Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[dminches]

One thing I'm pretty certain of is that no matter how good XDMS becomes, it will simply not be the commercial success that Taiko aspires to unless it offers the user flexibility that Roon is famous for implementing. There's a big difference in commercial potential by offering a program that provides superior sonic performance for a few hundred users, vs one that is used as a de facto standard by tens of thousands+ of users. Taiko knows this as well, and it makes perfect to sense that the solutions Emile is offering will benefit both player programs. A rising tide lifts all boats. The fact that Emile's approach is not putting a gun to anyone's head to use one or the other, since you will be able to use either, is yet another example of his forward thinking.

I am not sure how you compare the commercial success of XDMS to Roon. I don’t believe Taiko plans to offer XDMS to non-Extreme (or future Taiko server) owners. Correct me if I am wrong on this. My understanding is that XDMS is being developed so that Taiko has complete control of the end to end process and doesn’t have to rely on another company to provide the software.

I guess my point is that the goal of XDMS is not to compete with Roon but to make the Extreme as good as possible.

 

[nuway]

Just to be clear I have nothing against the Melco switch. And of course, the switch offers four 100Mb ports and four Gigabit LAN ports, and the user is free to use either. I only endeavored to explain to nonesup what was meant by speed throttling.

Thank You for the Clarifications Christiaan.

 

[Kris]

Will , as you, I also have the S100 on 1gb. It has delivered great SQ since then.

I strongly preferred Buffalo over Melco.
it is exactly same thing except in Buffalo you can log in and change everything you want,
So you simply force it to be 1gbps at all times and you can swich off functions that are sounding bad.
I also swich All ports that I am not using from swich menue .
very big SQ uptrick.

 

[Kris]

I read Emile's post 5 times and each time I'm left slack-jawed for several reasons. To begin, the transparency of his remarks is simply stunning. Does anyone know of another CEO that so openly reveals his strategic plans for a similar high technology product? It's unheard of and more than that he's been doing it since the product's inception.. Can you imagine an amplifier designer, for example, telling you exactly what he is going to design and how he''s going to do it 2 years in advance of their next product iteration? Wow. Not gonna happen, period. That, combined with a proven track record of making continual upgrades at no charge for the end user, is why I bought an Extreme to begin with.

The XDMS vs Roon comparisons that we see here are not only exhausting to read about IMO, but hold little interest for me to explore although now that switching between the two in the latest alpha release is easy, I am getting closer to trying XDMS. I applaud all those users that are providing excellent feedback to the development team to implement changes that will make this easier to use for people like me. But then, when I read remarks like those from Emile above, I am stunned and think, OK, just hang in there as the possibility of having yet unrealized benefits to Roon are not that far off. And if I like Roon now, which I do, how nice it will be to have even better sounding options down the road for both Roon and XDMS.

One thing I'm pretty certain of is that no matter how good XDMS becomes, it will simply not be the commercial success that Taiko aspires to unless it offers the user flexibility that Roon is famous for implementing. There's a big difference in commercial potential by offering a program that provides superior sonic performance for a few hundred users, vs one that is used as a de facto standard by tens of thousands+ of users. Taiko knows this as well, and it makes perfect to sense that the solutions Emile is offering will benefit both player programs. A rising tide lifts all boats. The fact that Emile's approach is not putting a gun to anyone's head to use one or the other, since you will be able to use either, is yet another example of his forward thinking.

The biggest thing is if CEO is open for the suggestions from the users.
Who else is reading all posts with potential ways of future developement and is checking them all to see if this makes sense.
The best CEOs I know are this way. They simply listen and analyze every opportunity to make their product better. Unforunate many have a very good life and they dont like burning their time for the benefit of humanity.
But Emile sounds to be different in a way he is performing like 3 or 4 of regular CEOs in one person.

My DAD always kept telling me when I was a child:
„ The stupidest person on this planet knows something you dont know son ! „
This is something I always keep in my mind and listen to others with great attention trying to find things I had no idea they existed.

 

[Zeotrope]

Ed was nice enough to update my XDMS server and app to the latest version (2.2?) last night. Wow! I do not understand how it can continue to get so much better! It sounded extraordinary before, but another set of improvements have been made. I know how this must sound to those who have not tried XDMS or who do not have an Extreme.

There’s a cello piece where the localization was never quite right as the bow moved across all 4 strings. I thought it was the recording. Now it’s perfect! You can visualize the bow’s position is it works its way up and down the scale. It’s not exaggerated anymore. With the previous versions it was ever so slightly, momentarily, exaggerated.

Overall, there’s a new amount of clarity and localization.

Bravo! And then to hear the new network interface is again another level?! Mind blowing.

 

[marty]

But Emile sounds to be different in a way he is performing like 3 or 4 of regular CEOs in one person.

Emile can do that because he doesn't sleep!

 

[Kris]

Emile can do that because he doesn't sleep!

I did that too for 7 years in raw Without a single day of vacation.
After that you feel like bing 78 yo in your 40s.
So yes you can but it has its impact on you.
Few years is ok running full clock but you need stop from time to time.

If you keep one or 2 weeks a year totally free of work you are in a good shape.

 

[simorag]

As an Italian commercial says: "I like easy win", and that's what I wanted to indulge myself with this morning: XDMS, a sweetspot album collection for the LS3/5a ... although I am not typically a vocals guy, this is nothing less than some of the finest comfort food for the soul.

