Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[oldmustang]

I'm briefly tearing myself away from the living room to post this before diving back in. I can already tell I'm probably going to have to hook up the IV drip beside my chair so that I don't fade away from lack of breaks to eat and sleep.

My installation took a little more than 15 minutes because I had trouble getting the little locator tab on the copper faceplate to slip down between the motherboard and the inside of the Extreme rear case work -- and I learned a long time ago in the Navy, if a PCB doesn't want to fit -- don't force it. Finally though with a little finagling and a few mighty oaths (another thing I learned in the Navy) it slipped snugly into place.

All I can say is, this is the real deal -- nobody was exaggerating with their earlier listening posts. Even before I turned the volume up to my normal listening level I could tell at very low volume there is so much more vibrancy, tonal saturation and life to the music that it is astonishing. My wife is going to thank you just for that, Emile, during those late night music sessions. One of which I feel coming on later tonight.

Easily, easily the best money I've spent on an audio upgrade since buying the Extreme itself.

More later, but OMG is this USB card fun!

Steve Z

 

[austinpop]

Congrats.

Is the snafu worth sharing with the group to assist those of us who haven’t gone through the process?

Card seating issue. There is a little curve at the end of the card that I straightened (on Emile’s suggestion) just a smidge to enable it to tuck into the gap, and allow the card to seat easily.

After that, Bob was (is?) your uncle!

You’ll be fine. Just follow the video posted a few days ago.

 

[oldmustang]

There is a little curve at the end of the card that I straightened (on Emile’s suggestion) just a smidge to enable it to tuck into the gap, and allow the card to seat easily.

After that, Bob was (is?) your uncle!

That's what I did, too. Bob isn't my uncle but Lloyd is.

Steve

 

[Taiko Audio]

There is a little curve at the end of the card that I straightened (on Emile’s suggestion) just a smidge to enable it to tuck into the gap, and allow the card to seat easily.

After that, Bob was (is?) your uncle!

The copper brackets are handmade by us, its very soft copper so it bends easily, silly enough it does make a difference in sound quality over a stock steel bracket, believe it or not. So when inserting the card do not force, and if it doesn’t fit you can easily adjust the bend in the bracket a little with your fingertips. We did plug every single USB card into an Extreme before shipping so it should fit quite well, but if it doesn’t slide right in please apply @oldmustang ’s technique

 

[steve williams]

Steve, this is what happens when another layer of noise /yes, the noise you kept saying did not exist in your system / 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:
View attachment 76475
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...

This is way above my pay grade but it's not as if Emile went out and ordered new SOTA USB boards. Rather he built his own to be synergistic with everything Taiko. His goal was to be able to control the signal from the time it enters to the time it leaves the Extreme, The only thing I needed was to switch my USB board on my Taiko Pacific from Amanero to JL Sounds which was easy.

Emile is not suggesting that having the USB board is a must but he and everyone knew that his goal was as I outlined above. Also remember that we are dealing NOT with the Extreme but rather with TAS and TAS is "Beta" so I guess I am a little stumped as to your suggestions that there is a problem with the Extreme. The Extreme if you recall was so far ahead of itself that Emile found a way where it could support both Roon and TAS without giving up any of his firepower. So once again I totally disagree with you that there is a problem with the Extreme that is being bettered. I see this as a TAS gradual improvement getting better with the Taiko driver and getting incredibly better with the use of his new Taiko board. So I guess I am a little dumbfounded by

 

[dminches]

This is way above my pay grade but it's not as if Emile went out and ordered new SOTA USB boards. Rather he built his own to be synergistic with everything Taiko. His goal was to be able to control the signal from the time it enters to the time it leaves the Extreme, The only thing I needed was to switch my USB board on my Taiko Pacific from Amanero to JL Sounds which was easy.

Emile is not suggesting that having the USB board is a must but he and everyone knew that his goal was as I outlined above. Also remember that we are dealing NOT with the Extreme but rather with TAS and TAS is "Beta" so I guess I am a little stumped as to your suggestions that there is a problem with the Extreme. The Extreme if you recall was so far ahead of itself that Emile found a way where it could support both Roon and TAS without giving up any of his firepower. So once again I totally disagree with you that there is a problem with the Extreme that is being bettered. I see this as a TAS gradual improvement getting better with the Taiko driver and getting incredibly better with the use of his new Taiko board. So I guess I am a little dumbfounded by

Where did Nenon say there was an issue with the Extreme? In fact, he said just the opposite.

 

[steve williams]

Perhaps I misread and if so my apologies but for me this indeed is a huge reward because of the Extreme. I look at his USB board as part of a TAS improvement and the magnitude of the Extreme allows both Roon and TAS to run without adverse effect to SQ. In fact just the opposite

 

[marty]

My installation took a little more than 15 minutes because I had trouble getting the little locator tab on the copper faceplate to slip down between the motherboard and the inside of the Extreme rear case work -- and I learned a long time ago in the Navy, if a PCB doesn't want to fit -- don't force it. Finally though with a little finagling and a few mighty oaths (another thing I learned in the Navy) it slipped snugly into place.

I had the same issue. I refused to force the board so I carefully bent the tab about 2 degrees with 2 sets of pliers so only the tab was bent. The rest was easy. I did however have other issues for a different reason but Emile worked his Team Viewer magic to get me up and running with his usual efficiency. I won't listen critically until tomorrow, but what's playing now sure sounds quite good. JL board for Lampi + TAS driver + USB = hitting the Trifecta (and for hardly a lot of money). It's such a pleasure dealing with Emile and his team.

