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".

 

In other news, The Olympus has passed all certification tests which are required to ship by airplane. Admittedly we caught this requirement a bit late, having already passed all safety tests, this actually needs to be performed by a certified Authority specifically for airfreight. For those interested these are the tests:

T1 – Altitude Simulation (Simulation to 50,000 ft altitude atmosphere)
T2 – Thermal Test (12-hour dwell times at -40°C and 72°C, repeated 10 times)
T3 – Vibration (1G from 7Hz to 18Hz, 2g from >18Hz to 200Hz, 3-hour test in each axis)
T4 – Shock (34.6g shock pulses in positive and negative direction)
T5 – External Short Circuit (Pack conditioned at 57C, short maintained for 1-hour or more)
T6 – Impact (dropped from 61cm)
T7 – Overcharge (Charge at twice manufacturer’s recommended current)
T8 – Forced Discharge (12 V power supply connected in series at maximum recommended current)

You have to submit 4 completed products on which all these tests are performed.

Further to this the Battery Management app should appear in the Apple Store / Google Play Store on the 3rd of June.

Impressive, Emile.

Any discount on the test units? Asking for a friend. . .

Steve Z

 

T6 – Impact (dropped from 61cm)

...maybe not US compliant? We measure the drop distance from the back of the UPS truck...more like 75cm. And they don't charge for that test, FYI.

 

In other news, The Olympus has passed all certification tests which are required to ship by airplane. Admittedly we caught this requirement a bit late, having already passed all safety tests, this actually needs to be performed by a certified Authority specifically for airfreight. For those interested these are the tests:

T1 – Altitude Simulation (Simulation to 50,000 ft altitude atmosphere)
T2 – Thermal Test (12-hour dwell times at -40°C and 72°C, repeated 10 times)
T3 – Vibration (1G from 7Hz to 18Hz, 2g from >18Hz to 200Hz, 3-hour test in each axis)
T4 – Shock (34.6g shock pulses in positive and negative direction)
T5 – External Short Circuit (Pack conditioned at 57C, short maintained for 1-hour or more)
T6 – Impact (dropped from 61cm)
T7 – Overcharge (Charge at twice manufacturer’s recommended current)
T8 – Forced Discharge (12 V power supply connected in series at maximum recommended current)

You have to submit 4 completed products on which all these tests are performed.

Further to this the Battery Management app should appear in the Apple Store / Google Play Store on the 3rd of June.

Now that's a proper torture session!

I suppose it gives the green light to go into production.

The collaboration with MSB is also excellent news!

If I've done my sums right, that makes 4 collaborations: MSB, LampizatOr, Aries Cerat and TotalDac.

That's a pretty good first step!

These are all big names in high-end HiFi.

I suspect that other major brands will follow suit.

Any other collaborations in sight?

Cheers,
Thomas

 

Now that's a proper torture session!

I suppose it gives the green light to go into production.

The collaboration with MSB is also excellent news!

If I've done my sums right, that makes 4 collaborations: MSB, LampizatOr, Aries Cerat and TotalDac.

That's a pretty good first step!

These are all big names in high-end HiFi.

I suspect that other major brands will follow suit.

Any other collaborations in sight?

Cheers,
Thomas

We’ve received a few enquiries yes

 

Before the weekend do you think you will be able to share some insight into when shipments will begin?

 

Before the weekend do you think you will be able to share some insight into when shipments will begin?

Will post more updates over the next few days!

 

In other news, The Olympus has passed all certification tests which are required to ship by airplane. Admittedly we caught this requirement a bit late, having already passed all safety tests, this actually needs to be performed by a certified Authority specifically for airfreight. For those interested these are the tests:

T1 – Altitude Simulation (Simulation to 50,000 ft altitude atmosphere)
T2 – Thermal Test (12-hour dwell times at -40°C and 72°C, repeated 10 times)
T3 – Vibration (1G from 7Hz to 18Hz, 2g from >18Hz to 200Hz, 3-hour test in each axis)
T4 – Shock (34.6g shock pulses in positive and negative direction)
T5 – External Short Circuit (Pack conditioned at 57C, short maintained for 1-hour or more)
T6 – Impact (dropped from 61cm)
T7 – Overcharge (Charge at twice manufacturer’s recommended current)
T8 – Forced Discharge (12 V power supply connected in series at maximum recommended current)

You have to submit 4 completed products on which all these tests are performed.

Further to this the Battery Management app should appear in the Apple Store / Google Play Store on the 3rd of June.

Has Boeing also passed all these tests? Does this mean you can install an Olympus in an aeroplane?

 

Has Boeing also passed all these tests? Does this mean you can install an Olympus in an aeroplane?

That might make it to the movie theatres: “Olympus has fallen 2”.

 

As the leading DAC makers rush to design the first implementations of XDMI native digital input and add them to their products, many of us will be fascinated to compare the results among rival makers and with Olympus XDMI analogue output. But the speed of Taiko's innovative progress raises another question. Will improvement of XDMI create a need for DAC makers to update the XDMI input hardware after, say, a year or two? Or will the DAC input hardware specification remain unchanged for a longer period? If the latter, owners may feel relieved there will be no need to ship their precious DACs back for an upgrade. I’m hoping that future improvements will be accomplished by software updates.

 

@Taiko Audio: I think you had mentioned stacking the Olympus on top of the I/O? I'm building some new shelving and thinking ahead. Is there any advantage/disadvantage either stacking or placing side by side?

 

I *love* Taiko's customer service. From day theyve been an attentive, customer first company. First Emile, now Christaan, Ed, Ted and others have been incredibly caring and supportive. This is especially important to me because Taiko dropped the dealer from whom I bought the Extreme so I've been working with them directly for over two years. But lately, likeky due to the tremendous workload and pressure caused by the Olympus launch, contacting them has been more difficult. 10 days ago I requested an invoice so I can buy an Olymous XDMI. I still haven't received it and I'm concerned that this delay is lenghthing the already long wait for an Olympus. In addition, resolving an issue I have with my Extreme has been lengthier than I've been accustomed to. (But likely still better than other companies.) Perhaps I've been spoiled. My question is: Given Taiko's well deserved success and growth, will I be better served if I go through a dealer? Generally, most dealers add little to no value to the process, and actually might get in the way. Also, the extra revenue Taiko receives from working with me directly could indirectly help R&D. So I prefer not working with them. But lately, I'm wondering if a dealer would be helpful. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

I *love* Taiko's customer service. From day theyve been an attentive, customer first company. First Emile, now Christaan, Ed, Ted and others have been incredibly caring and supportive. This is especially important to me because Taiko dropped the dealer from whom I bought the Extreme so I've been working with them directly for over two years. But lately, likeky due to the tremendous workload and pressure caused by the Olympus launch, contacting them has been more difficult. 10 days ago I requested an invoice so I can buy an Olymous XDMI. I still haven't received it and I'm concerned that this delay is lenghthing the already long wait for an Olympus. In addition, resolving an issue I have with my Extreme has been lengthier than I've been accustomed to. (But likely still better than other companies.) Perhaps I've been spoiled. My question is: Given Taiko's well deserved success and growth, will I be better served if I go through a dealer? Generally, most dealers add little to no value to the process, and actually might get in the way. Also, the extra revenue Taiko receives from working with me directly could indirectly help R&D. So I prefer not working with them. But lately, I'm wondering if a dealer would be helpful. Any suggestions are welcome.

Hi @joet ,

Thank you for your kind words! Indeed our customer base has grown significantly over the years and we have enlarged our support team to compensate. This has also necessitated the move to an helpdesk support system. This all makes support less direct and personal and we do need to get used to working with a support system ourselves! I did just notify @tsaett , our new GM to look into this, he’ll reach out to you shortly to address your concerns. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused!

 

Hi @joet ,

Thank you for your kind words! Indeed our customer base has grown significantly over the years and we have enlarged our support team to compensate. This has also necessitated the move to an helpdesk support system. This all makes support less direct and personal and we do need to get used to working with a support system ourselves! I did just notify @tsaett , our new GM to look into this, he’ll reach out to you shortly to address your concerns. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused!

Thank you very much, Emile. Great products and service. What more can one ask for?

 

We’ve received a few enquiries yes

I wonder if there will be a Wadax/AKASA daughter board for XDMI. Olympus XDMI -> AKASA -> Wadax Reference should be impressive.

 

I *love* Taiko's customer service. From day theyve been an attentive, customer first company. First Emile, now Christaan, Ed, Ted and others have been incredibly caring and supportive. This is especially important to me because Taiko dropped the dealer from whom I bought the Extreme so I've been working with them directly for over two years. But lately, likeky due to the tremendous workload and pressure caused by the Olympus launch, contacting them has been more difficult. 10 days ago I requested an invoice so I can buy an Olymous XDMI. I still haven't received it and I'm concerned that this delay is lenghthing the already long wait for an Olympus. In addition, resolving an issue I have with my Extreme has been lengthier than I've been accustomed to. (But likely still better than other companies.) Perhaps I've been spoiled. My question is: Given Taiko's well deserved success and growth, will I be better served if I go through a dealer? Generally, most dealers add little to no value to the process, and actually might get in the way. Also, the extra revenue Taiko receives from working with me directly could indirectly help R&D. So I prefer not working with them. But lately, I'm wondering if a dealer would be helpful. Any suggestions are welcome.

I think it all depends on your needs and the service level that your dealer provides. BTW with mine, Ultimate Audio in Portugal, our relationship is a 16 year old excellent one. As much as we could want, Taiko Audio still doesn’t supply all of the system components yet, so whenever I want to change a component gear, update or upgrade, or just change, I personally only can do it thanks to my dealer. My financial funds are limited so I always rely on the help of my dealer trading in and having them as a partner.
In fact, Taiko Audio is growing rapidly, and I will miss the personal help of Ed and even Emile, working in my server but, I understand their time will be most precious developing hardware and software services that will make our lives happier. And so because, in the near future, I want an even better Taiko DAC with XLR outputs, and volume control, and XDMS, I forgive them both.

 

Can we all feel the love for this company that has certainly changed the listening habits of myself and as well, I am sure of just about everyone who reads "all things Taiko here"

The customer service truly needs a Badge of honor as these guys not only understand what they are doing but love interacting with we customers. The Taiko family has grown ginormously since CK Keung started a thread which launched a company into the stratosphere. Seeing pictures of the Taiko family enjoying schnitzel's and beer at Munich showed only smiles on their faces. Growth has caused some hiccups in the customer service but they recognize this and are quickly going to resolve this. Everyone should now sit back with your seats in the upright position and seat belts fastened as the next part of this incredible journey will soon unfold
As always we have found the pearl....the Taiko team is part of the beautiful necklace which holds that pearl together for all of us to enjoy. I get the sense that with the battery certification, things will start happening soon

 

I wonder if there will be a Wadax/AKASA daughter board for XDMI. Olympus XDMI -> AKASA -> Wadax Reference should be impressive.

I wonder if Angelina Jolie will finally want to have a crazy night with me.
Frankly I think this is more likely than Wadax designing an XDMI card for their DACs.

They really aren't doing too badly with their own technology.

 

I wonder if Angelina Jolie will finally want to have a crazy night with me.
Frankly I think this is more likely than Wadax designing an XDMI card for their DACs.

They really aren't doing too badly with their own technology.

I may be wrong, but I believe that there are some Taiko Olympus owners who would consider a Wadax Reference dac if there was a XDMI/AKASA interface.

 

@Taiko Audio: I think you had mentioned stacking the Olympus on top of the I/O? I'm building some new shelving and thinking ahead. Is there any advantage/disadvantage either stacking or placing side by side?

Stacking works fine here! Ofcourse a difference is inevitable, how that works out depends entirely on the rack / shelf material etc. I’ve grown to not assume anything, I just listen to every single change I make, now matter how tiny, or how irrelevant it may seem.

 

Stacking works fine here! Ofcourse a difference is inevitable, how that works out depends entirely on the rack / shelf material etc. I’ve grown to not assume anything, I just listen to every single change I make, now matter how tiny, or how irrelevant it may seem.

Sure, understood. I typically don't like stacking anything. Individual placement takes away the element of wondering if stacking is less effective. If I have enough material, I'll make it to accommodate side by side placement...