Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème

MarkusBarkus

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Feb 6, 2021
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Have any of you folks tried to remove an SFP (Planet MGB-TLX in my case) from the optical port on the Extreme? Any luck?

I find the orientation of the internal board/cage to be such that inserting the SFP leaves it very "tight" to one side of the casework.

The net result of which is you cannot open the bail to pull out the transceiver. The bail position controls the small tab which secures the device into the receiver cage...and allows removal.

Am I missing some key action for SFP removal? I realized it was a tight fit when inserting the SFP, but it did not occur to me it would be so tight, that I would be unable to open the bail for removal.

Any solutions in the crowd? Thank you...
 

kswanson27

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Nov 21, 2018
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When I click on the 3 dots I get a 2nd menu which brings me to “album information”. When I click on that I don’t see anything about re

Have any of you folks tried to remove an SFP (Planet MGB-TLX in my case) from the optical port on the Extreme? Any luck?

I find the orientation of the internal board/cage to be such that inserting the SFP leaves it very "tight" to one side of the casework.

The net result of which is you cannot open the bail to pull out the transceiver. The bail position controls the small tab which secures the device into the receiver cage...and allows removal.

Am I missing some key action for SFP removal? I realized it was a tight fit when inserting the SFP, but it did not occur to me it would be so tight, that I would be unable to open the bail for removal.

Any solutions in the crowd? Thank you...
I had the same problem and absolutely couldn't get it out. Emile finally suggested I remove the card to get it out which I did when I fitted the USB card.
 

Kingsrule

VIP/Donor
Feb 3, 2011
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FYI

I'm about 120 hours listening to the USB card and it's really changed...listing right now it's just delightful.....
I didn't have a lot of ups or downs along the way but this is a mark to pay attention to in my experience..
 

ray-dude

Well-Known Member
Dec 8, 2019
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I concur. 6 days in and it is really coming into it's own (my ups and downs settled out after 2-3 days or so). If we're lucky, this trend will continue!
 

dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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I concur. 6 days in and it is really coming into it's own (my ups and downs settled out after 2-3 days or so). If we're lucky, this trend will continue!

I am only 3 days in but my pattern has followed yours. Along the way my digital has never sounded better. There is still some refinement that will happen but the potential is very clear.
 

EuroDriver

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Sep 16, 2015
926
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Monaco
Here is a report from a Nagra HD DAC owner


Hello Emile & Edward:

I have got USB card today, it’s Qingming festival today in China and FedEx does not work, so I cannot wait and went to FedEx station and get the card by myself.

The installation is quick and success, great improvement was heard instantly, the performance has beyond every digital music source in the world. I have to make a plan to get rid of my headphone and change to speakers so as to be worthy of this gear.

I must give my highest congratulations to Taiko for your magic products.

Nagra HD DAC.jpg
 

Johnny Moondog

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2014
71
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Final batch for now:
Happy listening!
Steve Z
Steve - Really enjoyed the tracks you recommended, and created a Qobuz playlist to share. If you have others to recommend, I will gladly add them. Post here or use Direct Message.

DJ Mustang

The following tracks were not available on Qobuz:
- Chance The Rapper, Coloring Book, “Summer Friends”
- Marcus Miller, Free, “Blast”
- Michel Jonasz, La Fabuleuse Histoire de Mister Swing, “La Fabuleuse Histoire de Mister Swing”
- JDWasabi, Otherworld, “Room of [Dark] Angels”
 
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heebrog

Well-Known Member
May 12, 2018
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Perth, WA
Can someone please give me the "redeem code" for TestFlight to download the TAS app for iPhone.
My phone reset and I lost the app.
I still have it for my iPad but it would be handy to have it on the phone as well.
 

jelt2359

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Nov 17, 2020
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Download testflight and login with your apple ID, it should still be there
 

heebrog

Well-Known Member
May 12, 2018
131
51
135
Perth, WA
I deleted TestFlight and reinstalled it from the App Store.
It is still asking me for a code.
 

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oldmustang

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Dec 1, 2012
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Steve - Really enjoyed the tracks you recommended, and created a Qobuz playlist to share. If you have others to recommend, I will gladly add them. Post here or use Direct Message.

DJ Mustang

The following tracks were not available on Qobuz:
- Chance The Rapper, Coloring Book, “Summer Friends”
- Marcus Miller, Free, “Blast”
- Michel Jonasz, La Fabuleuse Histoire de Mister Swing, “La Fabuleuse Histoire de Mister Swing”
- JDWasabi, Otherworld, “Room of [Dark] Angels”
Thanks, Johnny. I'll post more maybe later this evening.

The tracks not available on Qobuz are available on Tidal, except Michel Jonasz which is a CD rip.

Steve
 

MarkusBarkus

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Feb 6, 2021
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Regarding SFP removal, the orientation of the SFP cage relative to the heat-sink fins, means you cannot open the bail to remove the transceiver, as noted previously.

It was also noted you could remove the SFP if you removed the optical card inside the Extreme.

The purpose of the bail is to facilitate a better and uniform grip on the SFP for removal *and* to provide leverage to lift a small tab that snaps/locks the transceiver into the cage. The satisfying "click" you hear when properly seated.

It is also possible to use a small screwdriver to lift the tab, thereby releasing the "lock" mechanism.

You can then grasp the SFP and pull it out, per usual. A little finicky, perhaps, but easier than a complete card removal. Probably safer too.

Note: the color and shape of the wire bails are not uniform across brands/types, but the same concept was used over the three brands and two types I evaluated. I believe this is the standard structure of these devices.
 

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marty

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Here's a post I never thought I'd write, but now that I've had the USB board in for a week, I'm obliged to comment. Be warned, what I'm about to say is outright heresy. To begin, the USB board break-in is fairly predictable. The first day gives you a taste of what's to come and it is no wonder that you will be up half the night listening. Then things shut down for a few days. There's a tad of brightness that might make you question your purchase and makes you wonder if all those accolades you've heard are deserved. But fear not, by day 5 things have smoothed out beautifully and by day 7, a new dawn emerges that will leave you wanting to put in an IV line and a catheter so you don't have to leave the listening room.

It was at this point that I decided to do the "ultimate" comparison and A/B an LP to a streaming source or file played through the Extreme/Lampizator. My analog rig is a Doehmann Helix One Mk II/ Reed 3P/ ZYX Uni Premium/Zanden 1200 MkIII, so its a worthy contender to enter the ring. I queued up track after track so I could simply switch level matched inputs remotely on the Soulution 725 preamp. Tracks were begun simultaneously so content was seamless as the switches were made. It is with great difficulty and amazement to learn that after decades of listening to music, a threshold has been crossed that now make these sort of A/B comparisons all but insignificant. We would all like to think we are good and experienced listeners, but I wouldn't bet so much as a Diet Pepsi that many could distinguish my digital from analog sources with a probability of p < 0.05 in a blinded comparison. Let's be clear.That doesn't mean there aren't differences when performing this task. But for all intent and purpose, they become obstacles to enjoying the music unless you really, really, really like playing the game of trivial pursuit.

Here is my most important take away. If I had a dollar for every time I've perseverated about a hundredth of a degree of VTA, a change of tracking force of 0.05 grams, a miniscule change of anti-skate, a tiny, tiny amount of azimuth, and the nightmare of dealing with LPs of different thickness, I could probably have bought a pair of Chronosonics several times over. This is the real horror of our beloved hobby and its one that nobody really want to talk about because its so damn exasperating. If you think that the entire microcosm of cartridge/arm geometry doesn't change for different record thicknesses, then we just see things differently. It's no surprise that even the most avid hobbyist would wish this subject would simply disappear as it's simply too depressing to think about it other than to say its somewhat of a minor miracle we manage to coax out the occasional great sonics we do from our TT rigs.

