Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[dminches]

I am more interesting in knowing if Emile thinks we may see the router delivered by Oct 1.

 

[marty]

Those devices generate network activity, app background activity, sync your iCloud backup, upload telemetry, the privacy violation stuff like your location, etc. More when in use then when in sleep mode. Apple seems to do that a bit more then Google (android) but neither are saints in that area.

Understood, but both Mac and PC devices do all these things. Yet using one seems to delivery improved SQ? Not sure why that would be since, as has been pointed out, there's not that much traffic moving from Extreme to remote handheld device. So the handhelds should not be overly burdened with either operating systems. Further, if one remedy is "Feel free to boost transmission power and/or mount a larger antenna", how exactly does one do the former? Is that even doable to the end user like me (with the technical abilities of a plant?)

I also wonder....lately my device performance has been so sluggish that I was curious if something changed recently in the Extreme software. I haven't raised this previously because I use Roon and always assumed the recent onset of sluggishness was a Roon function but my sense is that XDMS users are experiencing this as well? My Extreme is hard wired via the switch to my ISP and ipad is in the same room as a mesh satellite which delivers 1GB service, but sometimes I have to wait 30 seconds for a program to engage after hitting play. It sounds like a buffering issue but my buffering settings have not changed in at least 2 years. Yet performance is disappointing with occasional crashes that are remedied by re-starting the Extreme. I don't know if XDMS-NSM will resolve this. I suspect that I can only grin and bear it for now. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Steve Williams]

If there are 17 projects in the pipeline all of which improve Taiko Im interested I hearing what lies ahead

 

[Steve Williams]

I also wonder....lately my device performance has been so sluggish that I was curious if something changed recently in the Extreme software. I haven't raised this previously because I use Roon and always assumed the recent onset of sluggishness was a Roon function but my sense is that XDMS users are experiencing this as well? My ipad is in the same room as a mesh satellite which delivers 1GB service, yet sometimes I have to wait 30 seconds for a program to engage after hitting play. It sounds like a buffering issue but my buffering settings have not changed in at least 2 years Yet performance is disappointing with occasional crashes that are remedied by re-starting the Extreme. I don't know if XDMS-NEM will resolve this. I suspect that I can only grin and bear it for now. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Not so with XDMS. I have noticed zero slow down .Might be time to reach out to Taiko and have them install XDMS. I haven't used it all but once in the past 2 years

 

[dminches]

The topic of

Understood, but both Mac and PC devices do all these things. Yet using one seems to delivery improved SQ? Not sure why that would be since, as has been pointed out, there's not that much traffic moving from Extreme to remote handheld device. So the handhelds should not be overly burdened with either operating systems. Further, if one remedy is "Feel free to boost transmission power and/or mount a larger antenna", how exactly does one do the former? Is that even doable to the end user like me (with the technical abilities of a plant?)

I also wonder....lately my device performance has been so sluggish that I was curious if something changed recently in the Extreme software. I haven't raised this previously because I use Roon and always assumed the recent onset of sluggishness was a Roon function but my sense is that XDMS users are experiencing this as well? My ipad is in the same room as a mesh satellite which delivers 1GB service, yet sometimes I have to wait 30 seconds for a program to engage after hitting play. It sounds like a buffering issue but my buffering settings have not changed in at least 2 years Yet performance is disappointing with occasional crashes that are remedied by re-starting the Extreme. I don't know if XDMS-NSM will resolve this. I suspect that I can only grin and bear it for now. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Marty, if you have a device connected to the Taiko router Wi-Fi and it is creating network traffic it will affect sound quality. It isn’t just about the communication between the Extreme and the device. That’s why having a dedicated device which is connected to the taiko router only doing XDMS-stuff if the ideal solution. With respect to why each device may sound different, they all create different network traffic at different rates. Those differences may affect the sound.

Right now there is some delay in cover art populating in the XDMS app. When you try to look at your albums or artists the art does not appear immediately. I don’t know if that is a device issue or an Extreme to device issue.

 

[John T]

So can someone explain if streaming (say for television) that I rarely watch, if streaming quality is reduced and the Television is on the same network as WiFi. How is this all incorporated into the network???

 

[Taiko Audio]

I am more interesting in knowing if Emile thinks we may see the router delivered by Oct 1.

I posted the delivery estimates from the surface finish company a few pages back, should be imminent.

I have boxes full of routers and dc distributors sitting here idle for weeks already, but they do need to be mounted in a chassis before we ship them.

 

[dminches]

Thanks. I didn’t know how much time it would take to load the PCBs into the cases, package and ship, and if any additional testing needs to be done.

 

[Taiko Audio]

Thanks. I didn’t know how much time it would take to load the PCBs into the cases, package and ship, and if any additional testing needs to be done.

That would be a matter of days, it’s only 200 in total and we can have the whole crew working on it.

 

[marty]

For the OCD audiophile a quick “tweak” is enabling “low data mode” on your ipad.

