Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

Christiaan Punter

Well-Known Member
Audio Concept Stockholm, Gothenburg, Sweden

Audio Concept Stockholm presents an Omega Audio Concepts system fronted by the Taiko Audio Extreme music server at the Gothenburg HIFI-show 2022

310437909_1243376643063054_1304030118713649912_n_edit.jpg
310398849_1243376619729723_5117468989177899390_n.jpg
310460952_1243376626396389_7234306928909304276_n.jpg
 

Christiaan Punter

Well-Known Member
Bangkok A/V Show Living Sound Thailand

305399937_1224063308327721_5071574318389759277_n.jpg
303261612_1224063311661054_5383320705088013840_n.jpg
305418140_1224063304994388_2697046788876738098_n.jpg

Magico LLC, Siltech, Taiko Audio, Soulution, Artnovion
 

Christiaan Punter

Well-Known Member
This problem has happened to me so often over the years I’ve had Roon (I have a lifetime subscription and I am a heavy Roon user). Ultimately I decided for my sanity to not constantly upgrade Roon. These “upgrades” are often not really needed. But we live in a world ruled by software upgrades. Our phones and watches get regular software updates (if you are in the Apple ecosystem). My Tesla gets software updates each week. So far, touchwood, no update of my Tesla software has rendered the car inoperable. I do worry about that. My car now has the “Full Self Driving (beta)” update. I don’t trust it with my life, though. Prefer to drive the old fashioned way. Just like I keep my CDs and vinyl around so I can listen to music if Roon dies on me.
Very wise! I, too, keep multiple sources around. And I still purchase the music that I really like, be it on CD or a digital download, just to that I can be sure to never be without:) BTW I can highly recommend Qobuz downloads. The quality has always been great and they are usually also the most affordable option.
 

Nils

Well-Known Member
Dec 16, 2021
115
399
68
61
Northern Sweden
  • Like
Reactions: 7ryder

Nils

Well-Known Member
Dec 16, 2021
115
399
68
61
Northern Sweden
  • Like
Reactions: Taiko Audio

Jpowell

Well-Known Member
Dec 23, 2011
46
48
923

Zeotrope

Well-Known Member
Feb 11, 2021
1,762
1,398
230
49
France, Canada
I am attending a grounding-event Dec 14th at my dealer - even more interested now after your positive feedback. I will borrow a set of units and cables to try out at home after event.

Extreme already helps reduce system's noise floor - with improved grounding, noise floor will (I hope) be reduced a bit more -> more MUSIC emerges where there previously was (non audible) noise.

Altaira Signal- and Chassis products do differ on one point - their internal filters are tuned for 50/60 Hz (Chassis) and 'higher' (think digital sources, switch-noise) for Signal - both provide isolation between connected units' ground-planes to avoid inter-component ground noise leakage.

So - segmenting Analog (->Chassis) and Digital (->Signal) is my plan.

(Currently I have all my components connected to my Everest's chassis ground in a star-topology. This setup definitely improved my system's noise floor.)

Journey continues!

I just confirmed this with Shunyata- if you are getting 2 Hubs, they should be both Signal Hubs: 1 for analog and 1 for digital.
If you are getting only 1 Hub, it should be Chassis, which can be used for analog and digital.

After a couple of days of break-in, mine sound even better. I cannot believe I was not hearing certain instruments before adding the Hubs.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Fabulous photos Christiaan and so wonderful to see Taiko and its Extreme being shown all over the world and garnishing so many we'll deserved accolades

Kudos as always
 

Rhapsody

VIP/Donor
Jan 16, 2013
3,366
6,276
2,535
Brooklyn NY
Rhapsody.Audio
Extreme/Pilium Olympus>Pilium Zeus>Gobel in Singapore.... 317611355_1286889142045137_7733886339588506303_n.jpg 317079017_1286889148711803_1392351806472245620_n.jpg
 

oldmustang

Well-Known Member
Dec 1, 2012
1,057
3,124
1,445
Christiaan, unfortunately I do not have photos to share, but there were at least 2 rooms featuring Extremes at the recent CAF (Capital Audio Fest) in Washington D.C., plus at least 1 room that I saw at Axpona a few months ago in Chicago.
The Part-time Audiophile coverage has a picture of an Extreme at CAF.

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2022/11/30/grover-nevilles-caf-photos-caf-2022/ (scroll to the bottom):

gn26.jpg

Along with this tidbit from elsewhere in PTA's show coverage on-line (the room referenced was the Taiko dealer's room, pictured above):


"Likewise in the 2020Evolution room, a complete tube replacement on the conrad-johnson amplifiers led to some of the best sound the crew and I have ever heard at a show. We proceeded to spend over half an hour DJing on the exceptional sounding Kharma dB9-S, much to the delight of Jay, the proprietor."