​

These minimalistic Chesky recordings sound great on pretty much any hifi system, yet when it comes to ultimate realism, they are able to separate the wheat from the chaff in a starkingly apparent way - at least for certain aspect of reproduced audio.

Instrument / singers placement, palpability, size (a surprisingly tough one to get right), midrange purity, vocals credibility and emotional embodiment among them. When switching from Roon to XDMS the stereotypical veil is removed, and the jump factor of the there-ness of the experience is just startling.

 

[John T]

As an Italian commercial says: "I like easy win", and that's what I wanted to indulge myself with this morning: XDMS, a sweetspot album collection for the LS3/5a ... although I am not typically a vocals guy, this is nothing less than some of the finest comfort food for the soul.

View attachment 100570
View attachment 100569​

These minimalistic Chesky recordings sound great on pretty much any hifi system, yet when it comes to ultimate realism, they are able to separate the wheat from the chaff in a starkingly apparent way - at least for certain aspect of reproduced audio.

Instrument / singers placement, palpability, size (a surprisingly tough one to get right), midrange purity, vocals credibility and emotional embodiment among them. When switching from Roon to XDMS the stereotypical veil is removed, and the jump factor of the there-ness of the experience is just startling.

buona giornata, The Worlds Greatest Audiophile Vocal Recordings, Fantastico!!

 

[Nils]

As an Italian commercial says: "I like easy win", and that's what I wanted to indulge myself with this morning: XDMS, a sweetspot album collection for the LS3/5a ... although I am not typically a vocals guy, this is nothing less than some of the finest comfort food for the soul.

View attachment 100570
View attachment 100569​

These minimalistic Chesky recordings sound great on pretty much any hifi system, yet when it comes to ultimate realism, they are able to separate the wheat from the chaff in a starkingly apparent way - at least for certain aspect of reproduced audio.

Instrument / singers placement, palpability, size (a surprisingly tough one to get right), midrange purity, vocals credibility and emotional embodiment among them. When switching from Roon to XDMS the stereotypical veil is removed, and the jump factor of the there-ness of the experience is just startling.

Wow - thanks for the tip @simorag - was not aware of this catalog, good prices as well, will be adding albums to checkout once home from work...

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Hi all, here is an update on the rebuilding of the main Taiko Audio listening room in Oldenzaal.







With the base elements in place, the front wall is now almost complete. I really dig the looks even in this untreated state. When the front wall is complete, the side walls will be treated more or less in the same way.

It's funny seeing this picture where the majestic Alsyvox Raffaellos look relatively small even if they are in actuality more than man-sized and you can easily hide two people behind them. This is the effect that a really large room has with little to no visual references.

 

[Levitator]

Great to see the room taking shape Christiaan - what are the room dimensions out of interest?

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Great to see the room taking shape Christiaan - what are the room dimensions out of interest?

Good question, you'd have to ask Emile for the precise dimensions, but off the top of my head, I'd say about 8 meters wide, about 14 meters deep, and with a very tall ceiling, probably over 4 meters.

 

[Taiko Audio]

Good question, you'd have to ask Emile for the precise dimensions, but off the top of my head, I'd say about 8 meters wide, about 14 meters deep, and with a very tall ceiling, probably over 4 meters.

Spot on!

 

[John T]

Spot on!

Are those the Caravaggio, or Raffaello?

 

[Armsan]

Are those the Caravaggio, or Raffaello?

Raffaello

 

[John T]

Raffaello

Thought so...Thanks...

 

[CKKeung]

TAS 2022 Golden Ear: Taiko Audio Extreme Music Server​

• Ignore the aircraft-grade-aluminum enclosure with enormous heat sinks. Ignore the 6000 holes drilled into the top plate of the chassis to attenuate resonance. Ignore the linear power supply with 400VA transformer, Lundahl chokes, and 700,000µF of Mundorf and Duelund capacitors. Ignore the two-microprocessor architecture, designed to provide Roon with its own microprocessing environment for software tasks, while isolating the music engine on a separate dedicated microprocessor. Ignore that the Extreme is a music server that weighs a massive 99 pounds. Even ignore the fact that the Extreme is engineered and built (in The Netherlands) from the ground up to optimize the playback of streaming music as well as natively stored files. Oh, you might as well also ignore the fact that Taiko is constantly upgrading its own native software to optimize Roon and outperform its previous generation music software, while also providing a 100% reliable environment. What you can’t ignore is the fact that this music server sounds like music without a hint of digital artifact and does so better than any other digital source I have ever heard. The Taiko Extreme got me closer to what was recorded and the venue it was recorded in then any source but the best analog rigs I have been exposed to. It is expensive, but this is a supreme case of “you get what you pay for.”​

2022 Golden Ear: Taiko Audio Extreme Music Server - The Absolute Sound

2022 Golden Ear: Taiko Audio Extreme Music Server - The Taiko Extreme got me closer to what was recorded and the venue it was recorded in then any source but the best analog rigs I have been exposed to.

www.theabsolutesound.com

 

[Steve Williams]

The Taiko Extreme got me closer to what was recorded and the venue it was recorded in then any source but the best analog rigs I have been exposed to. It is expensive, but this is a supreme case of “you get what you pay for

Says it all. Kudos to Emile and team

 

[cat6man]

Says it all. Kudos to Emile and team

And this was with TAS, right?
Wait until they hear xdms!