What to expect in Low Data Mode​

Different apps use different ways of reducing data usage in Low Data Mode. In general, here's what you can expect:

• Apps might stop using network data when you're not actively using them.
• Background App Refresh is turned off.
• The quality of streaming content might be reduced.
• Automatic downloads and backups are turned off.
• Services such as iCloud Photos pause updates.

Built-in iOS apps and services adapt to Low Data Mode in the following ways:

• App Store: Video autoplay, automatic updates, and automatic downloads are turned off.
• Music: Automatic downloads and high quality streaming are turned off.
• Podcasts: The frequency of feed updates is limited, and episodes are downloaded only on Wi-Fi.
• News: Article prefetching is turned off.
• iCloud: Updates are paused, and automatic backups and iCloud Photos updates are turned off.
• FaceTime: Video bitrate is optimized for lower bandwidth.

https://support.apple.com/en-vn/HT210596

Very helpful! Will try it.
But is this a concern? "Music: Automatic downloads and high quality streaming are turned off"

 

[oldmustang]

I also wonder....lately my device performance has been so sluggish that I was curious if something changed recently in the Extreme software. I haven't raised this previously because I use Roon and always assumed the recent onset of sluggishness was a Roon function but my sense is that XDMS users are experiencing this as well? My Extreme is hard wired via the switch to my ISP and ipad is in the same room as a mesh satellite which delivers 1GB service, but sometimes I have to wait 30 seconds for a program to engage after hitting play. It sounds like a buffering issue but my buffering settings have not changed in at least 2 years. Yet performance is disappointing with occasional crashes that are remedied by re-starting the Extreme. I don't know if XDMS-NSM will resolve this. I suspect that I can only grin and bear it for now. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

There might be something else at work here Marty, though I can't offer clue what it might be. I haven't experienced a slow-down in performance with the Extreme/XDMS and I haven't ever experienced a crash. I don't want to be a Roon-basher, but some of what you are experiencing might be because of Roon.

Steve Z

 

[Taiko Audio]

If there are 17 projects in the pipeline all of which improve Taiko Im interested I hearing what lies ahead

Let me see if I can compile a list with release estimations / current status. May take me some time and it’s Sunday evening here

 

[marty]

Not so with XDMS. I have noticed zero slow down .Might be time to reach out to Taiko and have them install XDMS. I haven't used it all but once in the past 2 years

I've been on the XDMS list for a while. But Ed told me to hang on a while longer as there is a current bug with switching back to Roon. Once that is worked out, hopefully shortly, he plans to install XDMS (presumably beta) for me.

 

[marty]

There might be something else at work here Marty, though I can't offer clue what it might be. I haven't experienced a slow-down in performance with the Extreme/XDMS and I haven't ever experienced a crash. I don't want to be a Roon-basher, but some of what you are experiencing might be because of Roon.

Steve Z

Totally agree. Hard to tell the Roon people anything. They always believe everything they do is perfect. Gave up on their threads a long time ago. We'll just have to see if this bug sorts out in time. I think Emile's suggestion to go to low data mode and strip the ipad of any superfluous programs make the most sense for now.

 

[Steve Williams]

Roon sounds much better with XDMS for reasons I can’t explain however XDMS is so much better sounding than Roon that is is a non issue for me plus IMO I believe that XDMS-NSM will be the death knell for Roon

 

[Taiko Audio]

"Feel free to boost transmission power and/or mount a larger antenna", how exactly does one do the former?

The Antenna is a screw on device:



The Wi-Fi operating mode, band and maximum transmitter power can be set in the interface:

 

[John T]

Totally agree. Hard to tell the Roon people anything. They always believe everything they do is perfect. Gave up on their threads a long time ago. We'll just have to see if this bug sorts out in time. I think Emile's suggestion to go to low data mode and strip the ipad of any superfluous programs make the most sense for now.

Marty, clear/empty the cache in ROON...That can help or resolve some of the PITA issues with Roon...

 

[nonesup]

I posted the delivery estimates from the surface finish company a few pages back, should be imminent.

I have boxes full of routers and dc distributors sitting here idle for weeks already, but they do need to be mounted in a chassis before we ship them.

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Will the DC Distributor ship at the same time as the Router?

 

[Taiko Audio]

Will the DC Distributor ship at the same time as the Router?

Yes.

 

[SwissTom]

Those devices generate network activity, app background activity, sync your iCloud backup, upload telemetry, the privacy violation stuff like your location, etc. More when in use then when in sleep mode. Apple seems to do that a bit more then Google (android) but neither are saints in that area.

An elegant solution would be to use GrapheneOS on a Pixel Tablet. We could then keep the traffic to a strict minimum.

But that's not for everyone. One has to like getting one's hands dirty.


Another solution would be to install a firewall on an iPad or Android tablet, and then only open certain ports: for Roon and XDMS.


Emile, is that something you've already tried?