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".

 

Dear Emile
I am not sure but haven't seen the back of the Olympus and Olympys IO renderings .
Is that something you could also share with us please ?

 

@Taiko Audio I connect a set (4) of 1.0m proprietary i2s ribbon cables between a modded Pioneer Elite LX500 Blu-ray DVD player (used as a transport) and a modded Horizon. The i2s connection consists of 4 cables (all SPDIF, RCA plugs into RCA jacks on both ends): master clock, bit clock, L/R (Word) clock and data. The purported short distance is hyped. 1.0m suffers no SQ degradation in my case. Done in a purist way ("direct coupling" at least on the DVD side), the i2s used is not the much inferior PS Audio standard (HDMI or RJ45) and the SQ of the modded DVD player almost rivals the SQ from Extreme to Horizon via USB. Extreme could sound much better without the inferior USB connection; Extreme sounds better than the modded DVD because of its other features. I cannot wait for a dedicated XDMI to XDMI connection between Olympus and Horizon, but unfortunately the prospect is uncertain for both technical and cost reasons.

There are most definitely big advantages to eliminating USB from the path. Apart from it's "noisy" nature, which can be addressed in various ways, with more elaborate solutions being the optical links MSB and Wadax supply, where the microprocessor performing the USB to I2S conversion is strategically positioned in front of the optical link connecting to the DAC, we also started running into limitations of the USB 125 microsecond (8000Hz) data packet interval. You'd think this should not matter that much as I2S is generated as a more continuous stream from that "choppy" data stream, yet it does. Curiously it's effect on sound bares some similarities to rotational stability of turntable platforms. Why we are even able to pick up on this as humans is unexplainable from an electronics design point of view, yet we do.

 

Dear Emile
I am not sure but haven't seen the back of the Olympus and Olympys IO renderings .
Is that something you could also share with us please ?

 

Emile,

Do you have any clock input/output facilities in XDMI for the benefit of those having DACs with AES/EBU in synchronous systems, either with internal or external clocks?

We can accommodate those yes though not featured in the 2 output board options we supply it with now. This is something which is necessary for MSP Pro ISL to function for example as one of the 2 fibers of the PRO ISL links provides clock from the DAC as master. So we designed it so it can both accept external clocking and provide clocking itself.

 

It seems there may be various interpretations of the Olympus 300% and Olympus + O I/O 330% performance estimates. My assumption is if Extreme + Taiko USB card to DAC (Horizon?) = 100% is the reference, then the comparative 300% figure likely refers to Olympus XDMI AES/EBU or SPDIF out to the same DAC. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be an apples to apples comparison, would it? I think Emile is being modestly reticent about the XDMI RCA analog out performance (for now!) and avoiding numerical estimates. Do others see it differently?

The comparative percentages we reluctantly provided were based on USB to DAC versus direct Analogue out. It's very hard to pin numbers on this as it's not just a xxx% improvement, it renders music in a different way. Some things I could pick out which you can put numbers on are the soundstage is at least twice as large, in all directions, if you're a soundstage junkie you will absolutely love it, bass is absolutely much better, perhaps one of the biggest improvements, both in extension as in clarity and definition. It drops significant veils but you know, you wouldn't even notice those are actually there using the Extreme with USB until you hear without. That bit also doesn't add much to musical enjoyment, but the bass sure does. Nowadays I often can't escape the feeling bass is truly the foundation of our music and if you get that right, magic happens.

 

I'm just teasing Emile, but having said that if colours were an option I would definitely choose something more dramatic than black or silver.

I guess gold / champagne, an easy option to add, would not be satisfactory?

 

I was wondering about this too given the AES/SPDIF's susceptibility to jitter or does the XDMI technology render an external clock unnecessary?

I would say that only makes sense for some specific digital interface implementations, like MSB Pro ISL. But if there's enough demand we can design a module for that, with zero guarantees on a performance improvement though!

 

Seeing as he is in possibly the most bike friendly country on earth. I'd be willing to bet local anodizing company he already uses is top tier. That industry is almost singlehandedly responsible for the current widespread usage.

The problem you are going to have is getting an exact color result without having numerous highly similar samples shipped to you for final sign off.

Having good relationships with a good anodising company capable of providing consistent quality is simply a necessity. We have had mayor problems with that in the past, with hundreds of botched up Extreme chassis parts a a result.

 

View attachment 122056

Thank you Emile
Looks fantastic
Where are the XDMI RCA or AES exits planned ?

 

I guess gold / champagne, an easy option to add, would not be satisfactory?

I'm sure that would be popular in some countries. Personally fire engine red would look amazing!

 

This just gets better day after day and I am still on first cup of coffee

 

View attachment 122056

absolutely gorgeous design

 

The world needs more Edward's! I was up at 4am talking with Ed, he sorted the patch out for Qobuz. I marvel at his talents...Remarkable!

 

We can accommodate those yes though not featured in the 2 output board options we supply it with now. This is something which is necessary for MSP Pro ISL to function for example as one of the 2 fibers of the PRO ISL links provides clock from the DAC as master. So we designed it so it can both accept external clocking and provide clocking itself.

If the board can accept external clock signal, what clock frequency will it accept for different file sampler rates. For example, dCS vivaldi Clock can feed 44.1 or 48 to the board? Thanks.

 

It looks this numbers here were compering
Extreme with USB exit to any DAC
to
Olympus XDMI with RCA exit .
So apples to oranges, but in this case I will love to swich to Oranges !

Kris, you were right! XDMI Analog Out for Emile’s great leap in SQ. Wow, the ground is shifting under my feet!

 

It drops significant veils but you know, you wouldn't even notice those are actually there using the Extreme with USB until you hear without. That bit also doesn't add much to musical enjoyment, but the bass sure does. Nowadays I often can't escape the feeling bass is truly the foundation of our music and if you get that right, magic happens.

Bass? Naw, it hardly matters at all. . . says the man with six subwoofers.



Steve Z

 

If the board can accept external clock signal, what clock frequency will it accept for different file sampler rates. For example, dCS vivaldi Clock can feed 44.1 or 48 to the board? Thanks.

The dCS Vivaldi Clock can feed 44.1 and 48 kHz (or mulitples of each) simultaneously, but it does so over two lines.

Steve Z

 

 

Bass??? What about it?

 

The dCS Vivaldi Clock can feed 44.1 and 48 kHz (or mulitples of each) simultaneously, but it does so over two lines.

Steve Z

Yes! So the board will need like both 44.1 and 48 kHz? As vivaldi system is sensitive and benefit from Vivaldi Clock, I guess it would be good if it can feed the clock signal to the board.