TAIKO AUDIO SGM Extreme Music Server User Manual
- June 15, 2024
- TAIKO AUDIO
Table of Contents
TAIKO AUDIO SGM Extreme Music Server
Product Information
Specifications
- Product Name: Extreme Music Server
- Supported Profiles: USB Profiles
- Compatible Operating Systems: Windows, MacOS
- Supported DACs: Refer to the DAC list provided
Product Usage Instructions
Step 1: Look up your DAC in the DAC list
Refer to the DAC list provided and find your DAC model. Make a note of the USB profile and the bit-setting associated with your DAC.
Step 2: Make a VNC remote desktop connection to your Music Server
If you have accessed the desktop of the server before and the IP address of the server has not changed, you can start at Step 4. Otherwise, follow these steps:
- Download RealVNC on a device connected to the same WiFi network as the server. You can find the app here.
- Run the VNC app.
- Click on the + symbol in the top right corner.
- Enter the IP address of the server (you can find it in the Roon app) and choose any name.
- Click Save. You have now created a connection profile.
- Click the connection profile with the name you entered in step 4.
- Click on Connect.
- Enter the VNC name and password of the server. If you don’t know them, contact your supplier.
- Select Remember password.
- Click Continue. The desktop of the server is shown and can now be controlled.
Note: If you are using a MacOS device, you can also access the server’s desktop via your browser using the alternative method described in the user manual.
Step 3: Execute the USB profile
On the server’s desktop, locate the range of USB Profiles. Right-click on the profile that matches your DAC and select “Run with Powershell”. This will immediately reboot the Extreme Music Server. After reboot, the selected profile will be active and remain active even after subsequent reboots or switching from Roon to TAS and back.
Step 4: Select the appropriate output bit rate in Roon
In the Roon app, navigate to Settings (1) and enter the correct bit rate that you looked up in the DAC table.
FAQ
- Q: What should I do if my DAC is not on the list?
- A: If your DAC is not on the list, contact Taiko Audio via support@taikoaudio.com for assistance. They can help you with new DAC additions or any other inquiries.
- Q: How do I access the desktop of the server using a MacOS device?
- A: If you are using a MacOS device, you can access the server’s desktop via your browser. Open your browser and type “vnc://[IP address of the server]” in the search bar. Follow the prompts to enter the password of the server and access the desktop.
- Q: What if I need a keyboard?
- A: If you need a keyboard while accessing the server’s desktop, you can enable a virtual keyboard by clicking the keyboard icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
Guide to selecting USB Profiles on the Extreme Music Server
There are 5 steps in this process:
- Look up your DAC in the DAC list to find the ideal USB profile.
- Make a VNC remote desktop connection to your Music Server.
- Execute the selected profile by right-clicking it and selecting “Run with Powershell”.
- Select the appropriate output bit rate in Roon.
- Setting TAS Buffers (only required when you have TAS installed)
Step 1 – Taiko USB driver-supported DACs
Look up your DAC in the list below and make a note of the USB profile and the
bit-setting
Note
All DACs in black are embedded as part of the initially installed version of
the Taiko USB Driver. The DACS in blue are later additions and are present
only in the versions of the Taiko Driver as installed for the users that
requested this. Contact us via
support@taikoaudio.com if you have acquired a
new DAC that has been added recently or if you have a DAC that is not on this
list.
- Analog Domain DAC1 – USB2 – Roon 32-bit
- Anthem STR – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- APL DSD-MR – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- APL DSD-SR – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- APL Hi-Fi DSD-GR Galactic Reference DAC – USB4 – Roon 32-bit (same interface as earlier APL models)
- Aries Cerat Helene – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Aries Cerat Kassandra – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Aqua Formula (V1.0) – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Aqua Formula xHD (V2.0) – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Aqua La Scala – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Ayre QX-5 with USB2 upgrade – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Benchmark – USB3 – Roon 24-bit (added 16-08-2022)
- Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 3 (No recommended settings available) (added 02-08-2023)
- Berkeley Alpha USB interface (No recommended settings available) (added 02-08-2023)
- B&O Beolab 50 – USB1 or USB3 – Roon 32-bit (added 28-07-2022)
- B&O Beolab 90 – USB1 or USB3 – Roon 32-bit (added 07-07-2022)
- Boulder 2120
- Bricasti MDx – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Brinkmann Nyquist – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- CH Precision – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- DCS Bartok – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- DCS Lina – USB1 (recommended to also try USB2 and USB4) – Roon 24-bit (added 10-10-2023)
- DCS Rossini – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- DCS Rossini Player – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- DCS Vivaldi – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- DCS Vivaldi Up-sampler – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- DCS Vivaldi One – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Denafrips Gaia
- Denafrips Terminator Plus
- Devialet Expert Pro
- EMM Labs DA2 – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- EMM Labs DAC2V2 – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- EMM Labs DAC2X – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Esoteric Grandioso D1X (PCM only) – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Esoteric Grandioso K1X (PCM only) – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Esoteric K-01X (PCM only) – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Esoteric K-01XD (PCM only) – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Esoteric K-03 (PCM only) – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Exogal Comet – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Grimm LS-1 Active loudspeakers – USB3 – Roon 24-bit (added 03-2023)
- Goldmund Mimesis 20H Nextgen – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Gustard X26 Pro – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Holo Audio May – USBx – Roon 24-bit
- Ideon Absolute – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- iFi Pro iDSD
- JLsounds I2SoverUSB – USB4 – Roon 32-bit (added 07-2022)
- Kii Control Digital Preamp and USB Interface (added 25-11-2022)
