TAIKO EXTREME vs. TIDAL ARKAS !!!

Senna against Prost,  McEnroe v Borg, Cola versus Pepsi, Patek fighting it out with AP. This is a battle which I probably should have covered last year but as ever I’ve probably been too busy selling the things and looking after customers 24/7 with what has been a very busy 2022.

There might be something equivalent out there in the world of music servers/streamers but I certainly don’t know about it yet and I do tend to spend a lot of my downtime hunting for new technologies and emerging hot products. There are a few close outliers like the Pink Faun and the Pachanko units from Reunion Island but my belief is that nothing in the marketplace can truly match these two supreme deities. If you want the very best and already have the DAC in place then this is where you should be looking. Both streamers are a quantum leap in performance from our next best we retail here, the £10,000 Melco Zs (which incidentally we find in a similar domain sonically to many of the other popular choices like the Inuous Statement, Aurender W20, Grimm MU1, Antipodes K series).

The Taiko most people already know about. It is manufactured in the Netherlands by Emile Bok and his expanding team. A processing power house, a Poseidon amongst music servers, a veritable smorgasbord of ingenious tech and invention beautifully realised and crafted, the SGM Extreme has won the hearts of a very large slice of the Ultra High End community from the US to Europe and across to Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and beyond. Many of the most superlative systems in the world which get written, talked and boasted about online and in print, now employ a Taiko Extreme as a digital front end. The growing success and expansion of the team in Holland has been really quite dramatic in the last few years, all because of this one state of the art product and lucky for us, it means there will be more expansion and innovation from them in the near future. I think we were the very first UK dealer to sign up with UK Importers Kog Audio and have many happy customers using the Extreme.

The Tidal Arkas streamer is perhaps less well known about. Tidal is a brand that goes about it’s business quietly and surefootedly and even here in the UK, we tend not to shout about it too much. But rest assured that everything that they take their hand too will always be state of the art simply because of the ability, brains, standards and component choice that will always be applied to every single piece they ever manufacture. Designed by Tidal’s CEO Jorn Janczak as the “Porsche GT3 RS” of the streaming world, the Arkas’s simplified and pared back to the bone ethos is a form factor that is more atypical and perhaps less well understood. From its genesis Tidal felt that the future of digital playback lies more in the streaming services rather than owning physical music. They also wanted to create a device that would remain relevant and state of the art for many years to come so Arkas was designed to house only the core relevant technology to control digital content with all “half-life” components like music data storage, NAS/music server systems and hard drives left outside the box. So if you want to play files then you need to attach your own chosen storage. This is easily accomplished though using a USB stick or similar in the rear, accessing any NAS on the network or connecting up a more advanced audiophile server via ethernet.

Let’s first talk about their sonics. Truth be told there is far less to differentiate them sonically than in all their other aspects so it can actually be covered off fairly swiftly. If you are used to something like a Melco Zs or Innuous Statement – both of which are extremely fine players I hasten to add – then jumping up to the Extreme or the Arkas is a very big step indeed. We have gradually begun to realise over the past few years that the Streamer, the home Network and indeed the Digital cable are each as important as the DAC itself and providing you have a good open system with a great digital front end then the uplift in sound quality when you plug in either of these beasts is not small.

Obviously sheer resolution levels, the amount of information you are hearing takes a big leap. Not just sound information and small delicate pieces of expression from instruments and voices, but information about everything from position, scale, surrounding ambience and air, note start and note decay and relative volume and relevance vis a vis all the other sounds in the mix. Like any great upgrade, the sound becomes more complex and more true, more dramatic and detailed, yet simpler and more relaxed at the same time. Both these players deliver a supremely unforced and natural performance, conjuring the illusion of realism in your living space more convincingly than perhaps you have ever experienced before. A cleaner, more present sound means there is a new greater sense of order and coherency to proceedings, particularly if you are playing more complex music underpinned by rhythms, percussion and drums. The sense of clarity and cleanliness on both units is outstanding.