But things are different now, and I mean as of right now. This very moment. At least for me. Frankly, I never thought I would see this day, but here it is. There surely might be times I choose to play an LP and open up that pandora's box of hoping that my set-up is truly optimum for the LP that's spinning at the moment. Or... I can simply push a button, start listening, and smile. It really has come down to that. That's why, at least for me, the Taiko Extreme with the USB board is genuinely a game changer.

It really all comes down to these words of wisdom that a good friend of mine told me this morning. (No names, but his initials are SW :cool: ) and here is what he said. "All you have to do now to hear great music is push a button because its so f***n simple and so f***n good." End of story.
 
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Rhapsody

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Jan 16, 2013
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Rhapsody.Audio
Here's a post I never thought I'd write, but now that I've had the USB board in for a week, I'm obliged to comment. Be warned, what I'm about to say is outright heresy. To begin, the USB board break-in is fairly predictable. The first day gives you a taste of what's to come and it is no wonder that you will be up half the night listening. Then things shut down for a few days. There's a tad of brightness that might make you question your purchase and makes you wonder if all those accolades you've heard are deserved. But fear not, by day 5 things have smoothed out beautifully and by day 7, a new dawn emerges that will leave you wanting to put in an IV line and a catheter so you don't have to leave the listening room.

It was at this point that I decided to do the "ultimate" comparison and A/B an LP to a streaming source or file played through the Extreme/Lampizator. My analog rig is a Doehmann Helix One Mk II/ Reed 3P/ ZYX Uni Premium/Zanden 1200 MkIII, so its a worthy contender to enter the ring. I queued up track after track so I could simply switch level matched inputs remotely on the Soulution 725 preamp. Tracks were begun simultaneously so content was seamless as the switches were made. It is with great difficulty and amazement to learn that after decades of listening to music, a threshold has been crossed that now make these sort of A/B comparisons all but insignificant. We would all like to think we are good and experienced listeners, but I wouldn't bet so much as a Diet Pepsi that many could not distinguish my digital from analog sources with a probability of p < 0.05 in a blinded comparison. Let's be clear.That doesn't mean there aren't differences when performing this task. But for all intent and purpose, they become obstacles to enjoying the music unless you really, really, really like playing the game of trivial pursuit.

Here is my most important take away. If I had a dollar for every time I've perseverated about a hundredth of a degree of VTA, a change of tracking force of 0.05 grams, a miniscule change of anti-skate, a tiny, tiny amount of azimuth, and the nightmare of dealing with LPs of different thickness, I could probably have bought a pair of Chronosonics several times over. This is the real horror of our beloved hobby and its one that nobody really want to talk about because its so damn exasperating. If you think that the entire microcosm of cartridge/arm geometry doesn't change for different record thicknesses, then we just see things differently. It's no surprise that even the most avid hobbyist would wish this subject would simply disappear as it's simply too depressing to think about it other than to say its somewhat of a minor miracle we manage to coax out the occasional great sonics we do from our TT rigs.

But things are different now, and I mean as of right now. This very moment. At least for me. Frankly, I never thought I would see this day, but here it is. There surely might be times I choose to play an LP and open up that pandora's box of hoping that my set-up is truly optimum for the LP that's spinning at the moment. Or... I can simply push a button, start listening, and smile. It really has come down to that. That's why, at least for me, the Taiko Extreme with the USB board is genuinely a game changer.

It really all comes down to these words of wisdom that a good friend of mine told me this morning. (No names, but his initials are SW :cool: ) and here is what he said. "All you have to do now to hear great music is push a button because its so f***n simple and so f***n good." End of story.
Great write up Marty!

It's interesting I did not experience any negative periods of sonics from the first day I inserted the card into my Extreme. It just kept getting better every day until about the 150 hour mark and then I believe is where it settles in to how it will sound long term.

The break in process, like most things, can be system dependent.
 
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dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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Marty, thanks for the post.

I often do comparisons between my digital rig and my reel to reel or vinyl setup. There are definitely times that I find the digital sound close to or an equal to the analog one. However, I also realize that it isn’t an exact comparison because it is very hard to find 2 recordings, one analog and one digital, which have the same mastering. I struggle with this aspect because it creates a bit of a unknown. Frankly, I think one of the biggest issues with digital is that the old masterings are pretty lousy and people blame it on the technology which isn’t fair.

But, in the end, if i like one version over the other that’s what I will listen to.
 
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Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Here's a post I never thought I'd write, but now that I've had the USB board in for a week, I'm obliged to comment. Be warned, what I'm about to say is outright heresy. To begin, the USB board break-in is fairly predictable. The first day gives you a taste of what's to come and it is no wonder that you will be up half the night listening. Then things shut down for a few days. There's a tad of brightness that might make you question your purchase and makes you wonder if all those accolades you've heard are deserved. But fear not, by day 5 things have smoothed out beautifully and by day 7, a new dawn emerges that will leave you wanting to put in an IV line and a catheter so you don't have to leave the listening room.

It was at this point that I decided to do the "ultimate" comparison and A/B an LP to a streaming source or file played through the Extreme/Lampizator. My analog rig is a Doehmann Helix One Mk II/ Reed 3P/ ZYX Uni Premium/Zanden 1200 MkIII, so its a worthy contender to enter the ring. I queued up track after track so I could simply switch level matched inputs remotely on the Soulution 725 preamp. Tracks were begun simultaneously so content was seamless as the switches were made. It is with great difficulty and amazement to learn that after decades of listening to music, a threshold has been crossed that now make these sort of A/B comparisons all but insignificant. We would all like to think we are good and experienced listeners, but I wouldn't bet so much as a Diet Pepsi that many could not distinguish my digital from analog sources with a probability of p < 0.05 in a blinded comparison. Let's be clear.That doesn't mean there aren't differences when performing this task. But for all intent and purpose, they become obstacles to enjoying the music unless you really, really, really like playing the game of trivial pursuit.

Here is my most important take away. If I had a dollar for every time I've perseverated about a hundredth of a degree of VTA, a change of tracking force of 0.05 grams, a miniscule change of anti-skate, a tiny, tiny amount of azimuth, and the nightmare of dealing with LPs of different thickness, I could probably have bought a pair of Chronosonics several times over. This is the real horror of our beloved hobby and its one that nobody really want to talk about because its so damn exasperating. If you think that the entire microcosm of cartridge/arm geometry doesn't change for different record thicknesses, then we just see things differently. It's no surprise that even the most avid hobbyist would wish this subject would simply disappear as it's simply too depressing to think about it other than to say its somewhat of a minor miracle we manage to coax out the occasional great sonics we do from our TT rigs.

But things are different now, and I mean as of right now. This very moment. At least for me. Frankly, I never thought I would see this day, but here it is. There surely might be times I choose to play an LP and open up that pandora's box of hoping that my set-up is truly optimum for the LP that's spinning at the moment. Or... I can simply push a button, start listening, and smile. It really has come down to that. That's why, at least for me, the Taiko Extreme with the USB board is genuinely a game changer.

It really all comes down to these words of wisdom that a good friend of mine told me this morning. (No names, but his initials are SW :cool: ) and here is what he said. "All you have to do now to hear great music is push a button because its so f***n simple and so f***n good." End of story.
I know that guy SW

AS I told you earlier the advent of TAS has changed my listening habits completely. I used to be almost 100% analog but since the alpha version of TAS I knew Emile was onto something, so much so that not only have I stopped listening to Roon but so also to a great extent vinyl. The bottom line for me is that Emile has narrowed the threshold so much and the sound is so good that with the new USB board I am hearing things that I never heard with same track on vinyl. So yes I did say, "All you have to do now to hear great music is push a button because its so f***n simple and so f***n good." End of story.

