Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[dminches]

I would just like to be able to save streamed albums (whether they are called favorites or whatever) so they are cataloged in one place and easy to access and play.

I'm hoping this is something the XDMS team is working on?

As shown in Roon pics below. It's just a single click on the Heart next to the album and it is saved in "Albums" under "My Library".

I can do that in Qobuz my accessing favorites.

 

[nonesup]

As Dminches says.

 

[wil]

As Dminches says.

Great! I’ll give it a try

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i have a question;

i'm using a Nordost switch with my brand X server. the Nordost switch has multiple RJ-45 connections so i can also use it for the service connections for my brand X dac.

if i purchase a Taiko switch, can i stack it with my Nordost switch so i won't lose the service connection uses? or is it better to buy a different switch to replace the Nordost (and sell the Nordost) when doing this? will the theoretical quality of the Nordost switch improve things or muddle things?

has anyone tried this already?

thanks.

 

[dminches]

I have not tried this but unless the Nordost switch does not confirm to normal IP protocols I see no reason why you can’t stack them. Of course, who knows what benefit it will bring you.

 

[Di-fi]

This is great finding but the problem is you are talikng about QSFP-DD that is totally different
from SFP+.
The ports in Taiko network card and Taiko switch will accept only SFP and SFP+ cables.

Thanks. It's very theoretical, I admit. I was hoping for backward compatibility between different passive DAC cables (but built differently).
FP-DD Passive DAC Cable has near zero power consumption and no heat generated. It seems lower power DAC cables/formats do exist?
What about AWG, you could hear a difference between different lengths, did you manage to try a cable of the same version# but longer AND with lower AWG?

 

[Taiko Audio]

i have a question;

i'm using a Nordost switch with my brand X server. the Nordost switch has multiple RJ-45 connections so i can also use it for the service connections for my brand X dac.

if i purchase a Taiko switch, can i stack it with my Nordost switch so i won't lose the service connection uses? or is it better to buy a different switch to replace the Nordost (and sell the Nordost) when doing this? will the theoretical quality of the Nordost switch improve things or muddle things?

has anyone tried this already?

thanks.

The only one I can think of is who may have kept his Nordost in the chain is @marty

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Of course, who knows what benefit it will bring you.

i'm hoping someone will comment on this question. more the Taiko Switch with brand X server benefit question, than the Nordost switch issue.

 

[microstrip]

The only one I can think of is who may have kept his Nordost in the chain is @marty

Did he manage to solve the glitches problem reported sometime ago?

 

[marty]

The only one I can think of is who may have kept his Nordost in the chain is @marty

Mike,
Unfortunately, I do not have experience that would be helpful. Although I used the Nordost switch for several months, I converted to the Taiko switch when it became available a while ago. I thought the Taiko switch offered sonic benefits but that was not the only difference. For reasons that I don't understand and are above my pay grade, the Nordost switch had some buffering issues (confirmed by Emile in real time) that caused frequent service interruptions. FWIW I am still exclusively a Roon user (while patiently waiting for XDMS beta) so that was common to my use with both switches.
Marty

 

[dminches]

i'm hoping someone will comment on this question. more the Taiko Switch with brand X server benefit question, than the Nordost switch issue.

As mentioned by @Christiaan Punter , the real benefit of the Taiko switch is realized when used with the Taiko network card. I am not sure that is possible with your Wadax server of if you would even want to do that.

 

[Taiko Audio]

As mentioned by @Christiaan Punter , the real benefit of the Taiko switch is realized when used with the Taiko network card. I am not sure that is possible with your Wadax server of if you would even want to do that.

Perhaps full benefit would be a better description. It is already being used with a variety of other servers as a regular RJ45 in/out switch. The main thing to look out for is the 1Gb link speed requirement.

 

[jelt2359]

I am thinking of using the Taiko router as a NAS.

Is there any sound penalty to this? And are there any specifics to the type of usb drive we should use for best results? (External powered vs bus powered for example).

Of course, another option is just to plug the usb drive directly into the extreme. Which option would result in better SQ?

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Doesn’t that make a list of every track on every album? I have hundreds of saved Streamed Albums.That would be way too cumbersome for me to deal with.

That’s my way until there is a better one. I rarely use this method

The heart/favorite function in XDMS works the same was as in Roon. However, we do not offer the "Add to library" function that Roon has.

