Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

[Esotar]

Since 11 Extremes were arrived in S. Korea, four another audiophiles ordered Extreme.

Total 15 in only S. KOREA~!!!

In addition, SIX Korean audiophiles will order Extreme in May.

Do you know how many have Korean audiophiles Aurender W20??

Just only 40~!!!!

It's true~!!

By the way, Extremes were sold 15 ea and in May total 21 Extremes will be sold in Korea for only just 95 days.

Korean Extreme sales amount is no. 1 record in Korean Digital HI FI market.

Korean audiophiles ordered more expensive music server than Aurender W20.

This means is SGM Extreme quality is the most in the world.

If you have plan to change digital source devices, SGM Extreme is only wise option in the world.

S. Korea Extreme sales amount is proving this fact~!!

 

[nonesup]

The economic conditions of your "poor country" would greatly improve if you were able to create companies like: Daewo, Hyundai, LG Electronics, Samsung, Kia ..........

 

[adyc]

Esotar, could you please stop saying Poor South Korea? For a fact, S Korea is a developed country. It has the largest maker of OLED TV. It is very technological advanced. It also exports Kpop. I really can’t associate the word “poor” to South Korea.

 

[nonesup]

Well, considering that at the end of May you will have sold 21 Extrem, if the audiophiles of your country were "rich" in two years, you ousted Carlos Slim from the Forbes list ...
Regards

 

[Legolas]

This quote from the post above caught my attention. Surprisingly, #2 on the list is streaming through Qobuz. The conventional wisdom that I'm aware of has always been that Cd rips to SSD were the best, followed by downloads to SSD. Streaming, whether Tidal or Qobuz, has always been considered at the bottom.

Not surprised by this. Qobuz is regularly streaming 24 bit 44.1 files, which are a LOT better quality than 16 bit CD 44.1. Nothing to be confused about.

 

[Golum]

If you have plan to change digital source devices, SGM Extreme is only wise option in the world.
!

Really?

 

[Legolas]

Well, the SGM 2015 had a major update. Was that covered by the original price? I hope so. My concern with computers as music servers, is the speed of development, the cheapness of the parts and the operating system.

For example, in my house I have an iPad late 2012 that is now useless, and an iMac 2010 that is also useless. Both these can't be updated by the operating system, and everything is stopping working. Yes music servers are not work stations or personal tablets, but end of life is unavoidable.

I am looking for a music server, and may end up building my own in the end. The Zenith, SGC or Room Nucleus are price brackets I am comfortable with on PC tech. That is my opinion, others will think differently of course...

 

[microstrip]

(...) I am looking for a music server, and may end up building my own in the end. The Zenith, SGC or Room Nucleus are price brackets I am comfortable with on PC tech. That is my opinion, others will think differently of course...

Do you realize that people can make the same reasoning concerning the products you sell - they can buy a few heavy oversized transformers and capacitors, some tubes and components, a modular kit based on the Soekris R2R DAC and build something much cheaper than any comparable commercial DAC? A good friend of mine did it and he swears he gets 98% of the performance of my Vivaldi with it.

My experience and knowledge on servers is very limited - I only hosted the Innuos Statement and the sound quality was incomparably better than all my amateurish efforts with fiber optics, audiophile routers and LPS's. The main reason I am not buying a top server now is that making an elucidated choice will need more time than I can afford now - and also because CDs and SACDs played in the Vivaldi transport still sounded better than the equivalent files! But if didn't own the Vivaldi transport the Statement would not have left, although it was not my ideal server and I promised myself not to buy any high-end equipment before selling the EMT927 ...

IMHO our hobby is inexcusable in financial terms - no logic can help us in getting forgiveness.

 

[Stereophonic]

Do you realize that people can make the same reasoning concerning the products you sell - they can buy a few heavy oversized transformers and capacitors, some tubes and components, a modular kit based on the Soekris R2R DAC and build something much cheaper than any comparable commercial DAC?

Well said Micro...

 

[nonesup]

Regarding the obsolescence of computers and tablets (something absolutely true) I do not think it can be applied to music servers. Software updates are controlled by the manufacturers of the Server and not by Microsoft or Apple. Another thing is that after a while there are better servers and you want to change, but that happens with any device in our system.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Hey, I know this hobby is predicated on us always upgrading, but there appears more "pressure" to do this in the digital field ie servers and dacs, more than analog, amps, spkrs.