So how do they actually compare between each other ? Well that is a difficult one because firstly they are actually so close with a very similar perfectly centered neutral attitude but also because it really depends on what software you are using and how you use each one and the status of your home network. The Arkas has no disk storage so you have to draw wav files from a USB stick or a drive plugged into the back or a disk elsewhere on the network. You can also feed the Arkas with another server itself like a Melco. I actually have one customer using an Innuous Statement as disk storage into an Arkas; overkill perhaps but it does take the Tidal unit to another place again. Both units can be operated by Roon but then of course we know that Roon more often than not carries a significant sound penalty in its processing of streamed and stored music so both products will sound substantially better by using their native apps, Lumin on the Arkas and TAS on the Taiko. Taiko’s up and coming new XDMS software will also sound better again, an exciting prospect for all existing owners as it’s also a fully fledged music exploration experience in the same sumptuous mould as Roon.

Whilst the Arkas is utterly superb playing files and does it as naturally and simply as if the disks were housed within, it is ultimately as a design geared more toward streaming services and my feeling is that if you are listening to Qobuz or Tidal and have a pretty clean network with a smattering of useful audiophile grade enhancements (high quality switch, ethernet lead, lan isolator etc.) then the Arkas does put a bit of a distance between itself and the Dutch unit, mostly in that last degree of purity, openness and life. The same is true if you feed the Arkas with a mid grade Melco, Innuos or similar as file storage. This is increasing the overall spend substantially of course so not really a fair comparison but then at this level people can and will do all in their power to squeeze out the last few percent and when the Tidal unit is combo’d with audiophile grade storage (as opposed to a regular NAS or USB stick) then the result is really quite remarkable with a new degree of saturation, density and realism to notes and instruments.

Using the standard units alone though and if you are literally only playing files, then the Taiko probably has the sonic edge and ergonomically is the more natural choice, certainly compared to an inexpensive memory stick being used in the rear of the Tidal. It has a slightly more organic and denser sound but appreciate that we are talking very fine degrees here. As my opening gambit suggested, the differences in sonic scores are very small between these two. The Taiko base price is £3000 cheaper but then add some extra storage, another output module and it’s the same or more. The £28,000 Arkas however ships with no less than 7 inputs as standard but then no internal storage. Bottom line, they are around the same retail price once spec’d so you’d expect them to be on a par in terms of performance and indeed they are. The differences between the physical units, the software, the companies behind them are far far greater and it’s these elements that will more than likely dictate your choice.

Let’s look at the Arkas in closer detail then. Firstly if you have a Tidal system or a partial Tidal system like amplifiers or just a set of Tidal speakers, you are probably never going to opt for the Taiko over the Arkas, even if you predominantly play files. The Tidal purity is something that can only be equalled by the Tidal purity in another unit and that’s why, although it can mix supremely well with other marques, it is ultimately at its absolute best when in a complete top to tail Tidal system. That small degree of organic-ness that I mentioned about the Taiko when playing files, well you wouldn’t really need that or want that in a Tidal system; the Arkas is voiced perfectly for its own siblings.

If you have a Camira DAC then you will also never pick the Taiko because the Camira has the all important i2s Tidal Link connectivity to the Arkas and the cable to join them is free of charge. In tests, this connection beat my very best USB cable the £5300 Tara Labs Grand Master EVO fairly comfortably (and note that the Tara Evo as a USB cable is something quite extraordinary that’s been selling by the bucketload). The i2s connection sidesteps the limitations of the digital connection and adds so much to the Arkas/Camira combination. Put another way, what is adds over and above the best USB cable I know of, is probably greater than the performance differences between the two streamers.

The other thing about the Arkas is its stability and ease of use. It powers on in seconds, it’s always immediately present in the Lumin control app (which the factory favour and recommend), it never drops out, get’s lost, needs rebooting or can’t be found or indeed, causes any other gremlins. It is quite simply the most robust and stable streamer I have ever used. I employ it for the bulk of my listening tests, running in sessions and shop demos for this very reason.

The Taiko is a very different beast from the get go. It’s the best Music server in existence. It is twice the height and probably three times the weight of the Arkas. It’s essentially a very fast computer with lots of wonderful tech inside and at a maximum of 24TB has enough storage space for the most prolific music collectors. Its the obvious choice for anyone with a large music collection of files. This and the ability to retain everything in one box alone will mean it is the favourite for some buyers. On the other hand, Tidal’s approach to keep any technology that is liable to be near future superseded outside of their box, will appeal to others. In addition, with so many new products that can clean the home network and improve internet streaming to the point where it now sounds as good as stored files, many people are simply not interested in playing from a hard disk anymore.

Both units will operate with Roon but for critical listening most owners will use the alternatives and here there is a difference too. The Lumin app is functional, stable and does all of the essentials and basics. It’s not amazing though and as control apps go outside of Roon there is better. We fully expect the forthcoming XDMS software from Taiko to be really quite something and I know some customer’s choices with a digital front end are very much influenced by the software in play. I am the type of user who is happy to use almost anything. As long as I can play a track, an album, a playlist and find music quickly whether that be on a disk or on Qobuz then I am happy. My requirement is very simple and I don’t want my listening sessions to be about an interface or continually clicking and fiddling with a screen. That is only right for me though and other people are quite different and it will probably pay dividends for them to test drive each app for themselves as part of the selection process. There is no doubt though that the Taiko has the edge when it comes to control software.

Company stability, stability of the UK importer, unit build quality, unit component quality, unit longevity and ongoing support and backup are equal for both units I would say. Both companies are highly professional adopting the most exacting standards and either is a very sound and safe purchase. Build quality is also the every highest we see in the industry with both units. Depreciation is also probably at similarly glacial levels. We have recently sold a used Taiko, the first preloved example sold in the UK so a few years old but it was still a high price and had only lost about 25% of its full retail value, so basically the VAT and a little bit on top. Not bad going for a piece of high end audio but then the demand is high, and very few people are ever going to sell a their Taiko or Arkas.

So for me and to sum up neatly, if I had a Tidal system already or was predominantly wanting to stream music from the internet, it would be the Arkas. If I wanted the best server money could buy and mainly played files from my large music collection, I would go for the Taiko. If I had unlimited funds, I would stream from an Arkas but plug a Taiko into it as storage  ! (or a Melco ZS, N10 or similar). Both are on demo here at Lotus and as ever simply call or email to find out more or arrange further investigation.

This article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the new Tidal Contros. If you are coming shopping at Lotus then it needs explaining as it is a highly ingenionus device that changes the landscape somewhat. The used Pink Faun Ultra we have, the used Taiko Extreme we recently sold, both of these were part exchanged for a Contros.

The Contros is essentially an Arkas streamer mated to a Camira DAC in one box no bigger than just one of the units. It also has the famed Tidal volume control on it that isn’t digital or analogue but changes the voltage demand directly in the DAC’s R2R network. This means the volume control is as least transparent as the best Tidal Preamp. It’s not like having no preamp though, there is no loss of refinement or musical architecture, imaging etc., there is only more. The Arkas and Camira inside the Contros are i2s linked and the power supply is smaller and better. This new unit then performs at least as highly as the two units bought separately yet Contros is £10,000 cheaper and unless you have a turntable you do not need a preamp either. Feed Contros into any linestage you care to think of using an added XLR interconnect and it will only sound less transparent, this is our firm belief.

So in short, depending on what you are buying and where you are coming from, Contros will quite possibly make more financial sense and lead to the best result overall with you trading in your DAC or indeed linestage as well. It is the best digital we have heard and the fact that it does away with 2 other boxes and two interconnect cables and two power cables is really quite remarkable.

