Introducing Olympus & Olympus I/O - A new perspective on modern music playback

[Taiko Audio]

I think this is a SIGNIFICANT statement. I was thinking that Olympus/XDMI/I-O pretty much applied more to XDMS. A lot of people love and use Roon.

Roon is the primary playback software on our servers and is used by at least 80% of our customers.

We are and remain committed to extracting the best possible sound quality from the Roon platform.

The purpose of XDMS is three-fold:

1) A technological deep dive, a research project if you will, on the relationship between software, hardware and sound quality. We have gained invaluable insights from the development progress and continue to learn from it. This has led to numerous improvements benefitting not only XDMS, but also Roon and hardware developments, XDMI wouldn’t be what it is today without.

2) An alternative interface / playback software suite for those who don’t like the Roon interface or it’s sound signature, and yes every piece of software does have a sound signature.

3) An “insurance policy” in case something happens to Roon, if they change direction/policy, or anything else unforeseen.

 

[SK8]

May I ask is Olympus a dual CPU or single CPU server? What CPU to be used? The motherboard is custom-made or off-the-shelf? Thank you.

 

[Taiko Audio]

May I ask is Olympus a dual CPU or single CPU server? What CPU to be used? The motherboard is custom-made or off-the-shelf? Thank you.

We’re using a 4th gen AMD Epyc. This is actually a quad CPU centered around an I/O die on a single socket and can be utilised in the same way we do with the dual CPUs of the Extreme.



A custom made motherboard for these kinds of CPUs is a waste of development resources. 6096 contacts for the CPU alone The router motherboard we developed already has a questionable ROI, a motherboard for this has zero change on that, the necessary sales volume is just not there. Add to that it’s influence is significantly reduced by powering peripherals from a BPS, aka very limited benefits, it’s just not interesting.

 

[Steve Williams]

Using AES/EBU or SPDIF.

of these 2 choices does aes/ebu or s/pdif give the better resolution.

AES/EBU goes to 24/192 and no DSD. Is it the same for s/pdif

 

[John T]

of these 2 choices does aes/ebu or s/pdif give the better resolution.

AES/EBU goes to 24/192 and no DSD. Is it the same for s/pdif

Neither will do DSD...

 

[Steve Williams]

Neither will do DSD...

that I know

 

[John T]

of these 2 choices does aes/ebu or s/pdif give the better resolution.

AES/EBU goes to 24/192 and no DSD. Is it the same for s/pdif

Sorry misunderstood the question...Resolution...Understood..

 

[Steve Williams]

@Taiko Audio

here's what I don't understand.......if we Horizon users can make use of XDMI with aes/ebu , what sort of cable does one use to connect as the interface for XDMI is different than the socket for aes/ebu

 

[Taiko Audio]

@Taiko Audio

here's what I don't understand.......if we Horizon users can make use of XDMI with aes/ebu , what sort of cable does one use to connect as the interface for XDMI is different than the socket for aes/ebu

AES/EBU = XLR to XLR
SPDIF = RCA to RCA

The difference between the two is that SPDIF is unbalanced and AES/EBU is balanced. The same difference as with analogue interconnects.

Their performance is pretty similar.

 

[Steve Williams]

So a single XLR cable from Horizon to XDMI ?

 

[Tuckia]

Can the standard Olympus be upgraded to XDMI at a later date? If so, what would that entail?

 

[Steve Williams]

Emile perhaps I missed it but have you shown us what your interface looks like in the Olympus or I/O

 

[Taiko Audio]

So a single XLR cable from Horizon to XDMI ?

Yes.

 

[Steve Williams]

Yes.

That’s understandable even by me

 

[Taiko Audio]

Emile perhaps I missed it but have you shown us what your interface looks like in the Olympus or I/O

post #131

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...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[Taiko Audio]

Can the standard Olympus be upgraded to XDMI at a later date? If so, what would that entail?

Yes, it can be done by yourself.

 

[Steve Williams]

post #131

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...

www.whatsbestforum.com

adapters are needed??

 

[Azjya]

No. But agree that a photo of the output sockets of the XDMI board would neatly answer many of these Qs.

 

[Steve Williams]

No. But agree that a photo of the output sockets of the XDMI board would neatly answer many of these Qs.

That’s what I asked as well

 

[Taiko Audio]

No. But agree that a photo of the output sockets of the XDMI board would neatly answer many of these Qs.

XLR would be chassis mounted, not directly on to the PCB.