Anyone Listen to the Taiko Extreme Server and Go With Something Else? Anyone Make a Change from Taiko?

[caesar]

I know many people love this server. God Bless! I hope you guys enjoy it until the end of time.

But is there anyone who owned this server and moved to another brand of server?

Anyone demo the Taiko server and go with another brand of server?

 

[HughP3]

I have an Innuos statement which i am very happy with but I too would like to addition this server. Likely not going to happen as no one in Georgia is a dealer.

 

[bryans]

I have seen a couple of the Taiko units for sale here on WBF. The last person who listed one made a point to tell people not to ask what he went with. Not sure why. I was interested in buying one but like @HughP3 no one near me had one for me to demo.

 

[Sampajanna]

I too have a Statement and have thought of switching to Taiko, but Innuos just added a couple INCREDINLE features that I am not sure other streamers offer…. Have yet to listen to Taiko n my own system.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Hello Sampajanna,

Please tell us what caused you to purchase an Innuos Statement in the first place?

What did you like about the sound of the Innuos Statement?

What other streamers did you audition?

Thank you.

 

[Sampajanna]

I first had a trash can mac running Audioirvana years ago. I then got an Auralic streamer. It was okay, but I knew I could do better… I auditioned an Aurender at the time, but liked the Statement better—smoother, less digital sound and some software features I wanted. Also, the PSU in the Statement was designed by Sean Jacobs and I had been using his products for some time and knew what he was capable of making (not to mention he is very kind as well).

I have recently contemplated upgrading to Taiko or Pink Faun. I heard Taiko out and about but not in my system. It sounds great, though and they seem to have excellent service judging by comments here…. I love Roon for surfing/finding new music, but the Innuos software does sound better for sure. Recently Innuos released a new version of their software 2.1 with a cool feature that allows airplay, which means I can now watch YouTube videos on the iPad while sound plays on the big rig/main system. I know SQ is not great on YouTube, but there is lots of cool concert videos and even some amazing versions of songs that are only on that platform and fun. Example: the amazing new album(s) I Am the Moon by the Tedeschi Trucks Band, which have accompanying movies/videos. For something rarer and more spectacular, check this out:

Anyway, I am torn. Does Taiko have this YouTube integration? Otherwise, I may go for the new Statement PSU upgrade…

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you, Sampajanna.

Have you considered the Antipodes streamer?

 

[Sampajanna]

I have. My favorite dealer represents them. I looked at the K50 and the new Oladra both. They are interesting for sure. Do they have airplay? I will ask about that. The Grimm MU1 is also well regarded… I will wait for my new Horizon to arrive before deciding. What about you?

 

[Ron Resnick]

I, personally, I do not care about the airplay thing for YouTube.

Do you or your dealer have any sense of the sonic differences between the Innuos Statement and the K50?

I am trying to gather data points to understand which of those two top servers, or the top Aurender, might be the most musical or "organic" or analog-like in its presentation?

For me, personally, I am generally planning to go with one of the mid-level Innuos streamers from Alex at Alma so he can set the whole thing up for me and hand me a dedicated iPad when he is finished. (I will use only Qobuz, and no Roon, so it should be a simple set-up.)

 

[Sampajanna]

I think Antipodes and Statement are both on the smoother side. The Statement is real organic/analogue like. I didnt think I would care about YouTube either. But it has been fun now and again…. The Innuos software is real nice and they are very actively upgrading it all the time, including a feedback forum where you can post wanted features and if enough people agree they will add it. It takes Qobuz of course, so adding that would be easy. Anyway, my Innuos experience so far has been great. Small recommendation: get the upgraded custom cables for your statement so you can separate the PSU and the streamer if you have the shelf space. Not only are the cables better, but the space is good methinks. I personally didnt really like the Aurender models I auditioned, but they could work in your system. I have buddies over here who love them. Lots of dealers here use them as well…

 

[Ron Resnick]

I think Antipodes and Statement are both on the smoother side. The Statement is real organic/analogue like. I didnt think I would care about YouTube either. But it has been fun now and again…. The Innuos software is real nice and they are very actively upgrading it all the time, including a feedback forum where you can post wanted features and if enough people agree they will add it. It takes Qobuz of course, so adding that would be easy. Anyway, my Innuos experience so far has been great. Small recommendation: get the upgraded custom cables for your statement so you can separate the PSU and the streamer if you have the shelf space. Not only are the cables better, but the space is good methinks. I personally didnt really like the Aurender models I auditioned, but they could work in your system. I have buddies over here who love them. Lots of dealers here use them as well…

Thank you very much for relaying your experience on these topics!

