Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

Taiko Audio

Industry Expert
Feb 10, 2017
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taikoaudio.com
Would Extreme-ists pay for both Roon and TAS? Roon for searches/new discoveries and to run it to secondary sites in the house, and then switching to TAS in the main zone for the best SQ?
How much would that combined subs cost annually/one-off?

-TAS is free for all Extreme and 2015/EVO owners.
-We are currently testing several music discovery services which will be included with TAS at a later stage.
 

pleroma

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2018
167
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This is very good news. Emile just confirmed to me that file system browsing will be supported, for anyone else who cares.

I recall @romaz saying he didn't see Roon in his future, perhaps adding clairvoyance to his other perceptive gifts ;)
 

cat6man

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2013
891
995
1,155
west of NYC, east of SF
This is very good news. Emile just confirmed to me that file system browsing will be supported, for anyone else who cares.

file system browsing is essential here, requiring roon navigation is a showstopper for me.........let a thousand flowers bloom
 

onlychild

Well-Known Member
Sep 18, 2019
133
352
150
We're working on HQPlayer support.

For TAS?

I do hope so, as it would allow the same upsampling for the DAVE dac that I am able to achieve with Roon + HQPlayer but with even better sound quality.

Also, I heard that Taiko Audio is getting a DAVE dac to hear this upsampling goodness, is that true?
 
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kennyb123

Well-Known Member
Nov 30, 2012
856
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Kirkland, WA
Interesting. Maybe a dumb question, but could one just go back and utilize an older version of Roon with the Extreme? A version that worked just fine and had "the magic" that existed for 200 pages of this forum :)?

As I understand it, Roon has tight integration with their backend services. If they make a "breaking change" (a change that might cause a past version to no longer function properly) they will likely force you to upgrade to the new version.

Also did you ever notice that message when upgrading that says that Roon is optimizing your database (or something like that)? That can mean that they are restructuring the local database to work with the new version. Once that's performed, you may no longer be able to run an older version. Worth a try though if you can restore from a former backup the entire Roon directory and the application.
 
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Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
As I understand it, Roon has tight integration with their backend services. If they make a "breaking change" (a change that might cause a past version to no longer function properly) they will likely force you to upgrade to the new version.

Also did you ever notice that message when upgrading that says that Roon is optimizing your database (or something like that)? That can mean that they are restructuring the local database to work with the new version. Once that's performed, you may no longer be able to run an older version. Worth a try though if you can restore from a former backup the entire Roon directory and the application.

I think every Extreme user has that gut instinct feeling re Roon. For me I'm done with it and yes I own a life membership. It's not a King's ransom so I'm not going to fret it. I'm going "all in" with TAS. I do like the idea of having both on the Extreme and being able to switch from one to the other . For me however the only reason I would push the button to activate Roon would be to use their Metadata. Having said that however Emile feels strongly that there are other online services that perform such searches and do it as good or better than Roon. One listen to the TAS will convince you before you finish the first track that the best SQ is coming from TAS
 
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ray-dude

Well-Known Member
Dec 8, 2019
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Also, I heard that Taiko Audio is getting a DAVE dac to hear this upsampling goodness, is that true?

From your typing fingers to Emile's ears ;) (and I'd be delighted to chip in my share for this...lot cheaper than getting a TotalDAC!)

After that, we can see what we can do to get him some loaner single driver speakers to drive direct ;) ;)
 
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wil

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2015
1,482
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file system browsing is essential here, requiring roon navigation is a showstopper for me.........let a thousand flowers bloom

I’ve always found the Roon library to be a chaotic sea of album covers and artist pictures that basically has no use for me. Especially for classical, it’s just an unpredictable mess of composers and performers.

My response has been to just use the playlist function. I title the playlists by the artist’ or composers name. To add an album under the artist's heading, I select the first track of the album which then acts as a link to the full album. I suppose a file based system would allow a similar type of honed down organization.
 

howiebrou

Well-Known Member
Jun 29, 2012
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May be I am alone in not disliking Roon’s GUI but then again I used Sooloos for over a decade so I must be used to the DNA. Yes it does have annoying quirks but overall compared to the rubbish over the past few years it is still a great interface. Hopefully TAS can match the GUI, then we can ditch Roon altogether.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Howie I think you’re missing the point.

Everyone here acknowledges how good the Roon GUI is. What most of us here are saying is that the SQ of Roon has taken a bit of a dump with the last few updates. I laud Emile’s desire to give his customers the very best in SQ and it therefore makes sense to me that he control the software. When I first spoke to Emile about this 6 weeks ago he totally understood how seductive Roon is and made me aware of several online data collecting services that are as good or better than Roon
Having said that it is not the Roon GUI that has me tapping my toes and getting goose bumps but rather something that is going to bring me ever closer to the music. Hence TAS, which in prebeta version already sounds better by a large margin than Roon did in October when I first subscribed.

And bottom line is every extreme user will have both. I’m sure it would be Emile’s desire to make TAS so good in every way that we all will use TAS.

But once again both are there for you to use. Some have complex networks which I understand might be a problem. I’ve had no issues using TAS on my network

Im a believer I’m following the music not the GUI
 

howiebrou

Well-Known Member
Jun 29, 2012
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Howie I think you’re missing the point.

Everyone here acknowledges how good the Roon GUI is. What most of us here are saying is that the SQ of Roon has taken a bit of a dump with the last few updates. I laud Emile’s desire to give his customers the very best in SQ and it therefore makes sense to me that he control the software. When I first spoke to Emile about this 6 weeks ago he totally understood how seductive Roon is and made me aware of several online data collecting services that are as good or better than Roon
Having said that it is not the Roon GUI that has me tapping my toes and getting goose bumps but rather something that is going to bring me ever closer to the music. Hence TAS, which in prebeta version already sounds better by a large margin than Roon did in October when I first subscribed.

And bottom line is every extreme user will have both. I’m sure it would be Emile’s desire to make TAS so good in every way that we all will use TAS.

But once again both are there for you to use. Some have complex networks which I understand might be a problem. I’ve had no issues using TAS on my network

Im a believer I’m following the music not the GUI
Don’t worry Steve, I didn’t miss the point, I just couldn’t be bothered to repeat what has been said so eloquently by you and others, in that Sq is core to what we want. On that I agree, but I also put a lot of importance on the GUI, is all I meant. if Emile can do both fantastic but I hope I don’t have to give up a great GUI. I’m not sure switching back and forth between softwares is something I look forward to doing.
 
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sbo6

VIP/Donor
May 18, 2014
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Will TAS be offered as a stand - alone app for non - Taiko owners? I bet you'd gather quite an additional following if it were.
 
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adyc

VIP/Donor
Jan 5, 2013
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May be I am alone in not disliking Roon’s GUI but then again I used Sooloos for over a decade so I must be used to the DNA. Yes it does have annoying quirks but overall compared to the rubbish over the past few years it is still a great interface. Hopefully TAS can match the GUI, then we can ditch Roon altogether.

I am a lifetime Roon subscriber. You are not alone on disliking Roon GUI. It is very poor for classical browsing. It is not me alone in criticising how Roon handle classical music. Many classical lovers who have large classical music library give up Roon because of this. Roon is great for Pop, Jazz and Rock. But classical music metadata is completely different animals.
 

howiebrou

Well-Known Member
Jun 29, 2012
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I am a lifetime Roon subscriber. You are not alone on disliking Roon GUI. It is very poor for classical browsing. It is not me alone in criticising how Roon handle classical music. Many classical lovers who have large classical music library give up Roon because of this. Roon is great for Pop, Jazz and Rock. But classical music metadata is completely different animals.
I still don’t know how I should categorize my classical music whether it be by composer, multiple composers, piece, lead, label. It’s all just a big pain. For LPs I just use the composer.
 
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CKKeung

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2011
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Hong Kong
I am a lifetime Roon subscriber. You are not alone on disliking Roon GUI. It is very poor for classical browsing. It is not me alone in criticising how Roon handle classical music. Many classical lovers who have large classical music library give up Roon because of this. Roon is great for Pop, Jazz and Rock. But classical music metadata is completely different animals.
Agree with adyc 100%!
 

alwayslearning

Well-Known Member
Jan 13, 2011
73
281
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I am not an Extreme owner -- yet. I hope to rectify that in the relatively near future. I do have some basic, common sense suggestions when it comes to the software.

First, I do want to hold on to Roon, at least until TAS gets up to speed on the things Roon does so well. The easier it is to switch back and forth between Roon and TAS, the better. As someone else said, I could see continuing to use Roon as a music discovery/metadata tool while using TAS for listening to tunes already discovered.

Second, I would really like to have the ability to build playlists in TAS. I currently have well over 100 playlists in Roon that date back to my first days with computer audio in 2009. These are invaluable to me and act as a kind of personal listening history. I return to old playlists quite often and really enjoy building new ones.

Third, because these older playlists are so valuable to me (for me, they began with iTunes, then Audirvana, now Roon), I would love to have an easy import function in TAS so that these existing Roon playlists could arrive intact and with as much metadata as possible.

I think we are all amazed at how quickly Emile and team have been able to get something up and running that improves SQ dramatically. I am confident that this same team will be able to offer valuable features, like the above, without compromising SQ.

Thank you!
 

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