Steve Z
 

Sun King

Well-Known Member
Mar 3, 2021
14
59
78
63
Forgive the long post, but I wanted to share my experience of visiting Taiko Audio in Oldenzaal.

A little background first. My Extreme has been packed away for a year now for house renovations, so I’ve been following developments here with greater than usual interest. I hope my report here will give something back, for all the reports I've been reading (albeit with some jealousy).

It was such a pleasure to meet Emile in person as our previous contact had only been through messaging. I was also able to meet the whole Oldenzaal team and tour the factory to see how the Extreme’s come together. There were 8 in the process of production when I visited.

I was then able to spend some time in the new listening room (still a work in progress with acoustic treatment).

While I was there, I was able to hear XDMS for the first time and to hear the new switch. The system was using the new battery power supply for the Extreme, and this was in place for all my listening.

My visit coincided with the release of a new XDMS update which Emile advised was a significant upgrade over the previous iteration, the product of some six weeks of recoding. Emile said only one customer had this version of XDMS at the time of my visit on 23 November.

As I didn’t want to take up too much of Emile’s time, the listening session focused on A/B comparisons using a small number of tracks.

We started using Roon, first listening without the switch and then with the switch. I can report that the switch made a dramatic improvement in the sound. It may sound a bit clichéd, but the effect of the switch seemed very like focusing a camera lens: everything became clearer and it it was easier to discern the subtleties of the music.

Memory is a tricky thing, but at the time, the improvement in sound provided by the switch seemed to me to be significantly larger than the improvement I remember hearing after installing the new USB card and TAS.

We then changed tracks and listened using Roon with the switch and then using XDMS with the switch. Moving to XDMS improved the sound further by a significant degree. The bass in particular was clearly more extended and articulate, and overall dynamics were improved.

The final comparison we did was to listen to another track with XDMS with the switch and then without the switch. The surprising result was that listening using XDMS without the switch sounded significantly better than with the switch. In particular I felt that voices were more natural sounding and the sound was more three dimensional.

It was not just me who thought the sound was better without the switch. Emile agreed that the combination of XDMS and the switch is no longer always an improvement compared to just XDMS. He explained that before the latest XDMS upgrade, the addition of the switch improved the sound but not nearly as much as it did with Roon. He suggested that, before, when using Roon, the switch was a 'must have' while using XDMS the switch was a 'nice to have'.

Emile explained that the XDMS and switch combination was not providing the same improvement due to the focus on coding the Extreme to improve the sound of Roon while XDMS presents a different profile to the switch. Emile said he needs to do about 50 hours of coding to ensure the switch will work optimally with XDMS as it does now with Roon. I’m not technically literate so I’ll leave it to Emile to correct or clarify my reporting of this.

Since my visit I touched base with Emile and he has advised via email:

'I am pleased to be able to report that since your visit we've already adjusted the code to make the switch a significant improvement for XDMS as well, it now builds on XDMS by increasing its clarity even further and it improves dynamics and bass extension!'

It was real pleasure to visit Oldenzaal, and to hear the progress being made in improving sound quality. I now understand why many of you are raving about XDMS and the improvements in sound quality you are hearing. As someone with no technical smarts, I am awed by the improvements in sound being achieved through coding.

I am also looking forward to hearing the revised set up of the switch and XDMS to see what extra magic Emile is now delivering. A visit to the Munich High End show in May may be on the horizon!

Michael
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Forgive the long post, but I wanted to share my experience of visiting Taiko Audio in Oldenzaal.

A little background first. My Extreme has been packed away for a year now for house renovations, so I’ve been following developments here with greater than usual interest. I hope my report here will give something back, for all the reports I've been reading (albeit with some jealousy).

It was such a pleasure to meet Emile in person as our previous contact had only been through messaging. I was also able to meet the whole Oldenzaal team and tour the factory to see how the Extreme’s come together. There were 8 in the process of production when I visited.

I was then able to spend some time in the new listening room (still a work in progress with acoustic treatment).

While I was there, I was able to hear XDMS for the first time and to hear the new switch. The system was using the new battery power supply for the Extreme, and this was in place for all my listening.

My visit coincided with the release of a new XDMS update which Emile advised was a significant upgrade over the previous iteration, the product of some six weeks of recoding. Emile said only one customer had this version of XDMS at the time of my visit on 23 November.