 

[kennyb123]

I looked at the K50 and the new Oladra both. They are interesting for sure. Do they have airplay?

An open source application called Shairport can be enabled on Antipodes players. This provides support for Airplay 1. I believe that Innuos is using this as well.

 

[Sampajanna]

That is cool. It is a fun feature to have for sure!

 

[marty]

It is not an significant thing to mention that prior to purchasing any other server, you may wish to ask this question...

You have a really bad server issue and its 3 am. Who you gonna call, ghostbusters? There is no other service organization in audio that is as responsive or as professional as Emile and his team at Taiko. For goodness sake, the guy doesn't sleep and responds in a flash almost 24/7! That alone, is a feature that goes well beyond price and performance and is worth serious consideration. There is a commitment to excellence there that is almost unheard of elsewhere in a field of rapidly changing digital technology and for which there is a strong unblemished track record.

 

[bryans]

At 3 AM I would just go to bed

 

[ACHiPo]

I have an Innuos statement which i am very happy with but I too would like to addition this server. Likely not going to happen as no one in Georgia is a dealer.

Hugh,
Fly to AMS, 2 hrs by train to Hengelo. It will blow you away. Emile has good coffee, too, for the jet lag.

You can even swing by Gryphon to visit the mothership.
Evan

 

[kennyb123]

You have a really bad server issue and its 3 am. Who you gonna call, ghostbusters? There is no other service organization in audio that is as responsive or as professional as Emile and his team at Taiko. For goodness sake, the guy doesn't sleep and responds in a flash almost 24/7! That alone, is a feature that goes well beyond price and performance and is worth serious consideration.

That’s a great point. Emile is setting a high standard - there’s no doubt about that. But I have been super-impressed with how well Antipodes supports their customers. It’s pretty easy to book a time for them to remote in and resolve issues. I have had to set up two different sessions and my K30 was always left in a great place afterwards.

They also do a really good job of supporting their customers via their support forum - though they don’t monitor as closely as Emile seems to - possibly because they expect customers to reach out to them directly when there are problems needing their assistance.

 

[bryans]

Hugh,
Fly to AMS, 2 hrs by train to Hengelo. It will blow you away. Emile has good coffee, too, for the jet lag.

You can even swing by Griffin to visit the mothership.
Evan

I have no doubt that the Extreme and others are outstanding servers. My issue has always been how does one really evaluate a product unless it is in your system? I have listened to many products at a dealer just to get it home and realize it isn't for me. At a dealer I think one can get a basic understanding of what the product does but how does the unit fit in your system? At these levels I'm sure nearly all of them are awesome. But how do you know which one is for you without a home demo?

 

[christoph]

It is not an significant thing to mention that prior to purchasing any other server, you may wish to ask this question...

You have a really bad server issue and its 3 am. Who you gonna call, ghostbusters? There is no other service organization in audio that is as responsive or as professional as Emile and his team at Taiko. For goodness sake, the guy doesn't sleep and responds in a flash almost 24/7! That alone, is a feature that goes well beyond price and performance and is worth serious consideration. There is a commitment to excellence there that is almost unheard of elsewhere in a field of rapidly changing digital technology and for which there is a strong unblemished track record.

The same can be said about Lukasz Domanski from LDMS.
Absolute top bloke

 

[christoph]

I have no doubt that the Extreme and others are outstanding servers. My issue has always been how does one really evaluate a product unless it is in your system? I have listened to many products at a dealer just to get it home and realize it isn't for me. At a dealer I think one can get a basic understanding of what the product does but how does the unit fit in your system? At these levels I'm sure nearly all of them are awesome. But how do you know which one is for you without a home demo?

Direct comparison is the only way to go