Senna against Prost,  McEnroe v Borg, Cola versus Pepsi, Patek fighting it out with AP. This is a battle which I probably should have covered last year but as ever I’ve probably been too busy selling the things and looking after customers 24/7 with what has been a very busy 2022.

There might be something equivalent out there in the world of music servers/streamers but I certainly don’t know about it yet and I do tend to spend a lot of my downtime hunting for new technologies and emerging hot products. There are a few close outliers like the Pink Faun and the Pachanko units from Reunion Island but my belief is that nothing in the marketplace can truly match these two supreme deities. If you want the very best and already have the DAC in place then this is where you should be looking. Both streamers are a quantum leap in performance from our next best we retail here, the £10,000 Melco Zs (which incidentally we find in a similar domain sonically to many of the other popular choices like the Inuous Statement, Aurender W20, Grimm MU1, Antipodes K series).

The Taiko most people already know about. It is manufactured in the Netherlands by Emile Bok and his expanding team. A processing power house, a Poseidon amongst music servers, a veritable smorgasbord of ingenious tech and invention beautifully realised and crafted, the SGM Extreme has won the hearts of a very large slice of the Ultra High End community from the US to Europe and across to Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and beyond. Many of the most superlative systems in the world which get written, talked and boasted about online and in print, now employ a Taiko Extreme as a digital front end. The growing success and expansion of the team in Holland has been really quite dramatic in the last few years, all because of this one state of the art product and lucky for us, it means there will be more expansion and innovation from them in the near future. I think we were the very first UK dealer to sign up with UK Importers Kog Audio and have many happy customers using the Extreme.

The Tidal Arkas streamer is perhaps less well known about. Tidal is a brand that goes about it’s business quietly and surefootedly and even here in the UK, we tend not to shout about it too much. But rest assured that everything that they take their hand too will always be state of the art simply because of the ability, brains, standards and component choice that will always be applied to every single piece they ever manufacture. Designed by Tidal’s CEO Jorn Janczak as the “Porsche GT3 RS” of the streaming world, the Arkas’s simplified and pared back to the bone ethos is a form factor that is more atypical and perhaps less well understood. From its genesis Tidal felt that the future of digital playback lies more in the streaming services rather than owning physical music. They also wanted to create a device that would remain relevant and state of the art for many years to come so Arkas was designed to house only the core relevant technology to control digital content with all “half-life” components like music data storage, NAS/music server systems and hard drives left outside the box. So if you want to play files then you need to attach your own chosen storage. This is easily accomplished though using a USB stick or similar in the rear, accessing any NAS on the network or connecting up a more advanced audiophile server via ethernet.

Let’s first talk about their sonics. Truth be told there is far less to differentiate them sonically than in all their other aspects so it can actually be covered off fairly swiftly. If you are used to something like a Melco Zs or Innuous Statement – both of which are extremely fine players I hasten to add – then jumping up to the Extreme or the Arkas is a very big step indeed. We have gradually begun to realise over the past few years that the Streamer, the home Network and indeed the Digital cable are each as important as the DAC itself and providing you have a good open system with a great digital front end then the uplift in sound quality when you plug in either of these beasts is not small.

Obviously sheer resolution levels, the amount of information you are hearing takes a big leap. Not just sound information and small delicate pieces of expression from instruments and voices, but information about everything from position, scale, surrounding ambience and air, note start and note decay and relative volume and relevance vis a vis all the other sounds in the mix. Like any great upgrade, the sound becomes more complex and more true, more dramatic and detailed, yet simpler and more relaxed at the same time. Both these players deliver a supremely unforced and natural performance, conjuring the illusion of realism in your living space more convincingly than perhaps you have ever experienced before. A cleaner, more present sound means there is a new greater sense of order and coherency to proceedings, particularly if you are playing more complex music underpinned by rhythms, percussion and drums. The sense of clarity and cleanliness on both units is outstanding.

