Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème
- Thread starter CKKeung
- Start date
Well yeah. That certainly has been my experience -- pretty much everything benefits from some burn-in time to sound its best. When something right out of the box sounds really, really good as Bob has posted, it generally is only going to get better.
I'm excited -- and jealous!
Steve Z
Agreed. My experience is that many computer components sound bad right out of the box. Or, at least not that good.
I arrived back in Oldenzaal yesterday and my jaw dropped again listening to the same tracks i had played 6 days earlier.
Another step up, but I dod not post not wanting to sound like a broken record
Yes, it will get better after 100 hours. BUT you will see, it's instantly a noticeable uptick in SQ.
I would expect that would be the case. Burn in is real with computer stuff, especially clocks.
Looking forward to getting mine.
This is unbelievable. Incredibly exciting. Astounding how many leaps forward in the past year Emile and his team have made. And we were all so excited a year ago! It does seem like we are witnessing a digital revolution at a dizzying pace. So glad to have taken the plunge back then based on this thread. Strapping in again.Installed the new USB board. Turned on the Extreme/pre/amp on all dead cold. From the first 10 seconds it was like going from driving down the road in a really nice car, hit the up button and the car turned into a helicopter. Off and away.
It's MUCH MORE than icing on the TAS/usb driver cake. It's REALLY SIGNIFICANT. Seat belts on
Exciting stuff and hard to fathom how SQ can jump up much more with the Taiko!
The big question is when can we start ordering the new USB card and what is the pricing for the card (not that price will be a big issue for most Taiko users)?
The big question is when can we start ordering the new USB card and what is the pricing for the card (not that price will be a big issue for most Taiko users)?
Just a question for those of us with an Evo and not the Extreme, is TAS the only thing that will be available for the Evo obviously the USB card is specially built for the Extreme so the Evo either will not or cannot be upgraded via more hardware ?
We started shipping yesterday. Bob lucked out with an overnight arrival which is not that common anymore since the virus hit.
We are trying to be as fair as possible and are roughly shipping according to original Extreme order dates.
You can order your USB card where you bought your Extreme.
We are trying to be as fair as possible and are roughly shipping according to original Extreme order dates.
You can order your USB card where you bought your Extreme.
Indeed everything improves with burnin, but this card should be a significant improvement straight away.
I gave my 10 second opinion in my earlier post, I was going to give a more detailed update once my Extreme came back a bit from being off for 15 minutes while I installed the new board. As well as let my other Electronics warm up.
Now that this has all happened, I am actually at a loss for words. It's not like an upgrade to the Extreme or a different amp. It feels more like I upgraded my room. It is like a different system and different room totally. I am using the same speakers and electronics as I was yesterday, the usb card was all that I changed. It's hard to comprehend.
I hate to go to go out on a limb, BUT for me, in my room, I think there is more of a difference than when I went from Roon to TAS. I know that it sounds like exaggeration/hype but I think what I am saying doesn't even do justice to what I'm hearing.
The only analogy that I can make is that it seems like it went from a superlative garden hose to a fire hose but without losing any of the beauty and texture. AND it's going to get better over the next week.
Now that this has all happened, I am actually at a loss for words. It's not like an upgrade to the Extreme or a different amp. It feels more like I upgraded my room. It is like a different system and different room totally. I am using the same speakers and electronics as I was yesterday, the usb card was all that I changed. It's hard to comprehend.
I hate to go to go out on a limb, BUT for me, in my room, I think there is more of a difference than when I went from Roon to TAS. I know that it sounds like exaggeration/hype but I think what I am saying doesn't even do justice to what I'm hearing.
The only analogy that I can make is that it seems like it went from a superlative garden hose to a fire hose but without losing any of the beauty and texture. AND it's going to get better over the next week.
how was the install process? pop the chassis open, throw in the card and good to go or did you have to update drivers etc?
I think it depends on the configuration. I will let Emile correct me if I mis-speak here.
Unscrew screw on top plate and remove. Of course turn of the power to the Extreme.
To get the best sound you want the new usb card in the pci 5 slot. BUT my SS drive was in the pci5 slot.
Long story short you unscrew one screw on the SSD drive that holds it in place, (small clip on bottom of the SSD drive holds it in place as well), relocate the SS Drive to pci1 slot (closest to the CPUs). Then you relocate the fiber card to pci2. slot. Each involves taking out one screw then the boards pull out easily.
Then you place the new usb card into the pci5 slot. There is a cable that comes with the card. One end connects into the card, the other end has a four pin connector that connects to a connector on the inside of the front plate. VERY OBVIOUS.
It took about 15 minutes total. No driver updates. Put the top back on, connect the usb to the new port, turn the Extreme on and hit play.
If anyone is inserting their card and has an issue feel free to give me a call, be glad to help.
Last edited:
If you bought your Extreme directly from us you can buy the USB card from us. It’s not for sale on the website as it’s exclusive to Extreme owners. If you purchased an Extreme from a dealer you can buy the USB card from that same dealer.
congrats bob!
we're all living vicariously through you and Ed and Emile right now
and this is with TAS v1, right?
Yes, sir v1. I don't think anyone has v2 yet....other than the boys back at the ranch
The usb card is plug/play other than maybe re-arranging a few boards, which is nothing other than doing it.
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |