I didn’t think the post was about Taiko as it was the aim seemed to be to advocate for “streamer manufacturers [to] offer their streamers without internal storage as default version.” Given that Antipodes does exactly that made it a head-scratcher nonetheless.
When considering how much it costs to have files stored on my NAS sounding better than files locally stored, I’m more than happy with the bang for the buck we get presently.
I don’t think Taiko owners would consider it “staying current”. It’s been about what they consider pushing well beyond the state of the art. The Olympus (when used with the Taiko networking components) has apparently solved problems that many of us never imagined would get solved. The solution comes at a very high cost though so what’ll be more interesting to me is seeing these problems solved much more affordably. I would love to be able to rely solely on a Roon that not only brings no sound quality detriment, but is also impervious to the harm a future Roon version might bring.
What’s most fascinating to me about the Olympus is that it may also be one of the best DACs on the planet, when equipped with the XDMI analog card. A good friend just received his Olympus last week. He presently has a dCS Vivaldi Apex stack, which represents some very tough competition for the XDMI analog output. It will be super-interesting to see which ultimately prevails.
Just because Taiko recommends to remove storage, doesn’t make it so on anything else but a Taiko.
And just because Antipodes doesn’t use PCIe anywhere as we believe the interface degrades sound, doesn’t make it so on anything but an Antipodes.
Antipodes Music Servers come with no storage installed as standard, streamers don’t need to install storage if they don’t want too, totally up to the client.
All Antipodes G4 Music Servers use the Samsung PM893 for the OS drive.
Antipodes Audio still recommends playback from local storage as the best way to enjoy your music files, of course, your ears, your room, your equipment, we are all different.
@MarkCole , Given that an OS—especially a Linux-based one—typically requires minimal space, taking up only a fraction of a 240GB SSD, what might be the reason for choosing a larger 480GB SSD to hold the (server board) OS in an Oladra? The K30 G4, for example, makes do with two 240GB drives (server OS & player OS).
I noticed that the Samsung PM893 has higher write speeds when the capacity is 480GB or more, achieving 520 MB/s compared to just 380 MB/s for the lower capacity 240GB version. Could this performance gain be the main motivation, or might there be other benefits to the increased capacity SSD’s ?
Edit:
Indeed and that is what I consistently hear on my Oladra system where I definitely prefer playback from locally stored music files.
The other thing to bear in mind is that it is often an unreliable recommendation to rely on someone saying one solution is better than another. Better can mean all things to all people. For instance a friend and I were comparing network switches and his definition of better was clearly very different to mine, especially when we started adding fiber into the mix. To my mind he seemed to consistently prefer the sort of sound that I associate with noise artefacts.
Listen for oneself before making decisions. Do not rely on what others say or report.
True, but keep in mind many of us visit audio forums precisely to find people sharing experiences with better gear or methods. It’s a place to discover what’s working well for others and see if it can work for us too. Sure, everyone has their own ‘YMMV’ disclaimers, but we’re all here to sift through advice and try the things that could elevate our sound. In the end, we’re not likely to spend time on something we suspect might be a step back.
Exactly right. The key is to try to understand what the others are hearing and decide if you would arrive at similar impression if you heard the same things in your own system. This has proven to be very reliable as long as I ignore the outliers.
As I see it, the SSD at the bottom ofthe image is storage (user installed in one of the slots) and the one in the middle is I presume for the OS. So the units come with only 1 SSD, the latter … unless I am mistaken.
Interesting its not using a SSD onboard the mobo.
My photo doesn’t show it clearly, but trust me, there are two PM893 SSDs for the operating system (1) Samsung PM893 240 GB SSD and (1) Samsung 860 EVO 240 GB SSD for the operating system(sandwiched) in the K30 G4. If visible, you can just follow the double power and data cables, and they’ll confirm it. I also added a 2TB drive for music.
I’m bringing this up because there are differences with the Oladra and possibly the K50 G4. The Oladra player’s motherboard has its player OS installed on a faster, potentially better-sounding M.2 drive. But is this the same for the K50 G4?And why not for the K30? In my experience, certain models of SSDs and M.2 drives do sound better, also depending on power quality and (lower) power consumption. Then, of course, the board design and the OS itself also play a role.
My other observation was about the same Samsung SSD but with a speedier 480 GB version for the Oladra server board compared to the K30 server board. So, now I’m wondering what OS drive combo is used for the K50 G4?
You mean compared to M.2 drives (as used in the Oladra for the player board)? Yes, that’s as I would expect (and likely the most common choice for the OS). However, perhaps the K30 G4 was the only Antipodes server using two SSDs separately for the player and server boards.
We do not use any M.2, all units have PM893 for OS in G4 models.
PCIe does not sound good in our opinion when compared with the standard SATA interface.
Thanks for the clarification I was hoping for. My mistake—on another forum, we concluded the Oladra came with one of each.
So, the Oladra, K50, and K30 all have two PM893 SSD drives, and the same type SSD in a higher capacity is recommended for use with music files (YMMV as mentioned above). Is there any reason you can share for using either the 240GB or 480GB drives?
Oh, I didn’t look close enough and forgot K30 has 2 ‘engines’.
In that case, can CX M.2 be replaced with SATA SSD? Or is this splitting hairs for CX?
FWIW…A view inside of my K30 G4 on upgrade day.
BTW . Lost my presets so it was updated to AMS 5.1. Prince did a quick and fabulous job.
Thanks for posting @Progisus
You seem to have at least one Samsung 860 or an equivalent SSD installed, which is not an industrial-spec model. Do you have two SSD?, I can see only one data cable attached to the server board.
My (edit only one out of two) RAM was upgraded to industrial, low voltage Adata DDR4 16GB, I assume both sticks.
Also, your PSU is further from the air vents on the side.
If my memory serves me right, your upgrade was a year earlier than mine, so maybe two different technicians?
I’d love to explore the internals of the K50 and Oladra, especially their G4 specifications. Is anyone willing to share insights or details?
Here are my storage drives. They are badly spec’d and miss matched. I had them long before there were thoughts of ssd’s contributing to sound quality. I am still debating removing them and pointing to my nas instead.
Sorry, I was looking at the pre-installed OS drive(s); I should have mentioned that. It seems our servers do not have the same OS drives—yours (1) 860 or a variant, and mine (2) PM893 (1) Samsung PM893 240 GB SSD and (1) Samsung 860 EVO 240 GB SSD for the operating system. That is a bit unexpected to me.
Also, the RAM seems different; however, the brand and size are hard to tell from your picture.
I’m not suggesting this was a mistake; I am just curious why upgraded memory between two similar G4s can differ so much.
Just to be clear, I am talking about the G4 upgrade package, not the user-installed music file SSD
There does appear to be several differences for the same G4 upgrade. It makes me wonder as well. I also cannot confirm from the picture that I have an OS drive for each computer.
Perhaps @MarkCole could comment.
Mark told me a while ago that they don’t keep a database of upgraded models (though he wished they would someday). So he likely can’t tell you what’s inside either. You’ll need to open it up and take a look. If possible, take some close-up pictures with good lighting.
Of course, proceed at your own risk—it shouldn’t void the warranty, in my opinion. Especially since the G4 Parts for the upgrade were not specified, I felt it was worth seeing what’s inside for $3k.
Again, I’m not suggesting there’s a mistake—I’m just referencing the brief description I received of what to expect with the G4. I don’t know the details of your upgrade terms.
Yep, I’ve got the same four footers here.
