Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[Christiaan Punter]

Here are some nice pics of the Extreme Network Switch.


Left SFP port = input; right SFP port = Output. Both accept a DAC Cable directly or can be fitted with an RJ45 or Glass Fiber adapter module.






For now, the Switch is placed on a double-layer MDF panel that sits directly on the Artesania Exoteryc rack's outer frame. Due to the inner rack being suspended from the outside rack, the inner rack has a very mild pendulum behavior that achieves basically the inverse of normal racks, in that lower levels sound more relaxed than upper levels. The MDF panel was an easy method to bypass this and make the lowest level sound tighter and more expressive and was only ever meant for temporary use. Of course, MDF is far from ideal and I fully expect to be able to make audible improvements using other platform materials underneath the Switch. To be continued...

 

[Christiaan Punter]

With the Extreme Music Server powered down, it is time to install the Extreme Network Card.

The Extreme Network Card goes into Slot 2 (the second from the left). Note the PCIe contact area is only a fraction of the length of the full PCI slot. When properly aligned on the right-hand side, the card can be gently pushed into the PCI slot.



Before tightening the bracket, make sure that there is enough space on the Extreme chassis ledge for it to sit flat. Here, you can see that the adjacent black bracket was positioned a little too far to the left, resulting in the Extreme Network Card's bracket overlapping (which is not good):



After slightly unscrewing the screw of the bracket on the right and repositioning it, there was more space for the Network Card to be correctly seated fully flat:



If an Enhanced USB card is installed then the DC cable needs to be removed by unscrewing the round tightening nut and pulling out the connector in a straight manner. Below is the regular DC power cable that can be set aside and won't be needed anymore.



Then, you can install the supplied new Y-splitter cable:



First, connect the round connector to the DC output and fasten the round tightening nut. Below, it is shown with the ring loosened:



Here it is show with the ring tightened:



Then, insert the two square semi-transparent Molex connectors into the respective slots on the USB Card and Network Card. These are made such that they only fit in one orientation. Here you can see the DC splitter cable connected to both the Enhanced USB card (left) and the Extreme Network Card (right):



Here you can see the Network Card fully installed and (as soon as I have installed the script) ready for use:



Now, it's ready for listening! I will make sure to document my findings and publish the results here, and on the Taiko website.

 

[engadin]

Further experiments on the ideal material to place switch, router, power distributor upon are highly welcome!

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Further experiments on the ideal material to place switch, router, power distributor upon are highly welcome!

I will definitely share my experiences

 

[joet]

Hi Joet, thanks for the extra confirmation. Don't worry, even if your initial post may have caused something of a stir, the information is still valuable and I'm sure will be of help to other customers with a streaming DAC.

Thank you, Christiaan. The fact that it caused a stir (which I remain sorry about) is testimony to the great and attentive support and customer concern that Emile and the entire Taiko team show. I've been so impressed. As you alluded to, I was simply trying to help other Merging owners, or the 20% of users who connect their Taiko to their DAC via Ethernet. Still, the seriousness with which you took my reports and the courtesy the team has created a loyal and supportive customer. I love the Extreme and the switch/card combo and I look forward to receiving the router and other future innovations. Emile, Christiaan, Ed, thank you for such great and caring support.

 

[joet]

Hi Arthur,

Thank you for reporting in. Out of curiosity, which slots are the 2 network cards in? I would expect slot 2 to be the best solution for connecting to the upstream network, for connecting to your merging I would expect slot 5 (which normally holds the USB card) to be superior. I'd also be curious how adding the switch between Extreme network card and Merging or between Extreme and upstream network impact things relatively. If you would be able to test that it would be very nice to know.

