I am waiting for the notification that it has been shipped.
I wonder how many they are shipping every day.
Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème
- Thread starter CKKeung
- Start date
I am waiting for the notification that it has been shipped.
I wonder how many they are shipping every day.
Between 30 and 50 a day. Pretty sure yours ships tomorrow.
That’s a big amount every day. Kudos to the Taiko Audio team.
The reason TAS sounds so good is TAS processes each track prior to play, hence the delay before every track. How would you ever be able to process a steady radio stream, that includes talking in between tracks? I don't see how you could do that, although I would love it if they could.
Live radio on Roon sounds amazing with the new usb card, I actually don't care anymore if TAS can do radio, it's fine to run on Roon.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
To Bob and others who have already installed their Taiko USB Board.......I have been playing some of my favorite demo tracks and in some songs the sound stage literally expands beyond anything I have ever heard. In fact on some passages I have already commented about the Immersive Effect being beyond anything I have ever heard. To make my point more clearly what I am hearing in some songs is the sound literally all above me. It is as if I am in the soundstage. It is spooky good
In fact I was so unsure whether I was imagining this or whether there was an issue with my system, I reached out to Emile who did confirm that what I was hearing was very much there. Not in all songs, but when you hear it you will truly have a "wtf did I just hear moment
In fact I was so unsure whether I was imagining this or whether there was an issue with my system, I reached out to Emile who did confirm that what I was hearing was very much there. Not in all songs, but when you hear it you will truly have a "wtf did I just hear moment
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Well I hate to say it, but I've had that effect prior to TAS, but only on certain recordings. My room is pretty tripped out and with the big planers, omni and horns I have had that effect for a while now.
That is one of the reasons that I gravitate to these types of speakers. Room consuming. I'm not all that thrilled by sitting and watching the sound 10'-15' away from me. I like to be IN the soundstage. Enveloped.
The effect is not realized as much with cone speakers, for me in my room. They can sound great, but they don't do what my other speakers do in the room encompassing affect.
TAS has definitely accentuated this experience.
my main interest in radio is listening to my NPR news station and, on occasion, baseball games.
i'd be fine with something simple like squeezelite as a player option without any concern for the SQ of the NPR news broadcast.
i'm really looking for a convenience option here, not an ultimate SQ option..................without paying for Roon!
this is absolutely not a high priority item for me, i'm much more interested in 1) getting my usb card and 2) getting playback to be truly gapless.
and i'm certainly happy that my usb card is shipping via fedex air and not via the suez canal.
Yes, that's a different reason for the radio. RSC for me is my favorite listening so any uptick in SQ is greatly appreciated. Although as I said I'm a happy camper with Ronn Live Radio since the usb card arrived.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Bob, I too have have that effect as well with my system. I use Center Stage feet under components and speakers which enhances the immersive effect. Yet what I hear now is a more profound immersive effect. I too love to be in the sound stage. This however was more significant
The only way to know would be for you to hear my system(s) and I yours. Hard to know otherwise.
Steve, this is what happens when another layer of noise /yes, the noise you kept saying did not exist in your systemTo Bob and others who have already installed their Taiko USB Board.......I have been playing some of my favorite demo tracks and in some songs the sound stage literally expands beyond anything I have ever heard. In fact on some passages I have already commented about the Immersive Effect being beyond anything I have ever heard. To make my point more clearly what I am hearing in some songs is the sound literally all above me. It is as if I am in the soundstage. It is spooky good
In fact I was so unsure whether I was imagining this or whether there was an issue with my system, I reached out to Emile who did confirm that what I was hearing was very much there. Not in all songs, but when you hear it you will truly have a "wtf did I just hear moment
/ disappears. The digital noise is quite an interesting thing. We never know it is there until it's gone. Then we are like "Oh! I see now". I've had this experience many times. And I expect that would keep happening - thinking that even the last layer of noise is gone until another layer disappears. Those are the joy moments in our hobby. At least with digital...The initial feedback of the Taiko USB is very impressive. And those first USB cards are not even completely burned in as noted by some other members. It would only get better.
Hearing about some bits and pieces of the development of the USB card (the general stuff Emile shares, not any of the secrets or his IP), I knew this USB would be the real deal before anyone even had one. The design is impressive. The parts are impressive. The voicing - well, I know something about that that I can't share, but we can call it impressive too. And there are probably a few other impressive things we don't even know about. I have been telling people that this would not be just the "icing on the cake". It would be a "game changer".
The Taiko team either did not realise the level of impact this USB card would have or they downplayed it a little and waited for the real user feedback to prove that it's a "game changer", not just the "icing on the cake". My guess is it was a little bit of both. I don't blame them. The Extreme is so good the way it is, and people invested a lot of money in it. Posting that there is a new USB card that significantly improves the Extreme can be perceived as if the USB on the Extreme was inferior. No, it was not inferior. Technology changes. This Taiko thread started more than two years ago. The USB on the Extreme was the best at the time. But now, something even better came up. That's perfectly normal with technology. It's bad when you need to throw the old piece of technology away and buy a new one. That is not the case here. There is an easy upgrade path, which is probably relatively inexpensive for the improvement you get for the amount of money you pay.
It's obvious that the Extreme was designed as a platform rather than an end product. If the changes after Roon updates, the Taiko USB driver, and TAS were not a proof of this, take a look at this:
You guys had a connector for the USB card from day 1. Even the first builds more than two years ago had that.
I got asked by several Extreme owners what I think about the Taiko USB card. My answer was simple.
I have my own DIY server that is quite similar to an Extreme (we can probably call it a poor IT/DIY man's Extreme). I never justified the expense of an Extreme in my situation (although I've spent way more than an Extreme in experiments, but I enjoyed making, sharing, and learning from those experiments). But if I cannot get the Taiko USB card for my DIY server, I would be considering buying an Extreme. If I buy an Extreme, it would be because of the USB card. That's how good I believe this USB card is. That was before @Rhapsody and @Steve Williams even had their USB cards. Those several Extreme owners are actively reading this thread, and they know who they are
.Emile clearly stated that the USB card will not be available for DIY. So I am considering my next move here...
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The seat is not a problem. It's the ticket
Up and running after a slight snafu that Emile helped me navigate.
Listening cold, already grinning like an idiot!
Listening cold, already grinning like an idiot!
Congrats.
Is the snafu worth sharing with the group to assist those of us who haven’t gone through the process?