Like Bob I never heard any degradation of sound with the new USB board. It just keeps getting better

As a caveat I am pretty certain most everyone leaves their Extreme always on, which if so also facilitates the burn in of the board. I also kept my DAC on but left preamp and amp off and queued up some playlists and did this as well. This saves me precious tube life
 

rau

Well-Known Member
Aug 6, 2015
580
650
345
Wisconsin
I was working on a new turntable setup and finally received everything , last night I installed the USB card , TAS already installed . I would have to say after listening last night and today my system never sounded this good , I’m really considering forgetting the Turntable, what I am hearing now sure don’t sound digital like it did before the USB upgrade . Best purchase to date

I purchased a N20 for my other place last week was going to install this weekend now I’m sure it will sound awful just great
 
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wil

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Jul 22, 2015
1,482
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Here's a post I never thought I'd write, but now that I've had the USB board in for a week, I'm obliged to comment. Be warned, what I'm about to say is outright heresy. To begin, the USB board break-in is fairly predictable. The first day gives you a taste of what's to come and it is no wonder that you will be up half the night listening. Then things shut down for a few days. There's a tad of brightness that might make you question your purchase and makes you wonder if all those accolades you've heard are deserved. But fear not, by day 5 things have smoothed out beautifully and by day 7, a new dawn emerges that will leave you wanting to put in an IV line and a catheter so you don't have to leave the listening room.

It was at this point that I decided to do the "ultimate" comparison and A/B an LP to a streaming source or file played through the Extreme/Lampizator. My analog rig is a Doehmann Helix One Mk II/ Reed 3P/ ZYX Uni Premium/Zanden 1200 MkIII, so its a worthy contender to enter the ring. I queued up track after track so I could simply switch level matched inputs remotely on the Soulution 725 preamp. Tracks were begun simultaneously so content was seamless as the switches were made. It is with great difficulty and amazement to learn that after decades of listening to music, a threshold has been crossed that now make these sort of A/B comparisons all but insignificant. We would all like to think we are good and experienced listeners, but I wouldn't bet so much as a Diet Pepsi that many could not distinguish my digital from analog sources with a probability of p < 0.05 in a blinded comparison. Let's be clear.That doesn't mean there aren't differences when performing this task. But for all intent and purpose, they become obstacles to enjoying the music unless you really, really, really like playing the game of trivial pursuit.

Here is my most important take away. If I had a dollar for every time I've perseverated about a hundredth of a degree of VTA, a change of tracking force of 0.05 grams, a miniscule change of anti-skate, a tiny, tiny amount of azimuth, and the nightmare of dealing with LPs of different thickness, I could probably have bought a pair of Chronosonics several times over. This is the real horror of our beloved hobby and its one that nobody really want to talk about because its so damn exasperating. If you think that the entire microcosm of cartridge/arm geometry doesn't change for different record thicknesses, then we just see things differently. It's no surprise that even the most avid hobbyist would wish this subject would simply disappear as it's simply too depressing to think about it other than to say its somewhat of a minor miracle we manage to coax out the occasional great sonics we do from our TT rigs.

But things are different now, and I mean as of right now. This very moment. At least for me. Frankly, I never thought I would see this day, but here it is. There surely might be times I choose to play an LP and open up that pandora's box of hoping that my set-up is truly optimum for the LP that's spinning at the moment. Or... I can simply push a button, start listening, and smile. It really has come down to that. That's why, at least for me, the Taiko Extreme with the USB board is genuinely a game changer.

It really all comes down to these words of wisdom that a good friend of mine told me this morning. (No names, but his initials are SW :cool: ) and here is what he said. "All you have to do now to hear great music is push a button because its so f***n simple and so f***n good." End of story.
Marty, Are you finding your streamed sources to be equal to your local files?

Your description of what's required to get the most out of vinyl is one of the reasons I've gone lock-stock-barrel with Digital playback. Of course there will always be some un-matched vinyl pressings and masterings, but I committed to the Digital route with the belief that companies like Taiko would eventually take Digital to an equivalent sq level as analog. Taiko seems to be getting there faster than anyone could imagine. The usb board is the real deal in an audiophile world of mostly hype.

I also feel like I've reached the simplicity I've been looking for. My system is 5 components:
Power Conditioner - Server - DAC - AMP - Speakers

Since the usb board addition (along with a Sound Application power conditioner and 6g home run wiring from main panel to audio), I've found it difficult to stop playing the same album over and over, because with each listening I keep discovering deeper levels to appreciate.
 
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