- Lampizator – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Linn Klimax DSM – USB2 – 32-bit
- LH Davinci MKII – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- LH Virtuoso – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Luxman D10X – USB1 or USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 2 – USB1 or USB3 – Roon 24 bit
- Marantz SA-10 – USB4 – 32 bit (added 27-07-2023)
- Meridian Explorer 2 – USB2 – Roon 32-bit (added 07-02-2023)
- In this case, it is worth testing the following variants:
- USB1 – Roon 32-bit
- USB1 – Roon 24-bit
- USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Meitner MA-3 – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Meitner XDS1 V3 – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Mola Mola Tambaqui – USB2 or USB4 – Roon 32-bit (added 08-2022)
- MSB Pro USB – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Please note that MSB ProISL may require an Extreme Server reboot to be recognized and connected. If this
- fails, then please contact Taiko Audio support for a TeamViewer session
- MSB V / Quad – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Mutec MC-3+ – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Nagra HD-X – USB2 – Roon 32-bit
- Nagra Tube Dac – USB2 – Roon 32-bit
- Omega Audio Concepts DNA DAC – USB1 – Roon 24-bit
- Playback Design MPD-8 [SETTINGS TBC] (added 19-05-2022)
- Pilium Elektra – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Resolution Audio Cantata 3.0
- Sennheiser HE-1 – USB2 – Roon 32-bit
- Singer SU-6 – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- SoTM dx-usbHD – USB1 or USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Soulution 330 – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Soulution 760 – USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- SRC-DX – USB4 – Roon 32-bit (added 03-2022)
- T+A MP 2500R – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- T+A SD(V)3100 – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- T+A HA 200 – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Thrax Maximinus – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Topping NX4DSD – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Totaldac (JL Sounds USB Board) – USB1 – Roon 24-bit
- Totaldac USB Reclocker (JL Sounds USB Board) – USB1 – Roon 24-bit
- Trinity 1st gen model – USB1 or USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Trinity Reference
- Vinnie Rossi L2 (JL Sounds USB Board) – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Vitus (JL Sounds USB Board) – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Wadax Atlantis Reference – USB3 – Roon 24-bit (updated 20-04-2023)
- Wadax Arcadia – USB2 – Roon 32-bit (added 07-02-2023)
- In this case, it is worth testing the following variants:
- USB1 – Roon 32-bit
- USB1 – Roon 24-bit
- USB3 – Roon 24-bit
- Weiss DAC-501 – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
- Weiss Helios – USB4 – Roon 32-bit (added 31-05-2022)
- Weiss Medus – USB3 – Roon 24-bit (added 06-09-2022)
- Ypsilon 1000 – USB4 – Roon 32-bit
Step 2
Make a VNC remote desktop connection to your Music Server.
Tip If you have accessed the desktop of the server before, and the IP
address of the server has not changed, you can start at step 4.
- Download RealVNC on a device connected to the same WiFi network as the server. You can find the app here: https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/.
- Run the VNC app.
- Click on the + symbol in the top right corner.
Tip You can find the IP address of the server in the Roon app.
- Enter the IP address of the server and choose any name.
- Click Save.
You have now created a connection profile.
- Click the connection profile with the name you entered in step 3.
- Click on Connect.
Tip If you don’t know the VNC name and password of the server, contact your supplier.
- Enter the VNC name and password of the server.
- Select Remember password.
- Click Continue
- The desktop of the server is shown and can now be controlled.
- Tip If you need a keyboard, you can click the keyboard icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen to enable a virtual keyboard.
Alternative method (only MacOS)
When using a MacOS device you can also access the desktop of the server via your browser. Do the following:
-
Open your browser.
-
Type vnc:// followed by the IP address of the server in the search bar. For example vnc://192.168.1.23
A popup appears, asking you if you want to open the screen-sharing application. -
Click Yes.
Tip If you don’t know the password of the server, contact your supplier. -
Enter the password of the server.
-
Click Enter.
The desktop of the server is shown and can now be controlled.
Tip If you need a keyboard, you can click the keyboard icon in the
toolbar at the top of the screen to enable a virtual keyboard.
Step 3
Execute the USB profile. Please note that this will immediately reboot the
Extreme.
The desktop will contain a range of USB Profiles. Select the one that is ideal
for your DAC and execute it by right-clicking and selecting “Run with
Powershell”.
This will reboot the Extreme. After that, the profile will be active. It will
remain active throughout successive reboots and even after changing from Roon
to TAS and back.
Step 4
Select the appropriate output bit rate in Roon.
This is how you enter the correct bit rate that you looked up in the DAC
table.
First, go to Settings (1).
Then, select the Audio page (2).
- From there, find your main audio zone, which is normally the “Taiko Audio USB Audio Device”, and use the gear wheel on the right side to select Device Setup (4).
- This brings up the below pop-up window.
- Click on Show Advanced (5) and scroll down to the Max bits per sample (PCM) setting.
- From the list of available bitrates (6), select the one that you noted before according to the DAC list (7).
- Click Save, and you’re done.
- If you decide that you want to change the USB profile, simply repeat the same steps.
- A new Remote Control app is in the making that will directly switch DAC profiles without the need to establish a remote desktop connection.
Step 5
Setting TAS Buffers (only required if you have TAS installed)
As part of the recent update to the OS and USB driver, Roon has been made the
default music player on system startup. To use TAS you will have to launch the
TAS remote on your phone or tablet and switch to TAS.
Part of TAS has now been integrated into the new USB driver and this has led
to major sonic benefits when using Roon. As a result, there is one setting in
TAS that needs to be changed, also when you are using Roon.
To access the player settings screen, tap and hold your finger on the green
player button and the relevant settings screen will open
- Tap on Output Device Selection and ensure you have the appropriate ASIO device selected
- If our DAC must use DOP, select it here
- Choose your USB buffer sizes for PCM and DSD
- The TAS buffers need to be set to Auto
- Tap the top left arrow to save changes and Exit