The heart/favorite button in XDMS currently works only for Streaming Content. Adding favorites for local track or album favorites to the local database is a functionality that we also want to implement later and there is a ticket for this.

When using the heart button on tracks (in the Mini Player) this "favorites" that single track. When using the heart on albums (on album pages) that "favorites" the album. You can make playlists from the Queue or from single tracks or indeed albums.

 

[Christiaan Punter]

i'm hoping someone will comment on this question. more the Taiko Switch with brand X server benefit question, than the Nordost switch issue.

As mentioned by @Christiaan Punter , the real benefit of the Taiko switch is realized when used with the Taiko network card. I am not sure that is possible with your Wadax server of if you would even want to do that.

My comments on using the Extreme Switch with other servers so far were based on the information that I was provided with, which is that the Switch and NIC are designed to work in tandem and in doing so create benefits unique to the Extreme. Following that logic, and having heard from two users who successfully tried the switch with their non-Taiko servers, my impression was that the Extreme Switch does indeed also work with other servers, just not to maximum effect.

But when I tested this for myself the other day, the benefits turned out to be much larger than I anticipated. What I hear when using the Switch with the Grimm or Antipodes servers is that the soundstage deepens and the performance becomes more engulfing and immersive. There's also a heightened sense of relaxation but not at the expense of pacing or dynamics. So, here's my revised impression: the differences are real and they are rather profound!

 

[Kris]

Thanks. It's very theoretical, I admit. I was hoping for backward compatibility between different passive DAC cables (but built differently).
FP-DD Passive DAC Cable has near zero power consumption and no heat generated. It seems lower power DAC cables/formats do exist?
What about AWG, you could hear a difference between different lengths, did you manage to try a cable of the same version# but longer AND with lower AWG?

I have many lenghts of the same brand, few other cables as well.
looks like the cut off between thin wire and thicker is 4 m to 5 m .
This is done to compensate the data loss.

In my system is quite a big difference to use thicker wire .
Simmilar to speaker wires . The thicker gives much more of lower end and it is just so much more relaxed .
Thiner cables are just to thin sounding. They are very precise but I get tired of that sound quickly.
So in the end there is a question how your system is balanced So you can fine tune it the way you like.

 

[JanneW]

Hi,

For those of you who does not want to spend a lot of money on a network card, I can recommend this: NET Card XE - JCAT . next-gen computer audio

I installed it in my Extreme, slot 2, and run the installation script that is available from the Taiko homepage. The card is working perfectly and did make a significant improvement in the sound quality of streamed music.

I have not compared it with with the Taiko network card, but I doubt that the difference in sound qualty can justify the price difference...

 

[Mike Lavigne]

My comments on using the Extreme Switch with other servers so far were based on the information that I was provided with, which is that the Switch and NIC are designed to work in tandem and in doing so create benefits unique to the Extreme. Following that logic, and having heard from two users who successfully tried the switch with their non-Taiko servers, my impression was that the Extreme Switch does indeed also work with other servers, just not to maximum effect.

But when I tested this for myself the other day, the benefits turned out to be much larger than I anticipated. What I hear when using the Switch with the Grimm or Antipodes servers is that the soundstage deepens and the performance becomes more engulfing and immersive. There's also a heightened sense of relaxation but not at the expense of pacing or dynamics. So, here's my revised impression: the differences are real and they are rather profound!

many thanks, Christiaan.

 

[MOTU]

many thanks, Christiaan.

I have more or less the same setup as you. The Taiko switch greatly improves the sound of Brand X server and I'm sure the router and power distributor will improve it even more. For service connections I will be connecting either a cable from the router to the service ports or the router to another (any) switch and then to the service ports, but only when I actually need a service and otherwise just not connect the service ports. This solution should work for you as well.

 

[dminches]

Hi,

For those of you who does not want to spend a lot of money on a network card, I can recommend this: NET Card XE - JCAT . next-gen computer audio

I installed it in my Extreme, slot 2, and run the installation script that is available from the Taiko homepage. The card is working perfectly and did make a significant improvement in the sound quality of streamed music.

I have not compared it with with the Taiko network card, but I doubt that the difference in sound qualty can justify the price difference...

It isn’t appropriate to promote another manufacturer’s products on this thread.

Plus, if you haven’t tried the Taiko network card then posting an opinion about it seems meaningless.