As I didn’t want to take up too much of Emile’s time, the listening session focused on A/B comparisons using a small number of tracks.

We started using Roon, first listening without the switch and then with the switch. I can report that the switch made a dramatic improvement in the sound. It may sound a bit clichéd, but the effect of the switch seemed very like focusing a camera lens: everything became clearer and it it was easier to discern the subtleties of the music.

Memory is a tricky thing, but at the time, the improvement in sound provided by the switch seemed to me to be significantly larger than the improvement I remember hearing after installing the new USB card and TAS.

We then changed tracks and listened using Roon with the switch and then using XDMS with the switch. Moving to XDMS improved the sound further by a significant degree. The bass in particular was clearly more extended and articulate, and overall dynamics were improved.

The final comparison we did was to listen to another track with XDMS with the switch and then without the switch. The surprising result was that listening using XDMS without the switch sounded significantly better than with the switch. In particular I felt that voices were more natural sounding and the sound was more three dimensional.

It was not just me who thought the sound was better without the switch. Emile agreed that the combination of XDMS and the switch is no longer always an improvement compared to just XDMS. He explained that before the latest XDMS upgrade, the addition of the switch improved the sound but not nearly as much as it did with Roon. He suggested that, before, when using Roon, the switch was a 'must have' while using XDMS the switch was a 'nice to have'.

Emile explained that the XDMS and switch combination was not providing the same improvement due to the focus on coding the Extreme to improve the sound of Roon while XDMS presents a different profile to the switch. Emile said he needs to do about 50 hours of coding to ensure the switch will work optimally with XDMS as it does now with Roon. I’m not technically literate so I’ll leave it to Emile to correct or clarify my reporting of this.

Since my visit I touched base with Emile and he has advised via email:

'I am pleased to be able to report that since your visit we've already adjusted the code to make the switch a significant improvement for XDMS as well, it now builds on XDMS by increasing its clarity even further and it improves dynamics and bass extension!'

It was real pleasure to visit Oldenzaal, and to hear the progress being made in improving sound quality. I now understand why many of you are raving about XDMS and the improvements in sound quality you are hearing. As someone with no technical smarts, I am awed by the improvements in sound being achieved through coding.

I am also looking forward to hearing the revised set up of the switch and XDMS to see what extra magic Emile is now delivering. A visit to the Munich High End show in May may be on the horizon!

Michael
Michael

You are one lucky dude. Not only did you hear the switch but so also the Battery powered Extreme.Do you have any photos to share or did Emile get you to check your camera at the door :cool:
 

Malcng

Well-Known Member
Jul 6, 2022
134
411
68
Very interesting feedback, thank you, and lots to look forward to for us. These are exciting developments which make me even more convinced that I made the right decision getting my Extreme earlier this year. I am itching to try XDMS, the more so with the latest Roon update corrupting my Roon installation, but I do need an easy way of switching between XDMS and Roon before making the jump. Is this anywhere near a likely option? I’m not being selfish when I say that XDMS will likely be for me alone whilst Roon will be for the rest of the house. ;)
 

Nils

Well-Known Member
Dec 16, 2021
115
399
68
61
Northern Sweden
Forgive the long post, but I wanted to share my experience of visiting Taiko Audio in Oldenzaal.

A little background first. My Extreme has been packed away for a year now for house renovations, so I’ve been following developments here with greater than usual interest. I hope my report here will give something back, for all the reports I've been reading (albeit with some jealousy).

It was such a pleasure to meet Emile in person as our previous contact had only been through messaging. I was also able to meet the whole Oldenzaal team and tour the factory to see how the Extreme’s come together. There were 8 in the process of production when I visited.

I was then able to spend some time in the new listening room (still a work in progress with acoustic treatment).

While I was there, I was able to hear XDMS for the first time and to hear the new switch. The system was using the new battery power supply for the Extreme, and this was in place for all my listening.

My visit coincided with the release of a new XDMS update which Emile advised was a significant upgrade over the previous iteration, the product of some six weeks of recoding. Emile said only one customer had this version of XDMS at the time of my visit on 23 November.

As I didn’t want to take up too much of Emile’s time, the listening session focused on A/B comparisons using a small number of tracks.

We started using Roon, first listening without the switch and then with the switch. I can report that the switch made a dramatic improvement in the sound. It may sound a bit clichéd, but the effect of the switch seemed very like focusing a camera lens: everything became clearer and it it was easier to discern the subtleties of the music.

Memory is a tricky thing, but at the time, the improvement in sound provided by the switch seemed to me to be significantly larger than the improvement I remember hearing after installing the new USB card and TAS.

