Network Player Taiko Audio Olympus I/O XDMI Silver

Olympus I/O XDMI – external input/output chassis with XDMI interface and its own battery power supply

The Olympus I/O XDMI is a standalone input/output unit designed to work with the Olympus music server, moving the most sensitive circuits of the playback chain outside the main chassis. The second, physically isolated and shielded enclosure houses the XDMI Audio Output Card and the Extreme Network Card – the output and network sections that in conventional servers are exposed to the electrical noise of the computing section. The link to the server is handled by a pair of QSFP-DD passive Direct Attach Copper cables, carrying music data over multiple channels with high throughput and minimal latency.

At the heart of the solution is the proprietary XDMI (Extreme Direct Music Interface), which routes the audio bitstream directly over PCIe to the output motherboard, where it is natively converted via I2S. This bypasses USB stacks, buffering layers and protocol conversions that introduce jitter and phase noise in classic USB or Ethernet chains. The result is a shorter, simpler signal path with more accurate timing.

Power is handled by an independent Twin-Battery Power Supply with two separate battery sections based on lithium-titanate (LTO) cells with their own charging system. The first section powers the network card, the second the XDMI output stage; both work in a classic charge and discharge cycle and provide up to 36 hours of operation on a single charge. LTO chemistry is known for its safety, absence of memory effect and long service life. Once the I/O is connected, the server's secondary battery section is dedicated to powering the two QSFP interfaces. Cell status, system health and charging cycle parameters can be monitored and adjusted via the BMS app with a Bluetooth connection that remains active even in standby mode.

The output section is modular and user-swappable – always with one module fitted. Available are an analogue module with RCA outputs and a digital module with AES/EBU and S/PDIF coaxial RCA, complemented by custom modules with a proprietary link for Lampizator and MSB DACs, bypassing standard digital interfaces. Galvanic and mechanical separation of the output from the computing section lowers the electrical noise floor, which shows in the readability of low-level detail, more stable imaging of instruments and a quieter background to the recording. The Olympus I/O can also be ordered later for an existing server and placed separately or stacked on top of it.

Key features

• XDMI interface: Bitstream over PCIe with native I2S conversion
• Isolated chassis: Shielded enclosure for the output and network cards
• Twin-Battery Power Supply: Two LTO sections, up to 36 hours of operation
• QSFP-DD link: Two passive DAC cables with minimal latency
• Swappable output modules: RCA, AES/EBU and S/PDIF, Lampizator, MSB