Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[DW101]

If I understand correctly, to use the OPTO-DX you removed USB from the equation- might very well be worth trying the Taiko USB card, and try the SRC-DX instead. So it would look like this:
Extreme > Taiko USB > SRC-DX (USB to dual BNC) > Dave

Adding an SRC.DX might be your best choice with the Chord DAVE.

Hey jelt2350 and nenon,

thanks so much for your thoughtful replies - I was a bit too casual in my description and totally forgot to mention I do have a SRX.DX (out of sight, out of mind!). I also use AudioWise's DC.BLOCK BNC filters.

The only issue is it does not work for streaming Tidal, Qobuz, etc.

So my Extreme > DAC chain is:
Taiko USB card + driver > iFi Gemini USB cable (dual headed so I currently feed power from an Uptone UltraCap LPS 1.2) > SRC.DX > dual Oyaide 510 silver BNCs > (OPTO.DX tx+Uptone UltraCap LPS 1.2) > (OPTO.DX tx+Uptone UltraCap LPS 1.2) > dual Oyaide 510 silver BNCs > DC.BLOCK > DAVE dual BNC inputs.

I'll do the experiment of eliminating the OPTO.DX over Christmas when I have time to prepare and get hold of a longer USB cable (and then experiment with Extreme USB power source vs Uptone UltraCap). I'm curious about it as OPTO.DX appears on AudioWise's 'high end' system diagram signal chain after the SRC.DX. But I want to hear the Extreme with & without it.

Any thoughts on whether I should go for a longer USB cable or longer BNC cable when making up the cable run distance that the OPTO.DX currently occupies?

To get the best out of the Taiko Extreme, it is highly recommended that you take advantage of the Taiko USB driver.

I have heard the benefit of using the correct Taiko USB driver, so the SRC.DX is staying put!

Also, if you use a Sean Jacobs DC4 for your DAVE, Sean is about to release a new (inexpensive) board for the DAVE that everyone seems to love so far.

@nenon, you sold me your DC4 / ARC, so I will definitely look out for the new board.

The only issue is it does not work for streaming Tidal, Qobuz, etc.

I used to use HQPlayer to upsample non-PGGB streams / files, but post-Extreme I haven't yet used HQPlayer on the Extreme and to be honest I haven't missed it on even red-book content. A proper critical listening session assessing PGGB vs different sample rate files is yet another experiment on my to-do list!

Its the hobby that keeps on giving...thanks again for your replies, both.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

waiting for my listening room to be finished.

Tom, your patience is the stuff of legends! Very impressive. Hope your room is shaping up as you had hoped!

 

[jelt2359]

Hey jelt2350 and nenon,

thanks so much for your thoughtful replies - I was a bit too casual in my description and totally forgot to mention I do have a SRX.DX (out of sight, out of mind!). I also use AudioWise's DC.BLOCK BNC filters.


So my Extreme > DAC chain is:
Taiko USB card + driver > iFi Gemini USB cable (dual headed so I currently feed power from an Uptone UltraCap LPS 1.2) > SRC.DX > dual Oyaide 510 silver BNCs > (OPTO.DX tx+Uptone UltraCap LPS 1.2) > (OPTO.DX tx+Uptone UltraCap LPS 1.2) > dual Oyaide 510 silver BNCs > DC.BLOCK > DAVE dual BNC inputs.

I'll do the experiment of eliminating the OPTO.DX over Christmas when I have time to prepare and get hold of a longer USB cable (and then experiment with Extreme USB power source vs Uptone UltraCap). I'm curious about it as OPTO.DX appears on AudioWise's 'high end' system diagram signal chain after the SRC.DX. But I want to hear the Extreme with & without it.

Any thoughts on whether I should go for a longer USB cable or longer BNC cable when making up the cable run distance that the OPTO.DX currently occupies?


I have heard the benefit of using the correct Taiko USB driver, so the SRC.DX is staying put!


@nenon, you sold me your DC4 / ARC, so I will definitely look out for the new board.


I used to use HQPlayer to upsample non-PGGB streams / files, but post-Extreme I haven't yet used HQPlayer on the Extreme and to be honest I haven't missed it on even red-book content. A proper critical listening session assessing PGGB vs different sample rate files is yet another experiment on my to-do list!

Its the hobby that keeps on giving...thanks again for your replies, both.

How long is your current USB cable? Well, I had that issue too with a 1m USB cable. And it just so happens that Emile highly recommends (and I think still uses) a USB cable that's 1.5M, so that's what I ordered: the Intona Ultimate 1.5M USB.

