Battle of the giants! Taiko vs Antipodes etc

[Zeotrope]

What were your impressions of the 2.16 Ultra when you heard it? Would you agree with my assessment that it delivers a more "technical", precise sound than the Taiko, which is generally richer and "warmer", or did you perceive it differently?

I didn’t hear both components in the same system so it’s impossible to answer.
What is clear that with digital more than analog, EVERYTHING Matters. The cables, the power supply to the router (even for local playback!), the software (i.e., Roon or XDMS or …)… each of these variables makes a big difference to the sound.

 

[bryans]

I'm the owner of a Pachanko Constellation Masterpiece. A while back I was in the market for a server and settled on the CAT Masterpiece. Like @TDX I'm a huge believer in the power supply and for me, the CAT was/is on another level. I have mine paired with the Diretta Canario Bridge. Mine is approaching a year old and no issues at all.

I truly believe all of the gear (@grandsoir) you are looking at is top notch. Really you're not going to make a bad decision. It comes down to personal taste.

I will say since owning my CAT I haven't had any ideas/thoughts/etc. about going in a different direction.

 

[bryans]

Taiko seems to be really good. (I've listened to it too, but still found analog better, but that's another topic. It sounded good in any case - but I had no digital comparison)

But when I look at the Taiko thread here with about 18,500 posts then I ask myself: is this the right device? I mean a device that I update no more than 1 time a year (whether hardware or software) and for which I do not have to ask again and again to get the best out of it. Can the Extreme Server do that? If so, where does 18,500 posts come from (and no, I can't and won't look at that many posts)?

Yes there are a ton of posts in the Taiko forum. I will say a lot of Taiko owners are VERY passionate/proud of their purchase.

 

[Zeotrope]

Yes there are a ton of posts in the Taiko forum. I will say a lot of Taiko owners are VERY passionate/proud of their purchase.

Indeed. You cannot go wrong with a Taiko Extreme.

 

[acg]

Yes there are a ton of posts in the Taiko forum. I will say a lot of Taiko owners are VERY passionate/proud of their purchase.

It is cult-like to be honest... some very effective marketing for sure.

@grandsoir in my part of the world people have preferred the Antipodes Oladra when compared to Taiko Extreme and voted thus with their wallets. If the Taiko switch/router etc are so great then you don't need an Extreme to benefit/own them... and if you want to go down the network rabbit hole there are also plenty of others to try too.

Honestly, it all depends on the dac, and although I am familiar with the Playback Designs I've not spent a heap of time with it. PD have their own input system, an external box that accepts usb input, and uses a lot of tricks to make it source agnostic. First thing I would do is trial a couple of these server/streamers to be sure they make an audible difference with the PD, because they may well not.

 

[Zeotrope]

The Taiko switch and router will not work with other streamers. Not to their full benefit anyway. Certain processor tasks are offloaded to these devices from the Extreme. Plus the switch comes with a network card, it doesn’t use RJ45 Ethernet.

 

[bryans]

Indeed. You cannot go wrong with a Taiko Extreme.

Honestly I don't believe one can go wrong with any of the ones the OP is looking at. It all comes down to personal preference.

 

[acg]

@Zeotrope the Taiko switch is working fine with many other servers... no problems there... and the router is just a router with no special "Extreme Only" functions.

I question if the PD dac would even benefit from any of this stuff as the digital moat it puts around itself is perhaps ahead of anything else on the market. Certainly try before you buy...

 

[bryans]

The Taiko switch and router will not work with other streamers. Not to their full benefit anyway. Certain processor tasks are offloaded to these devices from the Extreme. Plus the switch comes with a network card, it doesn’t use RJ45 Ethernet.

Am I missing something? On the Taiko site it gives one the option of RJ45 or Fiber. One can use a DAC cable which is a copper cable terminated with Fiber. All of these are Ethernet. Maybe I missed what you were saying about RJ45 Ethernet.

 

[TDX]

@Zeotrope the Taiko switch is working fine with many other servers... no problems there... and the router is just a router with no special "Extreme Only" functions.

I question if the PD dac would even benefit from any of this stuff as the digital moat it puts around itself is perhaps ahead of anything else on the market. Certainly try before you buy...

it’s just a switch, not even a router. I doubt what task can be offload from the server to a switch. I think it’s better to be clarified.

 

[Kingrex]

Where do the LDMS fall in pricing $10, 15, 20, 25k?

 

[gleeds]

In my view, no one beats Taiko, they make the world’s best streamer. That said, the DAC and rest of the system have to be up to the challenge.

I have no experience with the intended DAC; but the Andreas Koch digital board is similar to what’s in my Nagra HD DAC X.

What about the rest of the system?

Andreas Koch did most of Nagra's DAC development, at least in the early days. It makes sense a Playback Designs solution found its way into Nagra's unit.

 

[Verdier]

You don’t have to read the posts. The Taiko team is sharing their journey and listening to customers publicly.
It’s a platform that is continuously improving. I’d rather have 18k+ posts from a company that is always pushing the boundary with genius level of tech vision, vs the opposite: a company that rests on its laurels and doesn’t update regularly.
All the software is free as well. And honestly the difference XDMS makes over Roon is incredible.