So how do they actually compare between each other ? Well that is a difficult one because firstly they are actually so close with a very similar perfectly centered neutral attitude but also because it really depends on what software you are using and how you use each one and the status of your home network. The Arkas has no disk storage so you have to draw wav files from a USB stick or a drive plugged into the back or a disk elsewhere on the network. You can also feed the Arkas with another server itself like a Melco. I actually have one customer using an Innuous Statement as disk storage into an Arkas; overkill perhaps but it does take the Tidal unit to another place again. Both units can be operated by Roon but then of course we know that Roon more often than not carries a significant sound penalty in its processing of streamed and stored music so both products will sound substantially better by using their native apps, Lumin on the Arkas and TAS on the Taiko. Taiko’s up and coming new XDMS software will also sound better again, an exciting prospect for all existing owners as it’s also a fully fledged music exploration experience in the same sumptuous mould as Roon.

Whilst the Arkas is utterly superb playing files and does it as naturally and simply as if the disks were housed within, it is ultimately as a design geared more toward streaming services and my feeling is that if you are listening to Qobuz or Tidal and have a pretty clean network with a smattering of useful audiophile grade enhancements (high quality switch, ethernet lead, lan isolator etc.) then the Arkas does put a bit of a distance between itself and the Dutch unit, mostly in that last degree of purity, openness and life. The same is true if you feed the Arkas with a mid grade Melco, Innuos or similar as file storage. This is increasing the overall spend substantially of course so not really a fair comparison but then at this level people can and will do all in their power to squeeze out the last few percent and when the Tidal unit is combo’d with audiophile grade storage (as opposed to a regular NAS or USB stick) then the result is really quite remarkable with a new degree of saturation, density and realism to notes and instruments.

Using the standard units alone though and if you are literally only playing files, then the Taiko probably has the sonic edge and ergonomically is the more natural choice, certainly compared to an inexpensive memory stick being used in the rear of the Tidal. It has a slightly more organic and denser sound but appreciate that we are talking very fine degrees here. As my opening gambit suggested, the differences in sonic scores are very small between these two. The Taiko base price is £3000 cheaper but then add some extra storage, another output module and it’s the same or more. The £28,000 Arkas however ships with no less than 7 inputs as standard but then no internal storage. Bottom line, they are around the same retail price once spec’d so you’d expect them to be on a par in terms of performance and indeed they are. The differences between the physical units, the software, the companies behind them are far far greater and it’s these elements that will more than likely dictate your choice.

Let’s look at the Arkas in closer detail then. Firstly if you have a Tidal system or a partial Tidal system like amplifiers or just a set of Tidal speakers, you are probably never going to opt for the Taiko over the Arkas, even if you predominantly play files. The Tidal purity is something that can only be equalled by the Tidal purity in another unit and that’s why, although it can mix supremely well with other marques, it is ultimately at its absolute best when in a complete top to tail Tidal system. That small degree of organic-ness that I mentioned about the Taiko when playing files, well you wouldn’t really need that or want that in a Tidal system; the Arkas is voiced perfectly for its own siblings.

If you have a Camira DAC then you will also never pick the Taiko because the Camira has the all important i2s Tidal Link connectivity to the Arkas and the cable to join them is free of charge. In tests, this connection beat my very best USB cable the £5300 Tara Labs Grand Master EVO fairly comfortably (and note that the Tara Evo as a USB cable is something quite extraordinary that’s been selling by the bucketload). The i2s connection sidesteps the limitations of the digital connection and adds so much to the Arkas/Camira combination. Put another way, what is adds over and above the best USB cable I know of, is probably greater than the performance differences between the two streamers.

The other thing about the Arkas is its stability and ease of use. It powers on in seconds, it’s always immediately present in the Lumin control app (which the factory favour and recommend), it never drops out, get’s lost, needs rebooting or can’t be found or indeed, causes any other gremlins. It is quite simply the most robust and stable streamer I have ever used. I employ it for the bulk of my listening tests, running in sessions and shop demos for this very reason.