Hi Emile, I was able to test the configuration you laid out above and found that, at least to me, placing the switch between the Extreme network card in slot 5 and the NADAC sounds about 5% better than placing the switch between the router and the Extreme. Overall, there appears to be a small but noticeable improvement in coherence and separation. To help clarify, the original configuration I used was Eero node -> switch via copper Ethernet -> switch to Extreme via DAC cable connected to network card in slot 2-> Extreme to NADAC via copper Ethernet from network card in slot 5. The revised configuration was: Eeros node to Extreme via copper Ethernet using the network card in slot 2 -> Extreme to switch via DAC cable, using the network card in slot 5 -> switch to NADAC via copper Ethernet. Question: If I want to use the second configuration (switch connecting directly to NADAC) using the new router, where should it go in the chain?

 

[jelt2359]

If each switch is giving 20% improvement, and the switch gives u 5% extra between the extreme and the dac....

It seems two switches will give you 45% improvement. That's astounding. I'm not using ethernet to my switch, but that's really good news for those who do.

 

[Christiaan Punter]

On

The latest update for the Routers was on 25-05-2023 when Emile estimated that the new PCBs with WIFI would take around 4 weeks but that It’s probably more up to when the Router cases surface finishing is applied. Meanwhile, all I can add is that wifi implementation is ongoing and that no predetermined due ready date has been set just yet.

There is a good chance that we still have DC Power Distributors in stock, I will double-check. If interested, one can be ordered via a custom link. Please send us a mail via Support@TaikoAudio.com to request it.

Correction to my earlier post:

There are no DC Power Distributors in stock just yet. We built only a couple for PCB fitting purposes and other tests. We are building a batch concurrently with a batch of Routers and they will be delivered together. Some finalization work on the Router is ongoing and there is no predetermined due-ready date just yet.

 

[Armsan]

Hi Emile, I was able to test the configuration you laid out above and found that, at least to me, placing the switch between the Extreme network card in slot 5 and the NADAC sounds about 5% better than placing the switch between the router and the Extreme. Overall, there appears to be a small but noticeable improvement in coherence and separation. To help clarify, the original configuration I used was Eero node -> switch via copper Ethernet -> switch to Extreme via DAC cable connected to network card in slot 2-> Extreme to NADAC via copper Ethernet from network card in slot 5. The revised configuration was: Eeros node to Extreme via copper Ethernet using the network card in slot 2 -> Extreme to switch via DAC cable, using the network card in slot 5 -> switch to NADAC via copper Ethernet. Question: If I want to use the second configuration (switch connecting directly to NADAC) using the new router, where should it go in the chain?

Which software player are you using to connect the Extreme and your NADAC DAC? Thank You.

 

[joet]

Which software player are you using to connect the Extreme and your NADAC DAC? Thank You.

Roon. I don't have XDMS yet.

 

[joet]

If each switch is giving 20% improvement, and the switch gives u 5% extra between the extreme and the dac....

It seems two switches will give you 45% improvement. That's astounding. I'm not using ethernet to my switch, but that's really good news for those who do.

It's a 5% improvement to my ears (of course this is a very subjective measure) after the switch has already been in the system. So it makes my head hurt a little to figure out the impact of a second switch in the chain. I don't think we can tell until it's actually tested.

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Roon. I don't have XDMS yet.

I feel I should mention that XDMS is designed with ultimate Sound Quality in mind and to output via local ASIO over USB only. Because we want to control as much of the software playback chain as possible, it does not have streaming capabilities. As such, XDMS could not be used to stream from the Extreme server to another endpoint. For that, you can use Roon, which will only sound even better than it does now, once the Router and DC Power Distributor have been added.

 

[Armsan]

Roon. I don't have XDMS yet.

And will XDMS be able to connect to your DAC not being a USB connection?

 

[joet]

I feel I should mention that XDMS is designed with ultimate Sound Quality in mind and to output via local ASIO over USB only. Because we want to control as much of the software playback chain as possible, it does not have streaming capabilities. As such, XDMS could not be used to stream from the Extreme server to another endpoint. For that, you can use Roon, which will only sound even better than it does now, once the Router and DC Power Distributor have been added.

