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".

 

Some parts are, others like aren‘t. That‘s why the powercord still has an/some influence.

Emile, not to start a futile powercord discussion, just one general question: Does the guideline that the Extreme prefers high-current „amp“ powercords (vs source specific ones) also apply to the Olympus?

Less so, but power cords which work well with the Extreme work well with the Olympus as well, even though conceptually it sports a completely different power supply.

 

Participation in the XDMS alpha testing program will only be available for Extreme owners.

Future stable versions of XDMS will be available on both the Extreme and the Olympus.

There will not be a testing program for XDMS on the Olympus, when XDMS for Olympus launches it will be a stable fully functional version, that version will not have gapless / track manipulation "issues" as the sound quality enhancing features causing that are solved in hardware in the Olympus. Aka those need to be stripped from XDMS for the Olympus which will make it stable at the same time.

We have a XDMS meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning, we'll post a larger update after that meeting in the more relevant XDMS thread.

Dear Emile,

Thank you very much for the reassurance and additional information.

Sincerely,
Arun

 

Participation in the XDMS alpha testing program will only be available for Extreme owners.

Future stable versions of XDMS will be available on both the Extreme and the Olympus.

There will not be a testing program for XDMS on the Olympus, when XDMS for Olympus launches it will be a stable fully functional version, that version will not have gapless / track manipulation "issues" as the sound quality enhancing features causing that are solved in hardware in the Olympus. Aka those need to be stripped from XDMS for the Olympus which will make it stable at the same time.

We have a XDMS meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning, we'll post a larger update after that meeting in the more relevant XDMS thread.

where does extreme + i/o fit into this with regard to xdms? does the i/o hardware also solve the gapless/track manipulation "issues"?

 

The Olympus IO noise landscape is very different and lower than the Extreme delivering audio data over usb.

The performance of XDMS will be at a new level of realism with Extreme to Olympus IO

 

@EuroDriver is it correct that XDMS will continue to function via USB, albeit with improved SQ you note above, when *only* adding I/O to the Extreme? The delay impacting XDMS for Olympus does not apply? Cheers...

 

Yes, we actually managed to adjust the Olympus to now be fully battery powered. I will dig into the details on how we did that when time permits, aka when the first batch of Olympus servers is powered up and running. Unfortunately the power cord still makes a difference, less impactful then with the Extreme for which it's more or less mandatory, but still very audible. It does sound good with a stock power cord, but still better with something .. better

That's great news... Does that mean Olympus server can operate without plugging in, for ultimate sound quality ?

 

That's great news... Does that mean Olympus server can operate without plugging in, for ultimate sound quality ?

We do not recommend to unplug the Olympus, because of a special way we implemented the battery power supply. It would only run for a very limited amount of time.
The I/O is configured differently, but also there we do not recommend unplugging the unit while listening. Emile will soon drop some infos on the technical details - it is quite something!

 

We do not recommend to unplug the Olympus, because of a special way we implemented the battery power supply. It would only run for a very limited amount of time.
The I/O is configured differently, but also there we do not recommend unplugging the unit while listening. Emile will soon drop some infos on the technical details - it is quite something!

Many of us forget that for the ultimate sound reproduction you need not only to unplug for the grid BUT to have a very solid grounding.

Ground might be needed for all battery supply if the extreme low level of noise is required.
So even If we would have 100% battery supply Olympus it might require AC power cable for charging and for grounding.

 

Many of us forget that for the ultimate sound reproduction you need not only to unplug for the grid BUT to have a very solid grounding.

Ground might be needed for all battery supply if the extreme low level of noise is required.
So even If we would have 100% battery supply Olympus it might require AC power cable for charging and for grounding.

Grounding the Olympus will actually likely increase noise levels It’s why it has 2 grounding posts. More details on that to follow!

 

Grounding the Olympus will actually likely increase noise levels It’s why it has 2 grounding posts. More details on that to follow!

This is truly innovative than.

 

The newest outcome from today's XDMS workshop can be found here

 

The first batch returned from the anodiser today!

 

Beautiful!

 

A thing of beauty is a sight to behold"

Best of luck at Munich Emile.

Now you have all of us drooling

 

The first batch returned from the anodiser today!

View attachment 129739
View attachment 129740

Silver is just Amazing.
In real this look must be even better.

 

Opinions on bicolor ?

 

Opinions on bicolor ?

View attachment 129760

I prefer single colors, but the black top on the silver base is sharp.

 

Opinions on bicolor ?

I'd say there's no accounting for taste.

Options like that would probably be a real headache when it came to ordering. Not to mention the Olympus I/O, when addded

But why not!

As for me, I prefer single colour.

But what would be nice is a bit of exposed copper. It would look good on both the silver and black versions.

Have you put together a complete machine?

Have you decided what materials to use for the feet?

It would be cool to have a few more pictures, especially an Olympus and an Olympus I/O stacked.

Cheers,

Thomas

 

Not to mention the Olympus I/O, when addded

Good point, adding a single color I/O would probably not look that great.

 

Has the building begun????