Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[Kris]

Let's take it one step further. In the 3 years after which Kris noticed some creeping harshness, has he ever cleaned his interconnect wire and speaker terminations (w Caig's DeoxIT or equivalent)? It has long been recommended (by HP and others) that audiophiles do this once per year. You might try that and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks for reminding me about that. I forgot to do it .
I think last time I did it it was 3 years ago before I got extreme.
What solution is the highest recommendation for cleaning ?

 

[Ackcheng]

I normally wrap the terminals with duct tape/ taflon tape. The surface still looks shiny years after. I though it might avoid oxidation. Anyone doing the same thing?

 

[lscangus]

Thanks for reminding me about that. I forgot to do it .
I think last time I did it it was 3 years ago before I got extreme.
What solution is the highest recommendation for cleaning ?

3M contact cleaner does the job quite well.

I normally wrap the terminals with duct tape/ taflon tape. The surface still looks shiny years after. I though it might avoid oxidation. Anyone doing the same thing?

What a brilliant idea actually.

 

[2ndLiner]

I normally wrap the terminals with duct tape/ taflon tape. The surface still looks shiny years after. I though it might avoid oxidation. Anyone doing the same thing?

Is it possible to show a couple of photos? Thanks!

 

[Ackcheng]

I will try to take some some photos when I get home. But it’s mainly for speaker terminals. May not be possible to get get a good seal for power supply terminal as the socket is recessed.

 

[Christiaan Punter]

I never turn it off, if you want to turn it off it would be best to only use the front button. The rear mains powerswitch I would only use if power needs to be removed for functional reasons. The amount of full powercycles tested is 5.040 with no lasting detrimental effect on SQ. Naturally recovering from a full powercycle can take 2 or 3 days.

Hi Kris, indeed, I do not currently have an Extreme.

 

[Taiko Audio]

Hi Kris, indeed, I do not currently have an Extreme.

Working on it

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Thanks to all trying to explain it.
After additional day it's really great sounding.
You might be right with oxydation.
I remember that some time ago after removing and placing it back again normally I was unable to turn it on. There was no power .
I had to screw fuse very hard to get the power on.

I still have it so if there is interest from your end I can send it so you can
Perform autopsy.
Not sure if it makes sense.
Bad fuse , easy to be solved.

Hi Kris, reading your comment "I had to screw fuse very hard to get the power on." makes me think that the old fuse may have been mechanically/physically deformed and not making good contact. In any event, glad that the new fuse fixed it. I can say from experience that this is not normal behavior. Fuses routinely last decades or more with zero issues and practically undiminished performance while a cleaning every now and then should take care of any small degradation that may occur due to oxidization over time. Whether or not one may still want to replace them down the line to upgrade is another matter

 

[Taiko Audio]

Hi Kris, reading your comment "I had to screw fuse very hard to get the power on." makes me think that the old fuse may have been mechanically/physically deformed and not making good contact. In any event, glad that the new fuse fixed it. I can say from experience that this is not normal behavior. Fuses routinely last decades or more with zero issues and practically undiminished performance while a cleaning every now and then should take care of any small degradation that may occur due to oxidization over time. Whether or not one may still want to replace them down the line to upgrade is another matter

I should add here that we deliberately fitted a high current / designed for tough environments fuseholder, this has a much stiffer spring then your usual fuseholder, which in turn requires more force to tighten it.

 

[oldmustang]

Thanks for reminding me about that. I forgot to do it .
I think last time I did it it was 3 years ago before I got extreme.
What solution is the highest recommendation for cleaning ?

I'm sure everyone has their own favorites. Mine is Caig Laboratories ProGold. It cleans and preserves and is safe for current-carrying interfaces and in its high-temperature formulation is even safe for vacuum tube pins. I prefer the little bottle with the brush over the aerosol spray.

A tiny dab of ProGold with the brush allowed to work for a few minutes then buffed off works very well (we used it in the Navy for all sorts of pin-to-socket connections in Molex connectors, cannon plugs, D sub-miniature (DB-9, etc) connectors, edge-mounted cards and the like.

For really tarnished connectors, Caig Laboratories Deoxit works to restore the connectors to their bright and shiny original finish. Like ProGold, dab some on, let it work, and clean it off.

