Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[heebrog]

Hi Emile.
Is the Taiko switch still on the cards?

 

[plasmod3]

curious has anyone upgraded the extreme's iec power receptacle with this one? http://www.furutech.com/2016/09/01/13741/

 

[Taiko Audio]

Hi Emile.
Is the Taiko switch still on the cards?

Absolutely, lagging a few weeks behind the USB card.

 

[Taiko Audio]

curious has anyone upgraded the extreme's iec power receptacle with this one? http://www.furutech.com/2016/09/01/13741/

That is more of a sideways move in the Extreme trading upper bass and midrange density for a more pronounced top end (which could be interpreted as sounding more “open”). It’s a good inlet, I like and do use them in front of isolation transformers for example. If you want some of that with the Extreme you could consider fitting a FI-50 NCF on your powercord which would be a less invasive procedure.

 

[Blackmorec]

That is more of a sideways move in the Extreme trading upper bass and midrange density for a more pronounced top end (which could be interpreted as sounding more “open”). It’s a good inlet, I like and do use them in front of isolation transformers for example. If you want some of that with the Extreme you could consider fitting a FI-50 NCF on your powercord which would be a less invasive procedure.

Wow, I have to say that is a staggeringly good and precise piece of advice. There’s obviously a ton of knowledge and no less amount of work gone into the Extreme. Its nice to see some of that knowledge every now and again in posts like these. Very nice answer Emile.

 

[plasmod3]

Thanks Emile, I am running Mark's Sablon King cord to the extreme where i did do an a/b to the fi50 - the former is definitely an outperformer ( kudos to mark) hence thinking of changing the receptacle. might order one in to give it a shot I ordered another 2 sabrent 8tb cards as well - will give you a shout once they are here - 40tb of storage - thats something to celebrate

 

[Taiko Audio]

Thanks Emile, I am running Mark's Sablon King cord to the extreme where i did do an a/b to the fi50 - the former is definitely an outperformer ( kudos to mark) hence thinking of changing the receptacle. might order one in to give it a shot I ordered another 2 sabrent 8tb cards as well - will give you a shout once they are here - 40tb of storage - thats something to celebrate

It’s not a drop in replacement, the FI-09 is physically larger, the mounting holes do not align, and you’d need to replace the wiring to the fuse holder which will be too short. So this will require a bit of creative cutting, milling, drilling and (de)soldering! I should probably add this definitely voids warranty before this is interpreted as an endorsement

40TB is awesome!

 

[Sablon Audio]

Whilst not Extreme specific, is probably worth mentioning that even the ostensibly regular sized Fi-06 NCF model isn’t actually regularly sized and requires something euphemistically called ‘mechanical modification’ to fit in normal chassis cutouts. For many people, that‘ll likely turn out to be a job one soon regrets starting...

 

[plasmod3]

ahhhhh i best not get any further bright ideas then lol!

 

[Taiko Audio]

Wow, I have to say that is a staggeringly good and precise piece of advice. There’s obviously a ton of knowledge and no less amount of work gone into the Extreme. Its nice to see some of that knowledge every now and again in posts like these. Very nice answer Emile.

Thank you for your kind words. I can add a bit more detail as it seems to be appreciated. In the photos below you can see the IEC inlets we have evaluated. The Oyaide PP-inlet with a Palladium/Platinum plating (successor to the better known Oyaide R-inlet). The Rhodium plated Furutech FI-09 NCF which has been "modified" to drop into an existing standard IEC cut out, I've also attached a quick MS paint drawing of what you need to cut away to make it fit. And last but not least, the Bocchino Giotto G2 (silver plated).

Interestingly there's a quite pronounced difference in sound signature between these. The Bocchino is big and bold "sounding", on the warm side of neutral, in the Extreme it takes that aspect a bit too far netting out into an over bloated bass section and a slightly too laid back presentation, you can balance that out by playing with different wiring and you can also get it with Platinum plating which most likely changes that (did not try), but it does not fit physically as there's a big chunk of Panzerholz in the way, furthermore the availability is questionable and you can sometimes run into IEC plug compatibility issues. It does most definitely win the coolness award and generally speaking (ignoring voicing compatibility aspects) it's the best of the bunch. Bocchino makes an even larger IEC inlet called the "Mariner" which is huge at about 2x3x4" which accepts OOO gauge wiring! All custom order with very significant lead times. The Furutech FI-09 is the most forward / direct sounding inlet, I would recommend darker wiring to go with it as it can be a bit shouty and highlight sibilance, imho on the cold side of neutral. Something to keep in mind is I have observed changes in character at up to 6 months of use. The Oyaide PP I consider to be the most neutral inlet, it does not have that ultimate weight the Bocchino possesses, but it has a really good and even clarity and detail from the upper to the lowest octaves without an excess in "coldness". It is compatible with all music styles and it also does work well with all IEC powerplugs, I have not run into any offensive combinations with it, our pick for the Extreme.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Hmm, Bocchino certainly believes that "size matters".