And I agree that analog is more realistic and sounds better overall; but that’s another topic! And you have to spend more for an analog system to beat a Taiko with a great DAC.

You're not really responding to what I said. I need a server that works. My language is not English. I don't speak in computer terms either. I need to put one of these things down and then it needs to work, damn well work. Because of me, service can be done remotely from time to time. But it can't be that I have to do it and that I have to exchange technical details with the manufacturer. I don't have the expertise and time for that.

But I understand that I need both for the Extreme.

 

[Manxman]

Where do the LDMS fall in pricing $10, 15, 20, 25k?

The LDMS sells for between £6,900 and £14,500, depending on the specification and internal storage. It's more of a bespoke product than the Taiko or Pink Faun – Domansky discusses the customer's sonic preferences and then recommends a solution.

 

[Zeotrope]

You're not really responding to what I said. I need a server that works. My language is not English. I don't speak in computer terms either. I need to put one of these things down and then it needs to work, damn well work. Because of me, service can be done remotely from time to time. But it can't be that I have to do it and that I have to exchange technical details with the manufacturer. I don't have the expertise and time for that.

But I understand that I need both for the Extreme.

No, you do not. Ask this question in the Extreme forum and you will have 100% of owners telling you the same thing. I can see why you might think that, BTW; but it’s not the case.

My Extreme has been running 24/7 for over a year (since I received it). I have never tinkered with it. I download the app and it just works. XDMS is still in beta, but you can use Roon until the production version of XDMS is released. Roon will sound better on the Extreme than on any other server (in my opinion). When XDMS is finished, it will sound so much better than Roon, you won’t believe it!

 

[bryans]

it’s just a switch, not even a router. I doubt what task can be offload from the server to a switch. I think it’s better to be clarified.

Really it looks like a 2-port SFP+ media converter. Hey if Taiko can build a product that people will pay for I say go for it.

 

[Kingrex]

What is the expected life of a server. My server is about 5 years old. Runs 24x7. I am starting to have hangups with Qobuz. The tech gets on and cleans up the software. It works for a couple months, then starts to hiccup. I don't know if this is Qobuz changing stuff, and the Linux system needs to be adjusted. I don't think its a hardware issue. I think its software. If it were hardware, a tech cleaning files would not make it work fine for another 2 to 3 months.

What I do know is true is heat kills computers. And age outdates hardware very quickly. I usually get about 8 to 10 years from a computer. Then something gives. 8 years to circuit board and chip technology is so far out, getting a replacement requires tossing everything accept maybe the case. Maybe the PS is still good. When I see the inside of any fancy server, I don't see fans. I see layer upon layer of boards packed into a small form case.
Has anyone had any fancy server for more than 8 to 10 years? If I'm not mistaken, there are Taiko maybe 6 years old that are outdated and don't get updates anymore. If you want the highest performance, you have to buy a new one?????

 

[DasguteOhr]

one company must not be missing when it comes to fun and emotions when listening to music. then you absolutely have to listen to la rosita streamer. even the little alpha streamer has that in its genes.
Realistic sound color, dynamic , transparent. 100% fun machine here the biggest new fish the gamma streamer.

En- LA ROSITA - GAMMA HD | larosita

www.larosita.fr

 

[TDX]

What is the expected life of a server. My server is about 5 years old. Runs 24x7. I am starting to have hangups with Qobuz. The tech gets on and cleans up the software. It works for a couple months, then starts to hiccup. I don't know if this is Qobuz changing stuff, and the Linux system needs to be adjusted. I don't think its a hardware issue. I think its software. If it were hardware, a tech cleaning files would not make it work fine for another 2 to 3 months.

What I do know is true is heat kills computers. And age outdates hardware very quickly. I usually get about 8 to 10 years from a computer. Then something gives. 8 years to circuit board and chip technology is so far out, getting a replacement requires tossing everything accept maybe the case. Maybe the PS is still good. When I see the inside of any fancy server, I don't see fans. I see layer upon layer of boards packed into a small form case.
Has anyone had any fancy server for more than 8 to 10 years? If I'm not mistaken, there are Taiko maybe 6 years old that are outdated and don't get updates anymore. If you want the highest performance, you have to buy a new one?????

I thought about this. But pachanko is three boxed server. One box contains all the computer parts. Hopefully after a few years I only need to replace the computer box and still able to connect to the power supplies which should last longer. Fingers crossed.

 

[howiebrou]

You're not really responding to what I said. I need a server that works. My language is not English. I don't speak in computer terms either. I need to put one of these things down and then it needs to work, damn well work. Because of me, service can be done remotely from time to time. But it can't be that I have to do it and that I have to exchange technical details with the manufacturer. I don't have the expertise and time for that.

But I understand that I need both for the Extreme.

I don't speak computer language either. I just plug and play. My Taiko Extreme has been on since about 2020 (I think) and I don't touch it. I don't have the network card, I don't have the Taiko Switch. Right now I see no need for it as it sounds great to me. My dealer set everything up and I leave it alone.
That's all I wanted from a server and that's what I got.