Yep, cant wait to give TAS a spin later today. Unfortunately I will be leaving town for 2 weeks this weekend (for a guy who doesnt like flying and traveling i've been buzzing around everywhere) but those 2 weeks i'll leave the taiko on and let everything burn in.Just wait until you hear it with TAS after the card has 100 hours on it
Living at the Extreme: I bought a Taiko Extreme and then this happened...
- Thread starter Skanda
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I wish I was with you when you come back and sit down for the first listen
Travel safely!
Glad that you're still posting when you can. The Taiko USB card really is transformative. Good as the Extreme is, the USB card really brings its performance to a higher level. The neat part is, it has kept getting better the last three evenings as the break-in process continues for me.Alrightttttty, some updates to share...just got my taiko usb board today and installed. I have 15 minutes to listen before some appointments and later today @EuroDriver will be installing TAS on my server so I can move away from roon.
At this point you guys know I'm not prone to hyperbole and I've only played a few tracks off this new usb: it's scary good gents. Somehow more resolution and more soundstage width...ad libs in the back of tracks are easy to pick up and linger in a ghostly fashion. For $2k if you're already an extreme owner this is a great upgrade. It's giving me the out-of-the-box "wow!" that I was hoping for with the original extreme (don't get me wrong, i got it - just took some time as the caps needed to open up). I'm not getting any changes in sound stage height so curious to see if that opens up too.
Stay tuned for some more updates
I'm a terrible procrastinator, and I owe a more detailed post about what I am hearing, over at the other Extreme thread, but briefly I'd say the improvements I'm hearing so far are (not in ranked order) in dynamic range and pop, tonal saturation and low level detail, improvement in noise floor, allowing even better timing and phase accuracy -- depth, width and image precision being the primary beneficiaries, and the sensation of palpable presence -- the air in my living room seems energized, even at remarkably low volume levels.
I haven't heard a large improvement in image height, but in my room with tracks that support it (Yosi Horikawa's "Bubbles", etc) I was already getting believable imaging all the way up to the ceiling. I have the feeling that ceiling height along with driver height have the majority influence over apparent image height for most material.
Later, I'll share some of the music I've been, well listening seems too mild, devouring, luxuriating in, transported by, startled, even a little scared at times -- it's really been one "Wow" moment after another since receiving my USB card. And the Extreme was no wallflower in those areas before. But this is insane -- and fun!
Steve Z
Thanks for pointing me at Yoshi Horikawa in this thread! totally up my alley!
Got TAS installed - thanks so much @EuroDriver. I was so eager to listen that I muted a work call and hit play. As intrigued as I was by just the USB, this is pretty significant too - I'm hearing crazy detail on a 256kbs track. It also has me crazy excited for future software updates...this server is becoming like a tesla, with an update it's like you got a new car (not totally but best analogy I can think of).
Alright, back to this work call lol
Alright, back to this work call lol
Thanks for starting this thread and sharing you stream of consciousness on the Extreme as your experience evolved over time. How has it been treating you recently? Any updates on power cords and such? Have you looked to add any of Taiko's network products?
its been great, after installing the USB card last summer or so it got even better. unfortunately due to tidal and squeezebox tas stopped working for streaming so i had to move back to roon. i used the new taiko player at Rhapsody in BK and while the sound quality was great the UI left alot to be desired so I stuck to roon for now. i have not gotten the network card or switch yet. i plan to and did reach out to Taiko Audio about it - the issue for me is that the taiko is now in my second home where i have not been for 3-4months and don't expect to be till the fall so i am in no rush to shell out. i am, however, considering buying an extreme for my second system in the home i'm in right now. i have been running diesis roma se with 2x perlisten d212 subs and a ch precision I1. the roon renderer works great but i think i can get mega staging from adding in a taiko and i know there are details in the music i am missing since i've heard it on my other rig. overall though i'm in no rush as i'm enjoying the sound the way it is. i don't really know whether or not i want to ship my taiko (and sell most of my other system) to this house or to get a new one all together and thats been the laziness.
in my magico system with the taiko i used tq silver diamond cables. their power cables was a fantastic addition as was the speaker cable. interconnects i'd probably not spend so much on in the future but having a loom prevents ocd so thats good. my diesis system is all clarus crimson and that helps everything sound smooth. i like clarus and i like tq but since they are in very different systems i cant really compare the two. clarus certainly left a smaller dent in my pocket than tq did so it's got that going for it lol
in my magico system with the taiko i used tq silver diamond cables. their power cables was a fantastic addition as was the speaker cable. interconnects i'd probably not spend so much on in the future but having a loom prevents ocd so thats good. my diesis system is all clarus crimson and that helps everything sound smooth. i like clarus and i like tq but since they are in very different systems i cant really compare the two. clarus certainly left a smaller dent in my pocket than tq did so it's got that going for it lol
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