Yes, just a matter of plugging in this module:
There's no real use for it though as the Extreme runs VNC software, the BMC is slightly audible.
Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème
- Thread starter CKKeung
- Start date
Yes, just a matter of plugging in this module:
There's no real use for it though as the Extreme runs VNC software, the BMC is slightly audible.
The Extreme is the most expensive audio purchase I have made so far. I was really hesitant to pull the trigger since I already owned the Innuos Statement, but after reading reviews from ears I trusted, the same ears that have not led me astray so far, I had to indulge my curiosity.
What I was most curios about was the “thinness” I kept reading about from severs that had low power CPUs. My experience has only been with two different models of the Innuos servers, both of which have been low power CPUs.
Being one of the few headphone only listeners, I wanted to share some initial impressions with the Extreme and some unscientific comparisons between the Extreme and Statement.
Wow, the Dynamics, unreal. This was the first thing I noticed and in the first few seconds. The dynamics are much much better! Then I heard was I was hoping to hear, the so called “thinness” was gone. It is hard to put in words, but the sound was not only denser, it was more….”Grand”. I’ve thought about this for a bit, and “grand” is the best description I can come up with. Not only were instruments denser in sound, they were much better defined. The soundstage expended considerably in all directions. Instruments had much better impact as well. All of this lead to what I call a "grander" presentation. It sounded bigger, more impactful and more encompassing. The overall presentation is just so different from the Statement, in so many aspects, that it is something you have to hear for yourself to grasp the true magnitude of improvement. My Statement now sounded thin in comparison to the Extreme and there is no going back.
But there are so many other things the Extreme does better than the Statement. The sound was now smoother but with more details. Background and nuanced sounds are a lot easier to hear. The sound is larger and bigger (grand). Also, another initial impression I heard was that the Extreme made it sound like my amp was more powerful. The grip it had on the Susvara drivers was much better controlled (the start and stop on a dime reference I read in @romaz’s review was easily heard with headphones). It’s also more engaging than the Statement and that has a lot to do with the sheer amount of improvements on all aspects of the signal.
As I get more time with it, I will post more impressions. For now, it is in burn-in mode and since my Tripoint Troy NG cables need burn in too, it is currently hooked up to the ground screw that Emile now provides with the Extreme. Once the Tripoint and Extreme are fully burned in, I will post more impression with and without the Tripoint hooked up to the Extreme, but for now I am in complete audio heaven.
And last thing to mention is the case work on the Extreme. Pics and words just don’t do it justice. This thing is a beast and beautiful as well. The matte black case with the sheer size, weight and beauty makes me think of a sever you would find in the Batcave! Yes, its that awesome!
Bravo Emile!!
What I was most curios about was the “thinness” I kept reading about from severs that had low power CPUs. My experience has only been with two different models of the Innuos servers, both of which have been low power CPUs.
Being one of the few headphone only listeners, I wanted to share some initial impressions with the Extreme and some unscientific comparisons between the Extreme and Statement.
Wow, the Dynamics, unreal. This was the first thing I noticed and in the first few seconds. The dynamics are much much better! Then I heard was I was hoping to hear, the so called “thinness” was gone. It is hard to put in words, but the sound was not only denser, it was more….”Grand”. I’ve thought about this for a bit, and “grand” is the best description I can come up with. Not only were instruments denser in sound, they were much better defined. The soundstage expended considerably in all directions. Instruments had much better impact as well. All of this lead to what I call a "grander" presentation. It sounded bigger, more impactful and more encompassing. The overall presentation is just so different from the Statement, in so many aspects, that it is something you have to hear for yourself to grasp the true magnitude of improvement. My Statement now sounded thin in comparison to the Extreme and there is no going back.
But there are so many other things the Extreme does better than the Statement. The sound was now smoother but with more details. Background and nuanced sounds are a lot easier to hear. The sound is larger and bigger (grand). Also, another initial impression I heard was that the Extreme made it sound like my amp was more powerful. The grip it had on the Susvara drivers was much better controlled (the start and stop on a dime reference I read in @romaz’s review was easily heard with headphones). It’s also more engaging than the Statement and that has a lot to do with the sheer amount of improvements on all aspects of the signal.
As I get more time with it, I will post more impressions. For now, it is in burn-in mode and since my Tripoint Troy NG cables need burn in too, it is currently hooked up to the ground screw that Emile now provides with the Extreme. Once the Tripoint and Extreme are fully burned in, I will post more impression with and without the Tripoint hooked up to the Extreme, but for now I am in complete audio heaven.
And last thing to mention is the case work on the Extreme. Pics and words just don’t do it justice. This thing is a beast and beautiful as well. The matte black case with the sheer size, weight and beauty makes me think of a sever you would find in the Batcave! Yes, its that awesome!
Bravo Emile!!
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LH Labs is now just one person: Larry Ho
Light Harmonic is just one person: Larry Ho
Larry took millions of dollars from people and never delivered the products.
Good luck to anyone that buys a Light Harmonic Product when it fails- and it will fail. Ask me how I know? I have a very expensive paper weight DAC sitting here totally useless. And I will never get the other DAC I spent thousands on.
There is nobody at Light Harmonic to help with any customer service issues.
Thank you for reporting @onlychild . I was particularly looking forward to your feedback considering an arguably low (airborne) vibration environment which is an area of particular interest to me. @isquirrel is the only other headphone user I'm aware of. He reported significant changes from changing his HRS rack configuration supporting the Extreme which I found similarly interesting.