The Taiko is a very different beast from the get go. It’s the best Music server in existence. It is twice the height and probably three times the weight of the Arkas. It’s essentially a very fast computer with lots of wonderful tech inside and at a maximum of 24TB has enough storage space for the most prolific music collectors. Its the obvious choice for anyone with a large music collection of files. This and the ability to retain everything in one box alone will mean it is the favourite for some buyers. On the other hand, Tidal’s approach to keep any technology that is liable to be near future superseded outside of their box, will appeal to others. In addition, with so many new products that can clean the home network and improve internet streaming to the point where it now sounds as good as stored files, many people are simply not interested in playing from a hard disk anymore.

Both units will operate with Roon but for critical listening most owners will use the alternatives and here there is a difference too. The Lumin app is functional, stable and does all of the essentials and basics. It’s not amazing though and as control apps go outside of Roon there is better. We fully expect the forthcoming XDMS software from Taiko to be really quite something and I know some customer’s choices with a digital front end are very much influenced by the software in play. I am the type of user who is happy to use almost anything. As long as I can play a track, an album, a playlist and find music quickly whether that be on a disk or on Qobuz then I am happy. My requirement is very simple and I don’t want my listening sessions to be about an interface or continually clicking and fiddling with a screen. That is only right for me though and other people are quite different and it will probably pay dividends for them to test drive each app for themselves as part of the selection process. There is no doubt though that the Taiko has the edge when it comes to control software.

Company stability, stability of the UK importer, unit build quality, unit component quality, unit longevity and ongoing support and backup are equal for both units I would say. Both companies are highly professional adopting the most exacting standards and either is a very sound and safe purchase. Build quality is also the every highest we see in the industry with both units. Depreciation is also probably at similarly glacial levels. We have recently sold a used Taiko, the first preloved example sold in the UK so a few years old but it was still a high price and had only lost about 25% of its full retail value, so basically the VAT and a little bit on top. Not bad going for a piece of high end audio but then the demand is high, and very few people are ever going to sell a their Taiko or Arkas.

So for me and to sum up neatly, if I had a Tidal system already or was predominantly wanting to stream music from the internet, it would be the Arkas. If I wanted the best server money could buy and mainly played files from my large music collection, I would go for the Taiko. If I had unlimited funds, I would stream from an Arkas but plug a Taiko into it as storage  ! (or a Melco ZS, N10 or similar). Both are on demo here at Lotus and as ever simply call or email to find out more or arrange further investigation.

This article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the new Tidal Contros. If you are coming shopping at Lotus then it needs explaining as it is a highly ingenionus device that changes the landscape somewhat. The used Pink Faun Ultra we have, the used Taiko Extreme we recently sold, both of these were part exchanged for a Contros.

The Contros is essentially an Arkas streamer mated to a Camira DAC in one box no bigger than just one of the units. It also has the famed Tidal volume control on it that isn’t digital or analogue but changes the voltage demand directly in the DAC’s R2R network. This means the volume control is as least transparent as the best Tidal Preamp. It’s not like having no preamp though, there is no loss of refinement or musical architecture, imaging etc., there is only more. The Arkas and Camira inside the Contros are i2s linked and the power supply is smaller and better. This new unit then performs at least as highly as the two units bought separately yet Contros is £10,000 cheaper and unless you have a turntable you do not need a preamp either. Feed Contros into any linestage you care to think of using an added XLR interconnect and it will only sound less transparent, this is our firm belief.

So in short, depending on what you are buying and where you are coming from, Contros will quite possibly make more financial sense and lead to the best result overall with you trading in your DAC or indeed linestage as well. It is the best digital we have heard and the fact that it does away with 2 other boxes and two interconnect cables and two power cables is really quite remarkable.