I haven't heard the Opto.DX so it will be pure speculation on my part to comment, but good that you are using the SRC-DX!

 

[DW101]

And it just so happens that Emile highly recommends (and I think still uses) a USB cable that's 1.5M, so that's what I ordered

Ah that is very interesting to know, thanks! I think I can just about make 1.5m work, the current one is half that.

 

[unboxed]

How long is your current USB cable? Well, I had that issue too with a 1m USB cable. And it just so happens that Emile highly recommends (and I think still uses) a USB cable that's 1.5M, so that's what I ordered: the Intona Ultimate 1.5M USB.

I haven't heard the Opto.DX so it will be pure speculation on my part to comment, but good that you are using the SRC-DX!

Can you or Emile elaborate on why 1.5M is preferred?

Thanks.

 

[jelt2359]

Hi @cat6man,

Thank you for sharing your experiences. There are a few negative reports on using the sotm dx-usbHD too, I tried finding them but the forum search function does not return any results and I don't remember which DACs were used. I had an interesting experience with the Intona USB isolator probably around 2 years ago with the Totaldac D1-12mk2. I was using a 1 meter length Intona Ultimate USB cable and added the Intona isolator with a 0.2 meter long cable leading to the following configuration: Extreme -> Intona 0.2m -> Intona Isolator -> Intona 1m -> Totaldac reclocker, this I thought to better then just the 1 meter Intona. At some point in time the USB cable length became an inconvenience when switching between different DACs so I ordered an Intona Ultimate 1.5 meter long USB cable to replace the 1 meter Intona. This was actually performing worse to a surprising degree then before, even after prolonged burn in. I did need the 1.5 meter length so I removed the Isolator and 0.2 meter Intona and used only the 1.5 meter Intona, big surprise, this was the best setup by far. I ordered another 0.5 and 1 meter length and then tried a few other scenarios leading to these configurations from best to worst:

1) Extreme - 1.5 meter Intona - DAC (best by far)
2) Extreme - 0.2 meter Intona - Intona Isolator - 1 meter Intona - DAC
3) Extreme - 0.5 meter Intona - Intona Isolator - 1 meter Intona - DAC (minor difference with 2, might fail a blind test)
4) Extreme - 1 meter Intona - DAC
5) Extreme - 0.2 meter Intona - Intona Isolator - 1.5 meter Intona - DAC
6) Extreme - 0.5 meter Intona - Intona Isolator - 1.5 meter Intona - DAC
7) Extreme - 1 meter Intona - Intona Isolator - 1 meter Intona - DAC

This does remind of the good old days when everybody was using SPDIF where lots of people preferred longer SPDIF length cables (1.2 meter or longer if I recall correctly) over shorter ones, there was even a theory around reduced cable reflections at longer lengths although I have found no evidence of something like that interfering with USB signal integrity unless you do something extreme like creating a cable spool and assuming controlled impedance which would most certainly apply to the Intona Ultimate with its 0.5% impedance deviation selection criterium.

This is the post I found about this- I don't think 1.5m is generally preferred, but it seems in the specific case of the Intona Ultimate it is the better option.

 

[unboxed]

This is the post I found about this- I don't think 1.5m is generally preferred, but it seems in the specific case of the Intona Ultimate it is the better option.

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[nenon]

I'm curious about it as OPTO.DX appears on AudioWise's 'high end' system diagram signal chain after the SRC.DX. But I want to hear the Extreme with & without it.

The OPTO.DX is a premium product, but not necessarily the best for your application.
The Taiko Extreme changes some of the rules. Generally speaking, the less components you have between the Extreme's USB output and your DAC, the better.

While the OPTO.DX may do a good job "decrapifying" the crappy USB signal of noisy computers, it kind of gets on the way when used with the Extreme. Even the SRC.DX does, but bypassing the Amanero on the DAVE DAC does more good than the damage of adding another component in the digital output path. And you are up for a positive net (SQ) result, which is all that matters in the end.

So my Extreme > DAC chain is:
Taiko USB card + driver > iFi Gemini USB cable (dual headed so I currently feed power from an Uptone UltraCap LPS 1.2) > SRC.DX > dual Oyaide 510 silver BNCs > (OPTO.DX tx+Uptone UltraCap LPS 1.2) > (OPTO.DX tx+Uptone UltraCap LPS 1.2) > dual Oyaide 510 silver BNCs > DC.BLOCK > DAVE dual BNC inputs.

