I am a fortunate new owner of an Extreme. It arrived in Seattle about ten days ago. This post will just focus on my initial sonic impressions.
For context, my previous digital front end was a classic "spaghetti" setup, i.e., a lot of small components with cables and power supplies arrayed everywhere. An Uptone Audio-modified 2012 Mac Mini ran Roon Core. The rest of the chain looked like this (minus power supplies and cables): EtherRegen > SOtM sMS-200Ultra > Uptone Audio ISO Regen > SOtM tX-USBUltra > Chord M Scaler M > Chord DAVE. Just three years ago this might have been considered a leading edge digital front end.
My current digital front end, despite the addition of the Extreme, has not been fully optimized. It looks like this: gigabit fiber > Centurylink ONT > SOtM dCBL-Cat7 ethernet > Actiontec router (powered by Uptone JS-2) > long run of generic Cat6e ethernet to wall jack > Sablon 2020 ethernet > Extreme > Shunyata Sigma USB > Chord DAVE.
The Sablon ethernet cable just arrived yesterday and my sonic impressions were formed with a generic Cat5 ethernet cable as the last link into the Extreme (I had planned on using another SOtM dCBL-Cat7 but it was too short).
The Extreme is on the bottom shelf of a Finite Elemente rack with heavy duty Finite Elemente Cerabase footers supporting the rack. The rack is constructed of hard Canadian maple. I have the Extreme sitting on an IKEA bamboo Aptilig cutting board. Normally I would put 4 Stillpoints Ultra SS between the bamboo and the Extreme since I have had very good results with this combination under other components. But I want to let the Extreme burn in and get a good baseline before I experiment with Stillpoints. Of course I’m curious about Taiko's Daiza platform and may try that as well.
I am currently using a Shunyata Alpha HC power cord, which is plugged into an Audience ar6-TSSOX power conditioner. Later I will try going direct to the wall, where I have dedicated circuits. Eventually I will likely audition a Sablon Prince power cord.
So there are improvements that can and will happen over time, and I haven't even mentioned Taiko's new software, USB card, or switch.
Finally, I've been using Roon in combination with HQPlayer for my listening. HQPlayer has essentially replaced the M Scaler in this setup. I have not tried HQPlayer as a standalone player, though others say this results in a notably better sound than the Roon/HQP combination. I'm looking forward to the TAS/HQP software tailored for the Chord DAVE.
Here are my sonic impressions so far, roughly in order of biggest difference to smallest difference:
Tone
Visceral, bold, physical, solid; these are all adjectives that come to mind. By comparison, all previous digital sounds anemic. One way to think about it is that listening to music with an Extreme is more like viewing a sculpture (more 3-D, solid, and dimensional) and less like looking at a photograph. Another way of putting it is that tone and dimensionality sound more analogue. There is a tonal density and saturation of tonal colors that is compelling. Subjectively, the power range (100 Hz to 400 Hz) is beefier. Cellos, bass guitar, kick drum, trombones all are rock solid. Finally, timbre is true. I've always considered solo piano to be the best test of timbre up and down the frequency range and this is the most realistic piano I have ever heard.
Dynamics
No surprise here for anyone who has paid attention to this thread. The Extreme expands the dynamic envelope of your system — by a lot! So on recordings that really go from ppp to fff, you are going to hear this dynamic range in all its glory, with all the subtle shadings in between.
Some of the macrodynamic swings can be startling, especially with orchestral music. No, the Extreme can’t duplicate the experience of sitting in a good concert hall with a full symphony orchestra, but what I’m hearing now is more realistic, dynamically, than any other digital or analogue I’ve experienced in my home.
I also can't get over the subjective impression that overall volume levels have increased.
Timing
Timing, already a huge forte of the DAVE, is now significantly better. Transients are very distinct and clean, transforming the listening experience for percussion and bass lines. Combined with the bold, tonally dense sound, PRAT is off the charts for music where this is important.
Presence or Immediacy
Vocals are “right there” with seemingly nothing coming between you and your favorite singers. Unlike the type of “presence” that I heard with my old Shindo electronics, there is no romanticizing the music or making it more lush or beautiful than what you would hear in life (as pleasant as that can sound sometimes). If you have a neutral, balanced system to begin with, the Extreme will not change that balance.
Clarity and Separation
This is not the first thing you notice with an Extreme and that's why I put it last on the list. After being bowled over by the sonic characteristics noted above, you eventually notice that you are hearing things you hadn't heard before on well-known recordings. This is readily apparent with vocals, where lyrics that had been obscured for years are now suddenly intelligible.
Separation between instruments and voices is also greater, but not in a spatial sense or the imaging sense of instruments appearing in various locations in a soundstage. Rather, instruments and voices are simply more distinct from one another. This really helps one understand how music is put together
It is also worth noting that the additional detail and transparency does not sound analytical. It is fully fleshed out and balanced within the context of the musical whole. It just sounds like a bigger pipe is now carrying music into the room.
Things That Have Not Changed That Much
In my room, the soundstage has not increased noticeably in terms of width or height, although I will say that soundstaging and imaging were strong suits of my system before the Extreme landed. The width, height, and depth of the soundstage continues (appropriately) to be recording-dependent.
Poorly recorded music is not miraculously resurrected. That music will probably sound different with an Extreme but a poor recording will still be annoyingly apparent and there is still a large chasm between really well-recorded music and the dreck.
Conclusion
It should be obvious by now that I consider the Extreme to be transformational. The emotional connection with music is stronger. The musical intent of the composer and/or musicians is laid bare. Thank you to Emile and the entire Taiko team for enhancing our musical journey.