I might not have much airborne vibration, but my rack is far from ideal for all other forms of vibration. I was able to revive it from the basement closet to serving temporary headphone duty. Its really a media stand. I noticed immediate improvement in harshness/hardness from moving all my equipment from the ground/temp tables to the current rack which weighs about 150lbs, but I know there is definitely more smoothness to be had in the upper registries with a proper rack or footers under all equipment.
I was debating between the Dazia platforms and CS2 footers, but I don't particularly like the look of my current rack in my office and wanted a cleaner and simpler look. I've narrowed my choice for a 4 shelf rack down to the Critical Mass QXK or the HRS SXR.
Will report back any improvements I hear when I do eventually get the rack.
Agree with onechild re: "another initial impression I heard was that the Extreme made it sound like my amp was more powerful. The grip it had on the Susvara drivers was much better controlled."
Similarly, it feels like I have upgraded my amp as well. There is an explosiveness and increased dynamics coupled with grip and control that amazes me how the Extreme can do this.
Similarly, it feels like I have upgraded my amp as well. There is an explosiveness and increased dynamics coupled with grip and control that amazes me how the Extreme can do this.
I have been using a combination of HRS SXRC for Amps and Stacore Advanced for Digital and DAC. Both have brought a lot to the table in maximizing the soundstage delivered.
Can you explain more about the Tripoint NG cables? Are they a newer model of the Silver signature that come with the older Elite and Signature SE?
I really don’t know what came with the older Tripoints. I know these new ones are called the Silver Signature SE and an upgrade from the ones that come stock with the Tripoint but not as good as the Thor SE or Emperor.
This is a spot-on impression how Source First works.
When a source is replaced by an excellent one like the Extreme all downstream components seem to be upgraded as well.
BTW, what is your set-up, @ctydwn ?
Thanks
Matt
Hi @matthias and @heebrog, good question. I was running a Melco N1/ZH as server and the Mind 2 from Simaudio as streamer. So roughly a $6k combo at the time. All streaming went through the Melco. The Mind 2 is integrated inside the Simaudio 780D v2 DAC. I use Odin 1 PCs on server/streamer/DAC setup and the Valhalla 2 USB in between for tracks saved on the Melco and ethernet for streaming. Now the Mind 2 is bypassed and I only use the V2 USB between the Extreme and the 780D. The rest of my chain goes -> Simaudio 850p pre -> SImaudio 870a amp -> YG Hailey 2.2. I had planned to upgrade server/streamer to the Innuos Statement, but frankly this thread convinced me to go with the Extreme and put to bed that decision...
Wow, fantastic service offering to exchange the chassis
I am so looking forward to the Extreme Miguel is getting for his shop in Lisbon (Ultimate Audio), and having an audition
Heard an Extreme at the Bristol HiFi Show (UK) on Friday, playing through the new T+A PA 1100E integrated amp with on-board DAC, and then out of a small pair of T+A Talis standmounts...not the expensive end of the T+A range for sure...but WOW, what a superb presentation!!
And yes, I'm definitely scraping together my finances for one...
And yes, I'm definitely scraping together my finances for one...
As mentioned before, I have the chance to try Telegartner M12 Gold Switch and Melco S100 with identical LAN cables (Telegartner Gold LAN cables).
My network chain as below:
RT-AC87U -> Supra Cat8 cable -> Cisco Enterprice switch-> Telegartner Gold LAN-> Melco S100/Telegartner M12 Gold switch-> Telegartner Gold LAN -> SGM Extreme
Both Melco S100/Telegartner M12 Gold switch powered by PliXir Elite LPS with the statement DC cables. Power cable used for the LPS is the generic cable comes with M12 Gold switch. This is the best I can do to minimize the variability of different cables.
This is what I find
1. Telegartner M12 Gold: pitch black background, more rounded mid, natural vocal with nuance, holographic, 3-dimensionality
2. Melco S100: wider horizontal sound stage, vocal more 'diffuse'
Details retrieval slightly better with M12 gold switch.
The most obvious factor I prefer M12 gold over melco S100 during the demo is the natural tone, and it gives more analogue feel. Melco S100 on the other hand sounds more coloured and less natural.
However, the advantage of Melco S100 is more versatile with SFP ports and the option of tweaking with different LAN cables. IMHO, Telegartner M12 Gold just sounds right by default.
Some photos:
My network chain as below:
RT-AC87U -> Supra Cat8 cable -> Cisco Enterprice switch-> Telegartner Gold LAN-> Melco S100/Telegartner M12 Gold switch-> Telegartner Gold LAN -> SGM Extreme
Both Melco S100/Telegartner M12 Gold switch powered by PliXir Elite LPS with the statement DC cables. Power cable used for the LPS is the generic cable comes with M12 Gold switch. This is the best I can do to minimize the variability of different cables.
This is what I find
1. Telegartner M12 Gold: pitch black background, more rounded mid, natural vocal with nuance, holographic, 3-dimensionality
2. Melco S100: wider horizontal sound stage, vocal more 'diffuse'
Details retrieval slightly better with M12 gold switch.
The most obvious factor I prefer M12 gold over melco S100 during the demo is the natural tone, and it gives more analogue feel. Melco S100 on the other hand sounds more coloured and less natural.
However, the advantage of Melco S100 is more versatile with SFP ports and the option of tweaking with different LAN cables. IMHO, Telegartner M12 Gold just sounds right by default.
Some photos:
