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".

 

Hi everyone,

Some of you will already be familiar with me—hopefully on a positive note! I just wanted to give you all an update from my perspective, as I'm both new to the Taiko Team and stepping into the audiophile world for the first time.

Emile brought me on board to help tackle some of the challenges we're facing, and the first one I’ve tackled is shipping. I’m happy to report that we've got it sorted out about 95%. We’re now able to ship worldwide, though there are still a few remote areas where things can get tricky. But don’t worry—I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve to handle those situations, even if it means a little more patience on our end.

Next up is the anodizing issue, which, as some of you know, has been a beast. It’s been a complicated process, but we’ve made great strides. We’ve partnered with a new vendor, and after the first test runs, they’re gearing up for full production in the next two weeks. I totally understand that waiting has been frustrating for all of you, and believe me, no one at Taiko expected this delay when the Olympus was released and none of us are happy with how this has been going.

On the side, we’re also experimenting with a coating variant, which, if all goes well, could replicate the anodized colour and potentially eliminate the anodizing problem altogether. The final tests for both silver and black will be wrapped up in 12 days.

However, if you can hang in there just a little longer, we’re about to ramp up production significantly. Our goal is to get to the point where we’re building and shipping at least 10 units a week, and to ultimately have stock ready to go after everyone finally has their Olympus order. I promise, we’re working as fast as we can, and we’re just as frustrated by the delays as you are.

I’m planning to visit the new anodizing partner again after the weekend and—if they allow it—I’ll try to get some video footage of the process. I can’t promise I’ll look particularly exciting in the video, but the process itself might just be worth the watch.

Rest assured, we’re committed to delivering the best product possible, even if it’s taking a lot longer than expected. Thanks for your continued patience and understanding!

EDIT: We are producing currently, just at a slower rate than we want. (Thought this was important to mention)

Coating variant: Interesting, covers a lot of territory. I've worked with reactive dyes in sculpture. Achieving consistent results is difficult. Metallurgy: Metallic Crystal Properties, Mechanical Properties, Chemical Properties Of The Metal. Within the Anodizing process all these variables can also create issues which sounds as though is the crux of the issues that your dealing with. Not even mentioning temperature control with whomever is doing the anodizing process, crucial. Fingers crossed that the 3rd anodizing company has better control over the process/finished chassis. Everyone here is sending good Mojo and pulling/hoping for success...

 

@tomas329 , @Kingsrule , @MarkusBarkus , thank you on reporting on the necessity of accumulating some burnin time on the XDMI / MSB Pro ISL module. I’m beyond pleased all the time and effort we put into making this interface happen is starting to pay dividends!

While on the subject, we do not recommend using DAC cables to replace the fiber cable for the MSB Pro ISL link.

The recommendation for using DAC cables strictly applies to our own router/switch/networkcard as those have been designed for that specifically where the MSB Pro ISL interface has been designed to work with the supplied SFP fiber modules.

If I can divert for a moment - is Airplay (or similar) functionality still coming to the Olympus / Router?

 

If I can divert for a moment - is Airplay (or similar) functionality still coming to the Olympus / Router?

We're not yet sure in which component Airplay will be implemented (first), but this is definitely still on the table!

 

Thanks Chrstiaan. Airplay functionality is highly desirable for at least some owners (and would quite possibly broaden Taiko’s appeal in general), so this is good to know.

 

We're not yet sure in which component Airplay will be implemented (first), but this is definitely still on the table!

The status to connect a music drive to the T router is same?

 

Coating variant: Interesting, covers a lot of territory. I've worked with reactive dyes in sculpture. Achieving consistent results is difficult. Metallurgy: Metallic Crystal Properties, Mechanical Properties, Chemical Properties Of The Metal. Within the Anodizing process all these variables can also create issues which sounds as though is the crux of the issues that your dealing with. Not even mentioning temperature control with whomever is doing the anodizing process, crucial. Fingers crossed that the 3rd anodizing company has better control over the process/finished chassis. Everyone here is sending good Mojo and pulling/hoping for success...

Mr. T,
With the new coating variant, maybe your Olympus will have the finish of a yellow polka dot bikini.. LOL ! ( should it ever arrive ).

Hi hi hi …

 

The status to connect a music drive to the T router is same?

This functionality is currently being tested. The Extreme Router will support drives formatted in FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS, in addition to ext4. Apple APFS and HFS+ are not supported, but OSX allows formatting drives in FAT32 or exFAT, so make sure to format a drive that way before adding music to it.

The firmware has been confirmed to work with the Olympus server, but it requires a change deep in the OS to also work with the Extreme Server. We are working on finding a fix that can be implemented in the Router firmware so it becomes basically plug and play for both servers. As soon as this is done, the firmware will be released and pushed to the Extreme Routers out there.

 

I'm curious about something. Guys who are running Olympus Analog Out have reported quite a long break-in period. The few I have spoken to who are using the Horizon/360 are reporting significant less of a break-in period. Granted not a large reference pool. Its quite obvious Analog Out takes sometime to settle in. Can some Horizon/360 owners chime in as to what there findings have been...

 

if they are using the H360 then they are using the digital card not the analogue

 

...do you Lampi fellas have a daughter board in the Olympus, or only the implementation piece in the Lampi itself (or both)?

For the MSB version, there is a daughter-board that is swapped for the analog board (or shipped with MSB board installed on later builds).

In my case, I shipped with analog in place, so I ran up the miles on that set-up while waiting for the MSB board to ship. I figured may as well get going on that, as the "parent" card might have a burn-in time too.

Even with a lot of time on the "parent" board and analog "daughter" board, swapping to the MSB "daughter" board required a lot of time to sound good. A lot.

And swapping back to the analog board still required more time to finally come-good.

Eventually, both workflows had a lot of play-time, so swapping back did not seem to grossly impact the sound.

I recognize this is adjacent to John T's question, but wanted to chime-in with somewhat related experience.

 

I reached ~ 1300 hours and the v1a seemed to go full after burner..

 

if they are using the H360 then they are using the digital card not the analogue

I understand the different application. Analog Out Vs Native XDMI/360. Just curious as to what kind of break-in time for each application. Analog Out seems to take quite some hours as @RUIN*ish indicated. Just curious...

 

...do you Lampi fellas have a daughter board in the Olympus, or only the implementation piece in the Lampi itself (or both)?

For the MSB version, there is a daughter-board that is swapped for the analog board (or shipped with MSB board installed on later builds).

In my case, I shipped with analog in place, so I ran up the miles on that set-up while waiting for the MSB board to ship. I figured may as well get going on that, as the "parent" card might have a burn-in time too.

Even with a lot of time on the "parent" board and analog "daughter" board, swapping to the MSB "daughter" board required a lot of time to sound good. A lot.

And swapping back to the analog board still required more time to finally come-good.

Eventually, both workflows had a lot of play-time, so swapping back did not seem to grossly impact the sound.

I recognize this is adjacent to John T's question, but wanted to chime-in with somewhat related experience.

Yes, there is a Lampi xdmi daughter card for use in the Olympus.

 

Basically there is a mother card which all Olympus stand alone (no I/O) servers use. There are multiple daughter boards which attach to it including:

1 - digital (S/pdif; AES/EBU)
2 - Analog DAC
3 - Proprietary XDMI cards including Lampi, MSB, etc.

I assume all these are also used in the I/O.

 

Yes. My XDMI Lampi card is in my IO

 

...yes, but I was also trying to better understand if there was an additional component/receiver within the H360 itself. I recall units being shipped back home for mods. Relative to John T's enquiry, I wondered if an additional component changed the burn-in time. Cheers...

 

I've heard from a few with the 360/Olympus 100-200 hours. Quite a difference as to Analog Out. As Mark, I'm just attempting to understand why the break-in time varies so much...I've never heard either together so I'm clueless...Just going by what I read and heard...

 

...yes, but I was also trying to better understand if there was an additional component/receiver within the H360 itself. I recall units being shipped back home for mods. Relative to John T's enquiry, I wondered if an additional component changed the burn-in time. Cheers...

There is. I had my Horizon updated for the XDMI card.

 

Thanks Chrstiaan. Airplay functionality is highly desirable for at least some owners (and would quite possibly broaden Taiko’s appeal in general), so this is good to know.

as well as something for android. my use case: switch between music and a radio station or baseball game

 

There is. I had my Horizon updated for the XDMI card.

Exactly. Not all Horizon DACs had the TAIKO XDMI port