But why? If I really like the sound I get from a particular server and dac, why is there assumed insistence to upgrade all the time, or obversely, not to buy a good server, stick w inexpensive PC streaming, precisely because servers are changing all the time?

For me, if I buy a server at $5-7k, and a dac at a similar price, I won't be compelled to buy the improved version that will come in 18 months.

This upwards upgrading madness seems particularly prominent in digital.

 

[asiufy]

I think this "assumed insistence" to upgrade is in your head, Marc.
Most of my clients buy their Innuos servers and stick with them. Most that have upgraded are from a little Zen mini to a Zen, or from SE to Statement, both cases where it makes a lot of sense to upgrade.
Folks that bought Zenith mk2 are very happy with them, in spite of there being an mk3 now. There's at least one on this very forum, you can ask him...

 

[Sablon Audio]

I think it is fair to say that digital products continue to evolve faster than analogue ones. Apple bring out new models every year, yet few of us feel the need to slavishly replace our existing ones and I happen to be typing this from a 2011 iMac. A sensible approach in choosing products with a modular build and non-proprietary operating systems (ideally from well established / resourced developers) will help manage future proofing.

 

[Legolas]

Well, you iMac is soon to be useless, as was my point. I can't update past El Capitan. Then after that all websites will stop working in Safari and Chrome, etc act.

On software and servers, I prefer Roon. That is updated by them, not the servers you buy. I hope one day it doesn't make some music servers obsolete?

 

[Sablon Audio]

Well, you iMac is soon to be useless, as was my point. I can't update past El Capitan. Then after that all websites will stop working in Safari and Chrome, etc act.

On software and servers, I prefer Roon. That is updated by them, not the servers you buy. I hope one day it doesn't make some music servers obsolete?

I've not had any issues with core functionality (mail / safari / excel / word) on either my iMac, which admittedly has only recently been declared vintage, nor my mother's 2008 iMac which fell off their radar years ago. That said, both machines have ssd and extra ram.

Roon is the perfect example of a well resourced software company, independent of the hardware supplier, that I alluded to. They have a commitment to ongoing support and development as well as widespread usage. Is basically an audiophile iTunes. I have previous experience with a squeezebox based server having had its software support discontinued, hence why I mentioned this point.

 

[Legolas]

The iMacs and iPad move to 64 bit chips killed off the older models. Lets hope Apple don't build in system slow down as was a recent court case in the US, to force users of perfectly good PCs to move.

I personally am comfortable with music servers up to 4K, that I can the 'accept' may be dead in 6 years time. I have a harder time above that level of spend. Others have different priorities or budget.

 

[tima]

Apple sells user-friendly planned obsolescence.

 

[nonesup]

When we talk about the software that is in Servers, we are really talking about two different types of software. On the one hand there is the software that makes the server hardware work, that is, the Operating System (which is nothing more than a dedicated PC for audio). As far as I know this is always or is based on Windows or Unix, but highly modified, both to eliminate all the software that is unnecessary for the function of a server, and (and this is important) to eliminate the auto updates, not the that is no longer in the hands of the manufacturer of the original Operating System. The second type of Software is the Music Server: Roon, Twonky, Minimserver ... etc. I do not think these companies use Programmed Obsolescence in any way.
There is another point, however, that commented Marc and why we tend to change this type of devices more quickly ?. I think that's the case, and the reason I understand is that it's a much newer sector than, for example, that of amplifiers. This makes the improvements, by research of the manufacturers occur with much greater speed. We just have to see the case of the SGM 2015 that a few years ago was "the best of the best" and now after a few years of research, it seems that the Extrem leaves it behind.

 

[Taiko Audio]

This makes the improvements, by research of the manufacturers occur with much greater speed. We just have to see the case of the SGM 2015 that a few years ago was "the best of the best" and now after a few years of research, it seems that the Extrem leaves it behind.

True. This is the main reason for our more then generous upgrade / trade up program.

 

[CKKeung]

True. This is the main reason for our more then generous upgrade / trade up program.

Yes, such trade-up/upgrade programs are rather rare amongst HiFi manufacturers.

Other than the SGM servers, another one is the MSB Select Series.

So basically they are future-proof, unless the owners want to change camp.