Hope this helps,

Steve Z

 

[dminches]

I'm sure everyone has their own favorites. Mine is Caig Laboratories ProGold. It cleans and preserves and is safe for current-carrying interfaces and in its high-temperature formulation is even safe for vacuum tube pins. I prefer the little bottle with the brush over the aerosol spray.

A tiny dab of ProGold with the brush allowed to work for a few minutes then buffed off works very well (we used it in the Navy for all sorts of pin-to-socket connections in Molex connectors, cannon plugs, D sub-miniature (DB-9, etc) connectors, edge-mounted cards and the like.

For really tarnished connectors, Caig Laboratories Deoxit works to restore the connectors to their bright and shiny original finish. Like ProGold, dab some on, let it work, and clean it off.

Hope this helps,

Steve Z

Clean it off with a cloth I presume?

 

[oldmustang]

I normally wrap the terminals with duct tape/ taflon tape. The surface still looks shiny years after. I though it might avoid oxidation. Anyone doing the same thing?

I like that idea with teflon tape since it is stretchy and conforms to what it is wrapped over. Teflon pipe-thread tape is very inexpensive. I assume the duct tape is to keep the teflon tape from unraveling as it relaxes over time. I'd avoid duct tape directly on terminals since the adhesive is a real PITA to clean off. 3M #77 plastic electrical tape would work well for that application as well as duct tape.

The secret to having almost any plastic electrical tape stick and not eventually unravel is to avoid stretching it as much as possible or to use an unstretched final wrap over a stretched, half-lapped layer. Cutting the tape with a scissors rather than stretching and tearing it avoids most of this.

Any more tricks of the trade and I'll have to start charging!

Steve Z

 

[oldmustang]

Clean it off with a cloth I presume?

Yep, buff off any excess with a clean, lint-free cloth -- a microfiber cloth works well. A microscopically thin layer will remain and that's all it takes to preserve the contact.

Steve Z

 

[Kris]

Thanks to All of You for the detailed information.
I am thrilled how important are all little things related to the Extreme.
It works excellent to start with, but than with additional knowledge you can improve it so much that it reaches the levels not accessible before.

I can't imagine the improvement levels we are going to Have with
1.XDMS + software upgrade
2. Network card
3. Switch
4. Router

Hope it will be very soon.

 

[Christiaan Punter]

For those of you who can’t make it to Munich High End this year, here is a preview of the XDMS banner that we will have on display

 

[simorag]

Sorry in advance about being pedantic, but ... XDMS? I thought it was like an internal code name until the product was officially released.
What about something a bit less nerdy / cryptic and more compelling?
Extreme (Audio) Player would be an obvious candidate unless it is already copyrighted, for example.
Again, just a 2C from a Taiko fan, and beautiful banner graphics and tag line by the way

 

[oldmustang]

Sorry in advance about being pedantic, but ... XDMS? I thought it was like an internal code name until the product was officially released.
What about something a bit less nerdy / cryptic and more compelling?
Extreme (Audio) Player would be an obvious candidate unless it is already copyrighted, for example.
Again, just a 2C from a Taiko fan, and beautiful banner graphics and tag line by the way

What's so cryptic? XDMS -- eXtreme Direct Music Server. It's not like it is going to be marketed to the music listening community at large like, say, Roon (which has always seemed to be a stupid name to me).

Only my 2C as well.

Steve Z

 

[Rhapsody]

I think XDMS sounds great as it exemplifies the culmination of the last several years of incredibly tenacious work by the Taiko team. It's the name that we have known now for quite a while and XDMS represents what most of us have been longing for!

Long live XDMS!!!

 

[simorag]

What's so cryptic? XDMS -- eXtreme Digital Music Server. It's not like it is going to be marketed like, say, Roon (which has always seemed to be a stupid name to me).

Only my 2C as well.

Steve Z

Well, in my line of business I am bombarded by acronyms, so perhaps I developed some kind of exaggerated listening fatigue LOL

 

[oldmustang]

Well, in my line of business I am bombarded by acronyms, so perhaps I developed some kind of exaggerated listening fatigue LOL

Fair observation. Perhaps like Bob says, I've been hearing about XDMS for some time now and it has just been assimilated into my audiophile lexicon, like PCM or DSD or WTF?

Don't get me started about the Navy and acronyms -- there is actually a publication explaining hundreds if not thousands of Navy acronyms, called -- I kid you not -- The DICNAVAB (The Dictionary of Navy Abbreviations)!

Steve Z