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

[cat6man]

It is a bit surprising reading that via USB Olympus is on Extreme's level....Wasn't it supposed to be much better?

AES/ebu was supposed to be much better, if i recall correctly. Waiting to hear someone who is trying that interface.

 

[Tuckia]

Some unpacking shorts here:
https://www.youtube.com/@ChicagoHiFi/shorts

Part I -

Part II -

Part III -

--> this is the Lampizator XDMI card
Part IV -

Part V -

*** had to put dramatic music after all that long wait
**** subscribe to the channel - there will be more videos

Thank you Vassil. Where's the beer?
Will you post a video of you carrying it down the stairs?
Happy for you!

 

[pleroma]

Like the finish. Looks more like a gunmetal gray than black in the sun.

 

[John T]

Like the finish. Looks more like a gunmetal gray than black in the sun.

I thought the same...

 

[nenon]

Where's the beer?

Waiting in the refrigerator.

Will you post a video of you carrying it down the stairs?

Sure (btw, don't do this alone - get someone to help you):

 

[pleroma]

I thought the same...

He was so excited I was afraid he was going to take off a finger with that boxcutter.

 

[John T]

He was so excited I was afraid he was going to take off a finger with that boxcutter.

If that happened and I can speak for everyone, we would be more concerned with blood on the Olympus than our wound...

 

[2ndLiner]

Some unpacking shorts here:
https://www.youtube.com/@ChicagoHiFi/shorts

Part I -

Part II -

Part III -

--> this is the Lampizator XDMI card
Part IV -

Part V -

*** had to put dramatic music after all that long wait
**** subscribe to the channel - there will be more videos

As feverish an audio component unboxing as you will ever see!

 

[Tuckia]

Waiting in the refrigerator.


Sure (btw, don't do this alone - get someone to help you):

You make that look easy.

 

[Tuckia]

He was so excited I was afraid he was going to take off a finger with that boxcutter.

Lol.
That’s what I probably look like when unpacking in the driveway and I know my wife returns in 4 minutes and 35 seconds.

 

[nenon]

Actually have a very busy day at work today with back to back calls. I was in a huge rush between meetings to unpack and check that everything was okay. So pretty much the few minutes I had, I shared with you guys on camera.

After dragging it downstairs I connected it to my system:


It's playing... I popped in a couple of times for a few minutes. I definitely heard an improvement between the first time, the second time, and the third time I stopped by for a little bit.

I will do some proper listening tonight and provide some first impressions. Since that's the first Olympus in North America, I understand I carry big responsibilities!

 

[ray-dude]

 

[tsaett]

While waiting for the first US report, our own Edward @EuroDriver has made it to Tokyo for the Tokyo International Audio Show 2024, that is taking place this weekend.

Tokyo International Forum


The Olympus made it just in time. Looks like this truck has the perfect Olympus-size!


The system:




Edward giving a tech talk of the Olympus project to these Japanese Audiophiles



Olympus is playing with its analog output:



Looks like a fun show!

 

[an.vamv]

As per relevant ratings:
QUOTE
We’ve compared a few output options with a panel of listeners, using AES/EBU to LampizatorHorizon with RS1003, Lorenz ITT C3g and Telefunken RGN2504. RCA outputs, with the remark it'smuch more difficult to rank XDMI versus USB, we settled on the following ratings:
• Stock Extreme using the USB interface: 100%
• Extreme + Olympus I/O with USB card mounted: 150%
• Extreme + Olympus I/O with XDMI mounted: 200%
• Olympus with USB card mounted: 175%
• Olympus with XDMI mounted: 275%
• Olympus with Olympus I/O with XDMI mounted: 300%
UNQUOTE

So Olympus via USB is supposed to be 75% better than Extreme , however the first report from Lukasz is that they are on the same level more or less, no ?

AES/ebu was supposed to be much better, if i recall correctly. Waiting to hear someone who is trying that interface.

 

[Taiko Audio]

So Olympus via USB is supposed to be 75% better than Extreme , however the first report from Lukasz is that they are on the same level more or less, no ?

I’m pretty sure what Lukasz is referring to is USB is USB in a broader sense.

We have improved Olympus’s USB playback quality significantly meanwhile. That specific “old post” refers to a time where the bulk of the computer hardware was mains powered. Now everything is battery powered. Interestingly the onboard USB ports perform significantly better than any add-in card now. Additional we have developed a new USB driver for the Olympus, finished just a few weeks ago, which makes an even larger difference. It’s far superior to USB from the Extreme.

But, it’s still USB..

 

[nonesup]

Can we then say that USB on the Olympus is clearly better than USB on the Extreme? Please note that not all of us have a Lampizator DAC already prepared for XDMI.

 

[Taiko Audio]

Can we then say that USB on the Olympus is clearly better than USB on the Extreme? Please note that not all of us have a Lampizator DAC already prepared for XDMI.

Yes.

 

[wil]

The comparisons I’ll be interested in:

1. Oly > usb > Aries Cerat dac
2. Oly > Xdmi digital aes > Aries Cerat dac
3. Oly > Xdmi analog out > Aries Cerat Pre

And eventually,

4. Oly > native XDMI > Aries dac

I’m expecting #4 will be best, but hoping #3 will be very close.!

I’m also curious to hear reports comparing Horizon native Xdmi to the Taiko analog out to Pre. ( can the Horizon be used as a Pre only?).

 

[an.vamv]

I’m pretty sure what Lukasz is referring to is USB is USB in a broader sense.

We have improved Olympus’s USB playback quality significantly meanwhile. That specific “old post” refers to a time where the bulk of the computer hardware was mains powered. Now everything is battery powered. Interestingly the onboard USB ports perform significantly better than any add-in card now. Additional we have developed a new USB driver for the Olympus, finished just a few weeks ago, which makes an even larger difference. It’s far superior to USB from the Extreme.

But, it’s still USB..

Emile, didn't Lukasz just receive the latest version of Olympus and posted his review yesterday ? So i guess he compared the latest USB implementation of the Olympus to that of the Extreme, no ?

 

[Taiko Audio]

Emile, didn't Lukasz just receive the latest version of Olympus and posted his review yesterday ? So i guess he compared the latest USB implementation of the Olympus to that of the Extreme, no ?

Lukasz doesn’t have an Extreme.