We then changed tracks and listened using Roon with the switch and then using XDMS with the switch. Moving to XDMS improved the sound further by a significant degree. The bass in particular was clearly more extended and articulate, and overall dynamics were improved.

The final comparison we did was to listen to another track with XDMS with the switch and then without the switch. The surprising result was that listening using XDMS without the switch sounded significantly better than with the switch. In particular I felt that voices were more natural sounding and the sound was more three dimensional.

It was not just me who thought the sound was better without the switch. Emile agreed that the combination of XDMS and the switch is no longer always an improvement compared to just XDMS. He explained that before the latest XDMS upgrade, the addition of the switch improved the sound but not nearly as much as it did with Roon. He suggested that, before, when using Roon, the switch was a 'must have' while using XDMS the switch was a 'nice to have'.

Emile explained that the XDMS and switch combination was not providing the same improvement due to the focus on coding the Extreme to improve the sound of Roon while XDMS presents a different profile to the switch. Emile said he needs to do about 50 hours of coding to ensure the switch will work optimally with XDMS as it does now with Roon. I’m not technically literate so I’ll leave it to Emile to correct or clarify my reporting of this.

Since my visit I touched base with Emile and he has advised via email:

'I am pleased to be able to report that since your visit we've already adjusted the code to make the switch a significant improvement for XDMS as well, it now builds on XDMS by increasing its clarity even further and it improves dynamics and bass extension!'

It was real pleasure to visit Oldenzaal, and to hear the progress being made in improving sound quality. I now understand why many of you are raving about XDMS and the improvements in sound quality you are hearing. As someone with no technical smarts, I am awed by the improvements in sound being achieved through coding.

I am also looking forward to hearing the revised set up of the switch and XDMS to see what extra magic Emile is now delivering. A visit to the Munich High End show in May may be on the horizon!

Michael
Vertical integration is THE WAY to go.

Goal is to optimize the whole.

Last time Emile and Team made significant changes - USB Card and associated USB Driver that made Extreme much more resilient to upstream component's SQ -> I had to sell of my switch and expensive Ethernet cables.

Soon - the game changes again... :)

I am confident that with focus and tweaking (XDMS-specific profile for the Taiko-Switch) the XDMS + Taiko-Switch system configuration will blow other variants out of the water.

Eagerly waiting for Taiko-Switch + Network-card order-window to materialize...
 
Last edited:

Sun King

Well-Known Member
Mar 3, 2021
14
59
78
63
Thanks to my wife I have some behind the scenes photos to share.

Emile asked that I not post any pictures of the switch in case it gets copied, so I won't show the new listening room (which Christaan has already posted pictures of). Emile did allow me to hold the switch which weights 15 kilos. It is hard to believe such a small box can be that heavy, but when you hold it you will believe!

Old listening room. Note how high the ceiling is!
IMG_7083.jpg

Machine room
IMG_7098.jpg

In the assembly room
IMG_7091.jpeg

Packaging
IMG_7094.jpg

IMG_7092.jpg
 

Taiko Audio

Industry Expert
Feb 10, 2017
4,233
13,023
1,925
The Netherlands
taikoaudio.com
Soon - the game changes again... :)

Indeed, fresh in what, AFAIK, is the world's first Audiophile Internet Router! :

Image1.jpg

As most of the effort in this will actually be in the software / firmware I am less hesitant in sharing a photo months before release, we're aiming for an end of March 2023 release! It fits into the same 9*9*2" / 33 lbs chassis as the Switch, but we may lose a few pounds due to the PCB being around 20% larger. This can actually also serve as a full motherboard which can support CPUs with up to 16 cores (!). @Marcin_gps of JCAT however beat us to the punch by a month or so of announcing the existence of such a thing, however I do call dibs on first Router! :)
 
Last edited:

wil

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2015
1,482
1,506
428
Indeed, fresh in what, AFAIK, is the world's first Audiophile Router! :

View attachment 101103

As most of the effort in this will actually be in the software / firmware I am less hesitant in sharing a photo months before release, we're aiming for an end of March 2023 release! It fits into the same 9*9*2" / 33 lbs chassis as the Switch, but we may lose a few pounds due to the PCB being around 20% larger. This can actually also serve as a full motherboard which can support CPUs with up to 16 cores (!). @Marcin_gps of JCAT however beat us to the punch by a month or so of announcing the existence of such a thing, however I do call dibs on first Router! :)
Curious minds want to know: is the 33 lbs mostly from the chassis itself?
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing