Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

nuway

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Jun 26, 2019
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We have implemented the fiber settings on one Extreme so far and are waiting for feedback. If positive we will roll it out to all, watch this space!

Christoph

Can both fiber and Ethernet be installed at the same time?
 

Rhapsody

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hols

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Jan 14, 2020
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Big thanks to Christoph for upgrading the firmware for me. Sure the magic is back. The presence and transparency which has been missed for such a long time all seem to come back to life. I would say that the presence and transparency is back to 90% of previous state. In my system there is a slight lack of 'juice' of the sound. It is difficult to say whether it is related to the upgraded firmware or not because this may as well be contributed by the inadequate burned in brand new Denafrips Terminator Plus which I replaced my Terminator last week. The sound is very enjoyable now.
Big thanks to the Taiko Team again for the excellent upgrade and high hopes for the upcoming TAS.
 

RichardA

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Mar 21, 2017
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How do you define fiber network? I have fiber running from my switch to the extreme.
 

Taiko Audio

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Feb 10, 2017
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Big thanks to Christoph for upgrading the firmware for me. Sure the magic is back. The presence and transparency which has been missed for such a long time all seem to come back to life. I would say that the presence and transparency is back to 90% of previous state. In my system there is a slight lack of 'juice' of the sound. It is difficult to say whether it is related to the upgraded firmware or not because this may as well be contributed by the inadequate burned in brand new Denafrips Terminator Plus which I replaced my Terminator last week. The sound is very enjoyable now.
Big thanks to the Taiko Team again for the excellent upgrade and high hopes for the upcoming TAS.

I would recommend switching to fiber for ultimate transparancy/incisiveness.
 

nonesup

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Feb 15, 2017
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Well the "poor" also receive "Emile's goodies" :) D9FB7A31-ACA6-4ABA-85B7-723412D38CD2.jpeg
 

Xymox

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Apr 16, 2019
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If its not giving away too many secrets, what got improved that made roon better ? Like deep technical detail :)
 
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Rhapsody

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I listened further with today's update. In my system(s) the update was more significant than adding a good switch with a good LPS. Not so dissimilar in effect. It infuses energy and brightens up the presentation. More vibrant.

Another way of saying it but not really as descriptive is turning up the gain. Not the volume. As in giving a stronger signal. More pure of a signal.

Anyway, the update was not subtle in my environment.

I shouldn't even say this but yesterday I was playing a $300K+ system. I listen to RadioSwissClassic a lot. It sounds glorious on that $300K+ system.

Today I set up a demo system. Total cost $60K. It's a different sonic presentation of course as all speakers have their own presentation, but I have to say the $60K system, now with the Extreme updated, is a notch up sonically. MORE VIBRANT, taking into account the different electronics/speakers.

The update on the larger scale system would even be a BIG step up, but my point is this update was significant. Thx Emile and Co.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
For me it was much more than turning up the gain because none of the following would’ve been much better when I turned up the gain. specifically timbre, tone, decay, holographic imaging etc along with such a feeling of presence that I get an “I am there” sensation. in my system the bass is now better Previously turning up the gain only made the sound louder.

I maintain that for me this is what creates a sense of presence and that is what captured my attention of this Roon tweak by Emile. In fact rather than turning the volume up I’m finding that I’m now turning my gain control lower.

whatever and however Emile did it I’ve been unable to A/B but I truly believe that this Roon version is so good that I would likely not be able to tell one from the other in a blinded test
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
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+1 to all the positive comments. it was nice to see the note from Emile that he had done the update, i was looking forward to getting home from work and listening. my first 45 minute impressions quick sampling 20-25 go-to tracks line up with Bob's take down the line.

---veils lifted, more open and vivid, added sparkle and more inner light beaming from the music. more life and energy and flow.

---more holographic and atmospheric.....a bit more sense of reach out and touch it. more sense of separation in the soundstage. it 'pops' more.

--as Steve mentions the music commands more of my attention. more difficult to multi-task.

--on large scale classical music (which is a big part of what i listen to) quite a difference in sexyness, more music and less 'sound'. bass is a bit more punchy.

---tried redbook, PCM high rez and dsd on my hard drives and Quboz across different resolutions and the results were consistent.

hard to actually quantitate this type of improvement; is it 2% or 5% or 33%? numbers are not useful. it's noticeably more lively, alive and energetic.

thanks Emile and the whole Taiko team for the commitment to our musical pleasure.......and getting us to this place with such little effort on our part other than our faith in you guys.

now about an hour in this is pretty cool.:cool:
 
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nenon

Well-Known Member
Jan 29, 2020
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Chicago
It's quite amusing to read this....