 

[nenon]

Perhaps I misread and if so my apologies but for me this indeed is a huge reward because of the Extreme. I look at his USB board as part of a TAS improvement and the magnitude of the Extreme allows both Roon and TAS to run without adverse effect to SQ. In fact just the opposite

Steve - you definitely got my message the wrong way. I’ve never suggested there was a problem with the Extreme. Quite the opposite, actually. It was the biggest praise I could have done for Taiko. I actually said that I am now considering buying an Extreme myself. That should mean a lot coming from me.

I won't make this another long post. The only thing I would point out is that the Taiko USB card is a SOTA USB card. Early reports from people (who haven't posted here yet) who did not use TAS or had DACs with Amanero (i.e. the USB driver did not apply) were that the USB card is indeed a game changer. So it's actually both - a SOTA USB card, and an addition that completes the circle in the Taiko ecosystem. I can't wait to listen to what this USB card does.

No long posts from me this time. Let’s enjoy the party and read more about what people's experience with the new card and celebrate with Taiko and community for the successful launch. Congratulations!

 

[kennyb123]

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".

As an individual who would never be able to afford an Extreme, I hope this “game changer” might mean that the Extreme need not be so extreme. Of course that’s wishful thinking but it I do wonder how the Extreme might have evolved had this card existed first. I mean if it can make Roon sound great ...

 

[Rhapsody]

As an individual who would never be able to afford an Extreme, I hope this “game changer” might mean that the Extreme need not be so extreme. Of course that’s wishful thinking but it I do wonder how the Extreme might have evolved had this card existed first. I mean if it can make Roon sound great ...

Yes, but it makes Roon sound great on the Extreme Roon sounds great because it's running on the Extreme/usb driver/usb card = BINGO!

 

[nenon]

As an individual who would never be able to afford an Extreme, I hope this “game changer” might mean that the Extreme need not be so extreme. Of course that’s wishful thinking but it I do wonder how the Extreme might have evolved had this card existed first. I mean if it can make Roon sound great ...

I honestly think the only change would have been the order in which things have been released.
Proprietary software running with proprietary driver on proprietary USB card makes perfect sense. Add the custom hardware and custom OS, and everything fits together perfectly. Waiting for the Taiko DAC next

 

[ray-dude]

After crawling under a 100 year Steinway and damaging neither my Extreme nor my daughter's piano (non trivial with the heavy metal plate!), up and running with the new USB card.

Outstanding! I'm hearing things I haven't heard since my review Sean Jacobs DC4 made a trip across the pond. The bar has been raised significantly.

When there is a quantum step like this, all assumptions need to be revisited (much like getting the Extreme itself). Network/power/mechanical tweaks are back in the thunderdome, which means a lot of music listening as I go back and revisit a lot of other optimizations in my chain. But first, the music....

Congratulations to Emile and team for focusing on core root principles and pushing execution to the ultimate limit, with the humility to listen and let the music win, no matter what theory says. This level of performance at (audiophile) scale is remarkable.

(And @nenon I suspect several of us have a wishlist of design attributes for a Taiko DAC

 

[ray-dude]

...and since folks are sharing albums that blossom with this type of holographic reproduction:

Open Qobuz

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[cat6man]

This level of performance at (audiophile) scale is remarkable.

I want to highlight this accomplishment. A lot of the time, nay most of the time, ymmv is a required caveat. What Emile et co have accomplished is rare for its ubiquity and consistency across myriad systems and configurations.

Bravo!

 

[oldmustang]

If you experience trouble getting the tab (circled in red) to seat in the hidden slot between the edge of the motherboard and the inside rear case work of the Extreme just straighten this tab out a (very) little bit.

Steve Z

 

[steve williams]

Steve - you definitely got my message the wrong way. I’ve never suggested there was a problem with the Extreme. Quite the opposite, actually. It was the biggest praise I could have done for Taiko. I actually said that I am now considering buying an Extreme myself. That should mean a lot coming from me.

I won't make this another long post. The only thing I would point out is that the Taiko USB card is a SOTA USB card. Early reports from people (who haven't posted here yet) who did not use TAS or had DACs with Amanero (i.e. the USB driver did not apply) were that the USB card is indeed a game changer. So it's actually both - a SOTA USB card, and an addition that completes the circle in the Taiko ecosystem. I can't wait to listen to what this USB card does.

No long posts from me this time. Let’s enjoy the party and read more about what people's experience with the new card and celebrate with Taiko and community for the successful launch. Congratulations!
View attachment 76487

I truly did read it wrong and again nothing bad intended

When I took the top off the Extreme to move a board so I could install the new USB board it was the first time that I have been that up close and personal with the insides. It is a work of art in every way. The meticulous workmanship of Panzerholtz to serve as isolation exudes of something that we all love arnd know it has been future proofed. All of us here have followed Emile's progress in this hobby and more than anything else we can all say how happy we are for his success. I have been in this hobby for longer than most people here are old and I have never seen such stellar customer service as that provided by Taiko Audio.Everything up til now has been free to we users including what seems to be forever customer service . Nothing tops this in the industry AFAIK

Here's the other caveat..........for me at least......prior to my purchase of an Extreme I was close to 100% vinyl and tape and had a woefully outdated digital side of my system as I was loving the analog side. However out of the box and fire it up and first listen bested anything digital I have ever heard in my system. As an alpha user it has been fun to watch the hardware and software part of the business evolve. Since being an alpha user I have not used Roon in 5-6 months until recently. For me it is SQ I chase as the Holy Grail and this new USB board gave me my first glimpse of 8K. IOW I have become a digitphile with this product and loving it

 

[2ndLiner]

Waiting for delivery and loving the anticipation...mostly!

 

[marty]

I have never seen such stellar customer service as that provided by Taiko Audio.Everything up til now has been free to we users including what seems to be forever customer service . Nothing tops this in the industry AFAIK

+1

 

[matthias]

Waiting for the Taiko DAC next

Is there something on the horizon?
Thanks

Matt