 

[Taiko Audio]

Hmm, Bocchino certainly believes that "size matters".

Sure does seem to. I'm a big fan of the Santa Maria IEC plug and I'm using several in my system.

 

[plasmod3]

Thank you for your kind words. I can add a bit more detail as it seems to be appreciated. In the photos below you can see the IEC inlets we have evaluated. The Oyaide PP-inlet with a Palladium/Platinum plating (successor to the better known Oyaide R-inlet). The Rhodium plated Furutech FI-09 NCF which has been "modified" to drop into an existing standard IEC cut out, I've also attached a quick MS paint drawing of what you need to cut away to make it fit. And last but not least, the Bocchino Giotto G2 (silver plated).

Interestingly there's a quite pronounced difference in sound signature between these. The Bocchino is big and bold "sounding", on the warm side of neutral, in the Extreme it takes that aspect a bit too far netting out into an over bloated bass section and a slightly too laid back presentation, you can balance that out by playing with different wiring and you can also get it with Platinum plating which most likely changes that (did not try), but it does not fit physically as there's a big chunk of Panzerholz in the way, furthermore the availability is questionable and you can sometimes run into IEC plug compatibility issues. It does most definitely win the coolness award and generally speaking (ignoring voicing compatibility aspects) it's the best of the bunch. Bocchino makes an even larger IEC inlet called the "Mariner" which is huge at about 2x3x4" which accepts OOO gauge wiring! All custom order with very significant lead times. The Furutech FI-09 is the most forward / direct sounding inlet, I would recommend darker wiring to go with it as it can be a bit shouty and highlight sibilance, imho on the cold side of neutral. Something to keep in mind is I have observed changes in character at up to 6 months of use. The Oyaide PP I consider to be the most neutral inlet, it does not have that ultimate weight the Bocchino possesses, but it has a really good and even clarity and detail from the upper to the lowest octaves without an excess in "coldness". It is compatible with all music styles and it also does work well with all IEC powerplugs, I have not run into any offensive combinations with it, our pick for the Extreme.


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thanks Emile, there has been a lot of thought going into the extremes and good to know it has been optimised in everyway possible indeed, so thhe extremes have an oyaide pp as the stock iec?

 

[Taiko Audio]

so thhe extremes have an oyaide pp as the stock iec?

Yes.

 

[plasmod3]

those bocchinos are crazy...very american where bigger is better - upsize me a plug lol! Having said that Carmine is australian though

 

[Mr P]

I was planning on ordering an Extreme tomorrow until I saw the following in the online Extreme manual this morning;

“At a minimum it is suggested that the AC connection be capable of delivering 2 KW of continuous power without neither wiring or plugs and sockets getting warm.“

If I remember my basic electrical theory that comes out to a 16.7 amp draw at 120 volts. For those of you that have Extremes in the US are you using a dedicated 20 or 30 amp circuit to power your Extreme and/or system? Unfortunately adding a dedicated line may not be feasible in our home.

 

[Taiko Audio]

Hello @Mr P ,

Good catch, we’ll rephrase that in the “advice for audiophile OCD” section of the manual. The Extreme draws around 60 watts or ~0.6A from a 110V line. That remark is just there to indicate an adequate powersupply can have a positive effect on ultimate sound quality.

 

[ctydwn]

Hi Mr P
My understanding from past correspondence with Emile is that the Extreme has short term 3A peaks during startup, after that it draws 500-600mA.
Thus, my experience has been it does not need its own dedicated outlet, but I believe @romaz (or @nenon) found it benefited from its own dedicated outlet.

Edit: I see now Emile already responded! Not surprisingly!

 

[EuroDriver]

I would like to give Extreme Owners an update on the progress of TAS

Wilson has been beavering away with his program code and late on Saturday night he sent us the Extreme Direct player, XD for short. XD plays native PCM and DSD to ASIO USB DAC’s


I had it running last night on my lowly rig in the office, Emile had it running in Hengelo this afternoon.

Let me say we achieved the benchmarks and more. I am not going to comment on the SQ that we are hearing, we will leave that to the Alpha Testers.

In less than 2 weeks the Alpha will have landed

 

[wil]

I just updated to “Build 667” and music is still sounding enchanting, engaging, (add other superlatives here). Has anyone else done this and what was your result?

667? Or do you mean 571 to 610?