Ok, thanks. But to be clear, it isn't going to another Roon endpoint. The Extreme is the Roon endpoint and is connecting to the DAC via Ravenna using an ASIO Ravenna driver. This doesn't necessarily change the fact that XDMS requires a USB connection, but I wanted to clarify. The NADACs aren't streaming DACs. They are using a very specific Ethernet protocol to communicate.

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Ok, thanks. But to be clear, it isn't going to another Roon endpoint. The Extreme is the Roon endpoint and is connecting to the DAC via Ravenna using an ASIO Ravenna driver. This doesn't necessarily change the fact that XDMS requires a USB connection, but I wanted to clarify. The NADACs aren't streaming DACs. They are using a very specific Ethernet protocol to communicate.

Indeed, you will be able to use XDMS just as you are using Roon now, with the Ravenna ASIO driver. Just not in a traditional split server and remote network endpoint manner.

 

[joet]

Ok, thanks. But to be clear, it isn't going to another Roon endpoint. The Extreme is the Roon endpoint and is connecting to the DAC via Ravenna using an ASIO Ravenna driver. This doesn't necessarily change the fact that XDMS requires a USB connection, but I wanted to clarify. The NADACs aren't streaming DACs. They are using a very specific Ethernet protocol to communicate.

Indeed, you will be able to use XDMS just as you are using Roon now, with the Ravenna ASIO driver. Just not in a traditional split server and remote network endpoint manner.

That's great news. Thanks.

 

[joet]

And will XDMS be able to connect to your DAC not being a USB connection?

According to Christiaan's response, yes.

 

[Christiaan Punter]

According to Christian's response, yes.

Indeed, as long as XDMS can play to local ASIO and you have a compatible driver, either our Taiko USB driver or in Joet's case a specialized Ravenna ASIO driver for Nadac, then it will work.

I just wanted to point out that XDMS works fundamentally differently from Roon in that its server and player software parts are normally and ideally contained within the Extreme server, using a single local ASIO USB zone.

 

[alwayslearning]

Indeed, as long as XDMS can play to local ASIO and you have a compatible driver, either our Taiko USB driver or in Joet's case a specialized Ravenna ASIO driver for Nadac, then it will work.

I just wanted to point out that XDMS works fundamentally differently from Roon in that its server and player software parts are normally and ideally contained within the Extreme server, using a single local ASIO USB zone.

I thought that Taiko's forthcoming DAC did not make use of any USB connection or zone -- that it was an entirely new implementation developed by Taiko that bypassed the limitations of USB. But surely we could expect to use XDMS with Taiko's own DAC, yes? What am I not understanding?

 

[Christiaan Punter]

I thought that Taiko's forthcoming DAC did not make use of any USB connection or zone -- that it was an entirely new implementation developed by Taiko that bypassed the limitations of USB. But surely we could expect to use XDMS with Taiko's own DAC, yes? What am I not understanding?

Roon is a two-prong system (three-prong if you count the control point) in which there is a server that can live on one computer and a player that can live on another computer. The server can stream to the player via a standard network. XDMS on the other hand is a contained server+player system on a single computer and its server part cannot natively stream to a remotely located player part via network. It can, however, be connected to a DAC via USB or indeed the upcoming new Taiko digital interface in all its variants. The exception is that XDMS can, if so desired, stream via a 3rd party plugin if that plugin works with ASIO. In that case, XDMS player still outputs to ASIO as designed, but the 3rd party plugin picks up the signal and re-wraps it for (proprietary) network transport to a suitable Merging NADAC network player.

The upcoming DAC is a PCI card with a DAC module on board. This PCI card will be mounted inside the Extreme. Naturally, it will work with XDMS as well as Roon.

The version of the PCI card with digital outputs will also work with XDMS and Roon.

Please see attached product summary doc for all the ins and outs.