Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème
- Thread starter CKKeung
- Start date
Ouch, unfortunately the Three Blind Mice (TBM) recordings are not available via streaming I am afraid
. I played the ripping of the CDs, which can be obtained at sensible prices via Amazon.jp. The whole thing is a bit painful, but the reward is very much worth the effort. These TBM albums have a unique, truly addictive sound, and those from the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio in particular (and especially the one I listed in my previous post) have possibly the best recorded piano rendition I have personally heard of any genres.A few other gems:
Super-groovy, hypnotic!
Very interesting contamination of styles, and the unexpected cello from Isao Suzuki makes the rest.
Double bass and a beautiful voice in the room.
By the way, thanks to the exquisite kindness of @EuroDriver who helped me in a Sunday afternoon, I have been able to enjoy TAS today and indeed the improvement in terms of body, tone color richness and snappiness of transients over Roon is easily heard. Great job Taiko team, and if TAS is an appetizer of what XDMS will bring ... well
Didn't want to let a day go by without a post on this thread. A relative rarity. (looking fwd to the music recs above!)
The sense of excitement and anticipation is palpable, I am imagining, both amongst the Taiko team with the upcoming releases and of course from the Extreme folks. As always we (patiently) await any trickle of news, pics, insights or snippets, but most importantly hope the Taiko team continues to take care of themselves on what truly does seem like a steady marathon to continue to chisel away at digital playback and networking mysteries translated to incredible music previously thought impossible or at least inexplicable.
Missing my system for a bit and as a result feeling extra appreciative/grateful for all that Taiko has shared, created and transformed these past few years. and of course the great discussions/feedback here. Take care everyone
The sense of excitement and anticipation is palpable, I am imagining, both amongst the Taiko team with the upcoming releases and of course from the Extreme folks. As always we (patiently) await any trickle of news, pics, insights or snippets, but most importantly hope the Taiko team continues to take care of themselves on what truly does seem like a steady marathon to continue to chisel away at digital playback and networking mysteries translated to incredible music previously thought impossible or at least inexplicable.
Missing my system for a bit and as a result feeling extra appreciative/grateful for all that Taiko has shared, created and transformed these past few years. and of course the great discussions/feedback here. Take care everyone
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steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
This is "the calm before the storm". When Emile and his team go quiet you can bet that good things are about to happen. Edward said they are up to their elbows in work every day as they prepare for the launch
Christiaan Punter
Well-Known Member
You said it quite right, Steve! We're all working hard to prepare for the launch. I am closely involved in the development of the new UI and trust me, it is going to be absolutely beautiful!
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Christiaan Punter
Well-Known Member
Hahaha, well, actually, it's more like all the employees, Emile, and the contractors tirelessly sitting at tables while clicking away on mice and keyboards. Every day, we are getting closer to finalizing the giant puzzle.
Christiaan Punter
Well-Known Member
Haha yes, that is more like it indeed
Someone obviously does NOT suffer from alopeciaHaha yes, that is more like it indeed
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
What I would give to be a fly on the ceiling in that roomHaha yes, that is more like it indeed
Planning my visit to Taiko Audio in a couple weeks. Looking forward to hearing for myself what all 509 pages of glowing praise are about. Also for getting unconfused about all the different software, OS, etc.
Removing the third-party software and unused drivers from my Extreme definitely improved SQ.
After removing these there was a noticeable increase in bass. Which led me to turn off the “use maximum buffer” setting in Roon that I had been using to increase the bass before. It seems like the third party programs and excess drivers did something that minimized the bass, thinning the sound.
Now with the “use maximum buffer” set to “no” the bass sounds more articulate, intelligible and correct.
I’m no longer using USB driver 1 and Roon set to 24bit with “use maximum buffer” set to yes.
I’m currently using the Taiko recommended settings for my DAC - USB driver #4 with Roon set to 32bit and “use maximum buffer” set to “no”.
Between the Taiko OS update, the IT signal path simplifications and clearing out my Extreme. Now I’m getting the best SQ with the recommended settings for my DAC. My system is sounding best with the Taiko recommended settings! This makes me feel confident that I will get the most out of the upcoming Taiko switch, card and router.
This system in the past several months has improved considerably in every sonic metric. Much better micro and macro dynamics. Better retrieval of low-level details. Front to back, side to side and height imaging have increased considerably. Bass articulation and intelligibility has improved. More listening enjoyment has ensued.
The improvements in overall SQ that can be made with the source (Extreme) and the source of the source (IT chain) without changing any other variables in a system is mind blowing. The great news is that these improvements effect everything down stream of the server too.
After removing these there was a noticeable increase in bass. Which led me to turn off the “use maximum buffer” setting in Roon that I had been using to increase the bass before. It seems like the third party programs and excess drivers did something that minimized the bass, thinning the sound.
Now with the “use maximum buffer” set to “no” the bass sounds more articulate, intelligible and correct.
I’m no longer using USB driver 1 and Roon set to 24bit with “use maximum buffer” set to yes.
I’m currently using the Taiko recommended settings for my DAC - USB driver #4 with Roon set to 32bit and “use maximum buffer” set to “no”.
Between the Taiko OS update, the IT signal path simplifications and clearing out my Extreme. Now I’m getting the best SQ with the recommended settings for my DAC. My system is sounding best with the Taiko recommended settings! This makes me feel confident that I will get the most out of the upcoming Taiko switch, card and router.
This system in the past several months has improved considerably in every sonic metric. Much better micro and macro dynamics. Better retrieval of low-level details. Front to back, side to side and height imaging have increased considerably. Bass articulation and intelligibility has improved. More listening enjoyment has ensued.
The improvements in overall SQ that can be made with the source (Extreme) and the source of the source (IT chain) without changing any other variables in a system is mind blowing. The great news is that these improvements effect everything down stream of the server too.
Help with TAS needed! For some reason, the last couple of days I can not get TAS to play. Everything looks normal. The progress bar shows the track playing -- but no sound. Room plays with no problem! I've restarted the DAC and Extreme. Anyone run into this problem?
With the new OS and USB Drivers with the 4 profiles, the PCM and DSD Buffer sizes in TAS DAC Settings screen need to be set to Auto. This is done by draging the sliders way to the left
Within minutes of my post, Edward appeared out of the ether to solve the issue. Impressed to say the least!
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