model is that ok, so I can upgrade later? I dont understand the different solutions (set ups).

Thanks

1: Olympus Server = ~ 60kg.
2: Olympus Server has internal Disk Storage.
3: Olympus XDMI Server comes with two modules, one for digital outputs and one containing a DAC and analog outputs.
4: Yes, all models can be upgraded or added to later.

 

"Silence is golden" unless you're waiting for the Olympus ! How close is team Taiko's first ship date for Olympus ?

 

"Silence is golden" unless you're waiting for the Olympus ! How close is team Taiko's first ship date for Olympus ?

The production revision of XDMI arrived yesterday! The power supply PCBs have shipped and are scheduled to arrive next week.

Altogether this is later than initially projected because we had to increase the order sizes from 25 sets to 150 sets, IOW it delays the initial batch but shaves months of the wait time for people who didn't order inside the first 12 hours. We should be able to produce all 150 Olympus servers inside of 3 months in stead of 6. Photos and video of the Olympus I/O XDMI PCB stack:





View attachment ae16f7db-1906-4136-b920-68b83a5fec55.mov

 

A few manufacturing snapshots:

The AC-DC power supply (which serves as the battery charger):









This will be mounted in the left rear side (photo direction view) of the chassis, this is on the other side relative to the Extreme:



Being the top left here:

 

The production revision of XDMI arrived yesterday! The power supply PCBs have shipped and are scheduled to arrive next week.

Altogether this is later than initially projected because we had to increase the order sizes from 25 sets to 150 sets, IOW it delays the initial batch but shaves months of the wait time for people who didn't order inside the first 12 hours. We should be able to produce all 150 Olympus servers inside of 3 months in stead of 6. Photos and video of the Olympus I/O XDMI PCB stack:

View attachment 127670

View attachment 127671

If one uses XDMI natively to a Lampizator DAC that supports XDMI, is the long board the only one used?

 

The recent team reinforcements should free me up to spend some more time on content creation

 

If one uses XDMI natively to a Lampizator DAC that supports XDMI, is the long board the only one used?

For that you only replace the small square shaped daughterboard stacked on top.

 

For that you only replace the small square shaped daughterboard stacked on top.

Ahh, so, native XDMI uses a daughter board too.

 

Ahh, so, native XDMI uses a daughter board too.

Yes, all current and upcoming interface options will be daughterboards.

Left digital output daughterboard, right analog output daughterboard:

 

XDMI I/O interface PCIe card:

 

from 72 KG / 158 lbs to 11.9 KG / 26 lbs:

 

The recent team reinforcements should free me up to spend some more time on content creation

Is that reading out stories to your kids? No point freeing up time in a time-intensive job if you're not gonna invest that with the family.

 

welcome back Emile. Seems the elves at Oldenzaal are very busy now. Looking forward to more updates

 

We changed the LED indicators to being as unobtrusive as possible (visible underneath Taiko Audio) :