Introducing Olympus & Olympus I/O - A new perspective on modern music playback

For those who just started reading up on Olympus, Olympus I/O, and XDMI, please note that all information in this thread has been summarized in a single PDF document that can be downloaded from the Taiko Website.

https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/taiko-audio-downloads

The document is frequently updated.

Scroll down to the 'XDMI, Olympus Music Server, Olympus I/O' section and click 'XDMI, Olympus, Olympus I/O Product Introduction & FAQ' to download the latest version.

Good morning WBF!​

We are introducing the culmination of close to 4 years of research and development. As a bona fide IT/tech nerd with a passion for music, I have always been intrigued by the potential of leveraging the most modern of technologies in order to create a better music playback experience. This, amongst others, led to the creation of our popular, perhaps even revolutionary, Extreme music server 5 years ago, which we have been steadily improving and updating with new technologies throughout its life cycle. Today I feel we can safely claim it's holding its ground against the onslaught of new server releases from other companies, and we are committed to keep improving it for years to come.

We are introducing a new server model called the Olympus. Hierarchically, it positions itself above the Extreme. It does provide quite a different music experience than the Extreme, or any other server I've heard, for that matter. Conventional audiophile descriptions such as sound staging, dynamics, color palette, etc, fall short to describe this difference. It does not sound digital or analog, I would be inclined to describe it as coming closer to the intended (or unintended) performance of the recording engineer.

Committed to keeping the Extreme as current as possible, we are introducing a second product called the Olympus I/O. This is an external upgrade to the Extreme containing a significant part of the Olympus technology, allowing it to come near, though not entirely at, Olympus performance levels. The Olympus I/O can even be added to the Olympus itself to elevate its performance even further, though not as dramatic an uplift as adding it to the Extreme. Consider it the proverbial "cherry on top".

 

Thank you. I am not sure how I read right over that!

Detail:
3 on top
3 on bottom
Small holes that take a small Allen wrench... when you loosen each, leave the screw in the hole.
So... loosen and sense there's no more tension.. leave it there and in the hole..

 

Detail:
3 on top
3 on bottom
Small holes that take a small Allen wrench... when you loosen each, leave the screw in the hole.
So... loosen and sense there's no more tension.. leave it there and in the hole..

I realized that there was no need to them to be fully removed.

The only item not captured in the instructions is that the analog card needs longer screws if you are going from the Lampi card to the DAC card. @Christiaan Punter

 

I have sound!

 

I realized that there was no need to them to be fully removed.

The only item not captured in the instructions is that the analog card needs longer screws if you are going from the Lampi card to the DAC card. @Christiaan Punter

When you say the analog card needs longer screws; Are you suggestion they need to be drawn out further to accommodate the thickness and/or that they should be longer?

 

When you say the analog card needs longer screws; Are you suggestion they need to be drawn out further to accommodate the thickness and/or that they should be longer?

I should have been clearer. i am talking about the screws that attach the DAC daughter board to the XDMI PCI card.

As @MarkusBarkus pointed out, they are provided with the card.

 

...those should be provided. The same case for the MSB daughter board. The assembly requires a wee bit longer screw to secure.

 

...those should be provided. The same case for the MSB daughter board. The assembly requires a wee bit longer screw to secure.

They were provided in a small bag along with the DAC card.

 

David @dminches I believe will be the first to share analog out Vs Lampizator Native XDMI observations...

 

David @dminches I believe will be the first to share analog out Vs Lampizator Native XDMI observations...

Yes. From what I am being told it will take a while for the analog card to settle down. Once it does I will share my impressions.

 

David @dminches I believe will be the first to share analog out Vs Lampizator Native XDMI observations...

You can count on David to get us all up to speed on the XDMI Analog out/preamp connection and importantly, to give his honest appraisal.

 

You can count on David to get us all up to speed on the XDMI Analog out/preamp connection and importantly, to give his honest appraisal.

Agreed, We couldn't have hand picked a better recipient for this...EDIT: BTW I do not think this will be an easy task. I can think of several variables that might come into play, system to system...I hope I am WRONG, a clear winner will make my future audio decisions/directions Sooooo Much easier...

 

David @dminches I believe will be the first to share analog out Vs Lampizator Native XDMI observations...

Didn't Lukasz, very early on?

EDIT: https://www.monoandstereo.com/taiko-olympus-experience-by-lampizator/

 

Didn't Lukasz, very early on?

Yes he did. As you can surmise as to why; Not a lot of information (NONE) was provided between the two...Can't say that I blame him...He focused on Native XDMI...

 

... you can surmise as to why; Not a lot of information (NONE) was provided between the two...

It may have been the "puff of weed".

 

@Taiko Audio , are there going to be rooms at the Munich High End show next week featuring the Olympus?

DreamAudio will demo with Taiko Audio Olympus + I/O and Lampizator Horizon.
They are in the Lorenzo Audio Labs room, A4.2 F206.

Taiko Audio is not participating in an official capacity.

 

Taiko Audio is not participating in an official capacity.

The brand directory of HE Munich shows Taiko Audio with Aries Cerat.
So this isn't correct?
Thanks

 

The brand directory of HE Munich shows Taiko Audio with Aries Cerat.
So this isn't correct?
Thanks

It's the other way around Aries Cerat is indicated to demo with Taiko Audio equipment. I have asked Stavros about the configuration and will confirm when I know more.

 

Dear all, today, I finally finished updating the Olympus documentation.

The Olympus Manual has been thoroughly revised and is now called the Complete Manual. All the information has been re-assessed, simplified, or further clarified, and everything is now much more clearly grouped. Unavoidably, however, this manual still contains a lot of text.

We already supplied each Olympus product with a printed Quick Start A4 leaflet. Of course, a single piece of paper can only contain so much information.

To fill the void between these two documents, and to better accommodate those who wish to get started listening to their Olympus product as quickly as possible, there is now also a Summarized Manual. Although it may still seem lengthy if you look at the number of pages, it has much more white space to facilitate quick and easy browsing and contains roughly half the amount of words of the Complete Manual.

Please find both manuals attached to this post. As always, please feel free to share thoughts and suggestions. If any section is still unclear, I will be happy to remedy this!



Olympus - Complete Manual
Olympus - Summarized Manual

 

LED Status:
Olympus set to auto charge, left LED:
Normally during auto charge slow blink for approx 5hours 22 minutes every day
OCCASIONALLY during auto charge fast blink for the same amount of time. Is this normal? I don't see this described in LED Status section

 

It's the other way around Aries Cerat is indicated to demo with Taiko Audio equipment. I have asked Stavros about the configuration and will confirm when I know more.

Who from Taiko is going to be at the Munich High End?