I will just remove the OPTO.DX here. Haven't tried the DC.BLOCK myself but I've heard from other people with Extreme -> SRC.DX -> Chord DAVE that they like it, so something for you to try and decide.

I used to use HQPlayer to upsample non-PGGB streams / files, but post-Extreme I haven't yet used HQPlayer on the Extreme and to be honest I haven't missed it on even red-book content. A proper critical listening session assessing PGGB vs different sample rate files is yet another experiment on my to-do list!

With XDMS I have no desire to go back to HQPlayer on the Extreme . Even TAS changed that for me.

@DW101 - shoot me a DM or an email if you have any questions, so we don't get into a Chord DAVE specific discussion here.

 

[steve williams]

The jumbo size of the dancing bar graph is a new bug in v31.

IT WILL BE SQUASHED in v32

It really is gigantic and is an eye sore

 

[SwissTom]

Tom, your patience is the stuff of legends! Very impressive. Hope your room is shaping up as you had hoped!

I spent the summer climbing, sport and alpine. And sometimes one has to work too. So I had less free time.

The listening room was left on hold.

Besides, it got a bit complicated as I will add four PSI AVAA C2s to ensure that the room's frequency response is as flat as possible. They have to be inserted/added to the rest of the acoustic treatment. That adds some work

 

[cat6man]

It really is gigantic and is an eye sore

It doesn't bother me at all since I don't look at it while listening to music.

Speaking of listening to music, the gaps in xdms are so much shorter than in tas, much more listenable (on a relative scale) than before, but I'm still looking forward to Ed telling us the gap HAS BEEN SQUASHED.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...please mind the gap!

 

[EuroDriver]

Honestly I don’t know what’s the official channel as well, I sent the personal message to Ed in WBF and also email to the backoffice@taikoaudio.com which Emil and his team send the TAS beta version email to me, hope this help

The email for support is support@taikoaudio.com


The procedure for getting the App in TestFlight, has two email invitations. The first App Store Connect invitation has to be accepted, then you get the TestFlight invitation.

 

[nonesup]

Hi Ed. I would like to know your answer to this question: once the alpha version of XDMS is installed, the successive updates, be they alpha, beta or definitive, no longer require Ed to connect, but only press the "update" button?

 

[dminches]

FWIW, when I upgraded to build 31, XDMS stopped working. Something must have happened to the player.conf file. I overwrote the current version of the file with the backup copy and XDMS started working again. Thanks @nenon .

 

[rau]

It doesn't bother me at all since I don't look at it while listening to music.

Speaking of listening to music, the gaps in xdms are so much shorter than in tas, much more listenable (on a relative scale) than before, but I'm still looking forward to Ed telling us the gap HAS BEEN SQUASHED

I spent the summer climbing, sport and alpine. And sometimes one has to work too. So I had less free time.

The listening room was left on hold.

Besides, it got a bit complicated as I will add four PSI AVAA C2s to ensure that the room's frequency response is as flat as possible. They have to be inserted/added to the rest of the acoustic treatment. That adds some work

View attachment 98059

I

FWIW, when I upgraded to build 31, XDMS stopped working. Something must have happened to the player.conf file. I overwrote the current version of the file with the backup copy and XDMS started working again. Thanks @nenon .

Ed installed that to just incase

 

[theaudiogeek]

The email for support is support@taikoaudio.com


The procedure for getting the App in TestFlight, has two email invitations. The first App Store Connect invitation has to be accepted, then you get the TestFlight invitation.

Hi Ed,

Are those invites sent automatically? Did check my TestFlight app and all I have is TAS app its expiting in 8 days.

Thanks

 

[ACHiPo]

I spent the summer climbing, sport and alpine. And sometimes one has to work too. So I had less free time.

The listening room was left on hold.

Besides, it got a bit complicated as I will add four PSI AVAA C2s to ensure that the room's frequency response is as flat as possible. They have to be inserted/added to the rest of the acoustic treatment. That adds some work

View attachment 98059

Definitely looking forward to following your build and experience with the AVAAs!

 

[ctydwn]

No problems here w the Build 31 push. Just showed up a bit ago that the software had been updated. Just had to reconnect manually to the Extreme through XDMS (settings icon then ‘connect to Extreme’) and enter the IP address (same one seen on VNC viewer). Excellent. Excited about any incremental improvements.

 

[Lojay]

Has anyone been able to get XDMS to play DSD on a non-DSD-native DAC like the Chord DAVE? It seems that the option to choose DSD over DoP is not available in the XDMS interface yet.