I can tell from following this thread in the past 24 hours that at least one of the changes that was applied was something related to the network adaptor. First the setting was applied to one or both of the onboard motherboard NICs. Then, after some validation, a similar tweak was applied to the Startech PCIe NIC for those who connect their Extreme with fiber optical cable.

What is interesting is to see the two guys in this forum who are on two completely different extremes comment.

@Rhapsody has taken network tweaks to absolute extremities with a dedicated fiber Internet line for his music network, dual M12 switches, Waversa WRouter, all sitting on CMS Center Stage on a Daiza platform, powered by two Optimo LPS, etc. Never seen anything like that!

@Steve Williams from what I have seen in this thread keeps refusing to hear about or try any network tweaks.

As an observing person who does not have an Extreme and can't provide any useful feedback about the impact of the changes many Extreme owners received today, I can only say this - I am not surprised to hear that the change seems to have more signiffic impact on the system with no network tweaks than on the system with state of the art network tweaks. Good job to the Taiko team for pulling this off.
 
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Rhapsody

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For me it was much more than turning up the gain because none of the following would’ve been much better when I turned up the gain. specifically timbre, tone, decay, holographic imaging etc along with such a feeling of presence that I get an “I am there” sensation. in my system the bass is now better Previously turning up the gain only made the sound louder.

I maintain that for me this is what creates a sense of presence and that is what captured my attention of this Roon tweak by Emile. In fact rather than turning the volume up I’m finding that I’m now turning my gain control lower.

whatever and however Emile did it I’ve been unable to A/B but I truly believe that this Roon version is so good that I would likely not be able to tell one from the other in a blinded test

Steve,

First of all without you ever hearing my system(s) or I yours conversation about what you are hearing and what I am hearing is pointless. I'm sure you understand that.

Just different terminology. When I say turn up the gain, it has nothing to do with volume in my thinking. It means giving every note more presence, that can translate into greater tonality and texture.

My way of expressing what I hear is using my sonic vocabulary and how I perceive the sonic presentation.

The update infuses energy and brightens up the presentation. More vibrant. That's in my system(s).

This means every note on the soundstage to me. The bass, all of the details all are more present.

Also in each system and to each listener they are going to hear and observe differently. What might apply to you and what you are hearing with your ears in your system, might not translate at all to someone else's system, with their ears and their sonic priorities.

You have your great experience and I have mine, surely everyone else that has done the update or will will have their own experience as well.
 

vjayh

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2012
31
27
923
Roon update done. Thank you so much Emile and Christoph. Using Fiber to the Extreme. Immediately can also confirm...it's a step up for sure. I'm in a fairly tweaked network environment with 2x SoTM switches both clocked with CH T-1, w/ LPS, etc.

Taiko = The Roon Whisperer. Biggest improvements are in dimension and layering- Roon updates had flattened the presentation with last 2 updates. Agree on the presence and dynamics being up a notch. I hear a fair bit more nuance and separation of instruments. I always focus on midrange, particularly horns and strings. Hearing the horn section layered in with the string section again instead of both more blurred together. I can pick out each instrument and instrument section. Agree on the comments or perception of brighter or more gain, but in a good way. More open. Bass more defined.
 

Rhapsody

VIP/Donor
Jan 16, 2013
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Rhapsody.Audio
Roon update done. Thank you so much Emile and Christoph. Using Fiber to the Extreme. Immediately can also confirm...it's a step up for sure. I'm in a fairly tweaked network environment with 2x SoTM switches both clocked with CH T-1, w/ LPS, etc.

Taiko = The Roon Whisperer. Biggest improvements are in dimension and layering- Roon updates had flattened the presentation with last 2 updates. Agree on the presence and dynamics being up a notch. I hear a fair bit more nuance and separation of instruments. I always focus on midrange, particularly horns and strings. Hearing the horn section layered in with the string section again instead of both more blurred together. I can pick out each instrument and instrument section. Agree on the comments or perception of brighter or more gain, but in a good way. More open. Bass more defined.

COOL! I think it's fun listening to everyone's experiences and how the update had an effect on their sonic presentations.

AND IT WAS ALL FREE:)
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Bob

I agree .........it is different terminology.

At the end of the day we all agree it is a huge improvement from Roon we had before. I also agree about things sound different because all systems are different
 

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