Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème
- Thread starter CKKeung
- Start date
We have multiple options for that, we have managed to increase dimensional efficiency and have a few new/additional designs coming up.
Hi Rhapsody,It's only a matter of time until you are assimilated into the Taiko Vortex.....resistance is futile
With my hobby spanning more than 50 years, a pattern has emerged in how I buy hi-fi. After some reasearch I put together a system based on the room I have available and on my current interest or ‘fascination’. For example. I defined my first system based on SME arm and Shure V15 cartridge, another around the Linn LP12, Linn Isobariks and Naim amps, a big SS system based around Sonus Faber Extremas, another based around the Guarneri Homage, a complete tube system built around Balanced Audio Technologies electronics and Avantgarde Trio Horns and my current system, an all digital streaming system built around a small room with Magico S1 MkIIs, Devialet electronics and Innuos Servers. I buy a system then spend the following years refining it to obtain the very best performance until something like a room change, boredom or clear improvements starts me on the next system. In essence I listen to music and enjoy my current system to satisfy my passion, while the ‘hobby‘ side of hi-fi involves my head starting the research into my future system.
What is emerging as my next system and hence my ongoing interest is the Taiko Network. My current system is build around a network with the goal of perfecting the network’s physical layer. The initial purchase was done around 4 years ago and in the interim I have more or less finished doing the refinement to the point I’m managing to exceed all my sonic hi-fi goals, which, given the room size was a major surprise. The system is build around commercially available, cheap-as-chips modem, router and bridge, supported by the very best cables, power supplies, vibration/resonance mitigation tools etc. So, when I’m ready to take things to the next level, my obvious move is to replace all the cheap network electronics with something far more capable and Taiko is emerging as the technology that is taking a holistic view of the entire network, such that the hi-fi starts at the hole in the wall where some sort of music transporting cable enters the premises.
So getting back to your one liner above, if one’s goal is the perfection of network music streaming, then budget allowing, Taiko is indeed the vortex one is very likely to get sucked into. It’s difficult to avoid if digital streaming perfection is the ultimate goal. What I’m personally enjoying very much is having a current system that’s meeting all my needs and creating huge enjoyment, while watching my future system continue to evolve and improve.
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I very much look forward to seeing these new designs
.Do you have a rough idea of when you will be able to show them?
And regarding orders, it will be early May if I'm not mistaken. Right?
Cheers,
Thomas
I very much look forward to seeing these new designs
Do you have a rough idea of when you will be able to show them?
And regarding orders, it will be early May if I'm not mistaken. Right?
Cheers,
Thomas
Mainly waiting for some spare time on the CNC machine! A few weeks perhaps.
@Taiko Audio
Hope this wasn’t asked before. What made you go with an external switch rather than an inbuilt one inside the extreme. ?
Hope this wasn’t asked before. What made you go with an external switch rather than an inbuilt one inside the extreme. ?
I did actually try that but it does not produce the same results. Although the switch gives you a significant % of the performance using dual rj45 SFP modules turning it into a “regular” switch there is an additional benefit of using a DAC cable to interface switch to server and powering the switch seperately.
@Blackmorec you can use our switch as a regular switch in your setup. You can return it for a full refund if you don’t like it… If you run a PC based server you can even use the network card. It’s not Extreme exclusive.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Well yesterday was quite a day of listening but I have to share one experience that I feel compelled to mention. I got brave yesterday and switched to Roon which I had not listened to in years. What I heard was nothing short of fantastic with the switch. There is no doubt in my mind that Roon plus the Taiko switch does sound better than XDMS without the switch so big gains for all you Roon users. The reailty check however is switching back to XDMS plus switch and then all bets are off. The card and bracket issue is just one of those unfortunate things but it will be resolved by the end of the week. thanks to Emile’s rapid response in getting new brackets laser machined
Indeed, it’s hard to go back to the old network card, even just for a week or two, once you have heard the new one.
Indeed!
As usual - hard to express in words but - easily heard.
Fortunately - we don't have to wait that long.
Everyone is different. I don't feel that way at all. I have been enjoying music for several days now with the Switch and the old card. It still sounds a LOT better to me, in my system, than XDMS sounded prior to the Switch.
I actually could live with just the Switch and the old card. Your systems/ears must all be different than mine. No big deal with that.
I actually could live with just the Switch and the old card. Your systems/ears must all be different than mine. No big deal with that.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
You can't unring a bell Bob. I have no desire to go back to old network card and switch
No reason that you should if the new card is working reliably for you.
I am just saying that for me only, I am totally enjoying the sound of the old card with the Switch.
I listened to the new card/Switch for two days. Then switched to the old card/Switch for 3 days now. Not even thinking about when the new bracket will arrive.
You can't unring a bell I guess, but I sure can and have done so with pleasure
Edit: I did a demo for a reviewer yesterday that had heard XDMS running in a particular system at my place. When he heard it yesterday with the old card and the Switch vs the two JCAT M12s sans new Taiko switch, he was blown away with the difference in the sound. He thought it was like a different amp/pre and it was identical.
I am just saying that for me only, I am totally enjoying the sound of the old card with the Switch.
I listened to the new card/Switch for two days. Then switched to the old card/Switch for 3 days now. Not even thinking about when the new bracket will arrive.
You can't unring a bell I guess, but I sure can and have done so with pleasure
Edit: I did a demo for a reviewer yesterday that had heard XDMS running in a particular system at my place. When he heard it yesterday with the old card and the Switch vs the two JCAT M12s sans new Taiko switch, he was blown away with the difference in the sound. He thought it was like a different amp/pre and it was identical.
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Btw, the reviewer that visited yesterday was mostly amazed by how much the Switch weighed
Not a surprising reaction at all, given what I'm hearing in my system after the introduction of the switch (and the card, too). "Component-level upgrade", indeed.
Just to ask the question…. Is the switch available to purchase by non extreme owners? Is there going to be a smaller version like discussed previously? Thanks for the kind reply.
I just removed the Melco S-100 with the Pink Faun OCXO upgrade from my system to send it to the buyer, so now I'm going straight from the Modem-Router to the Extreme. Oh my God, Emile, please don't take too long to ship the Switch.
Yes it is, only the pre-sale was exclusive to Extreme owners.
I gave Roon another whirl today. If this was all that was available to me I would be very happy. However, XDMS still produces a sound which is much more pleasing to my ears.
I'm in total agreement -- this isn't just a tweak or something that changes a few things around the edges. It is central to the entire musical experience.
I will note somewhat wryly that not that many years ago in my system the price of the Taiko switch/NIC *was* a component-level upgrade. . .
Steve Z
