Taiko Audio
Digital Sources
Best Known For
Digital Sources
/
Used Products
3
 Available
Average Price
$20,001-$40,000
Brand Popularity
413
 of 900+
Products Listed
2
Review Count
7
Founding Year
2008
Headquarters
Netherlands
Taiko Audio
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What's unique about the brand

Taiko Audio, considered the ultimate endgame music streamer in audiophile circles, produces ultra-expensive components. Their custom hardware and software stack, designed for maximal noise reduction, has become a staple in many of the world's most expensive hifi setups.

What reviewers are saying

We read all the reviews. Here's what reviewers feel most strongly about:

Our favorite reviewer quotes:

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Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

From Julian's interview with
.

Products

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Lineup comparison

We think it's helpful to understand how their products compare. To learn more about each, scroll to the section above to click through to individual product pages.

Extreme High-End Music Server

  • Positioning: The flagship product in Taiko Audio's lineup, designed to deliver the ultimate in digital music playback.
  • Description: Features a dual CPU design and PCIe storage, which provide exceptional sound quality and system performance. Unlike other products in the lineup, it offers a comprehensive solution for music storage and playback, making it the best choice for audiophiles seeking the highest level of audio fidelity. This server offers extensive storage options and compatibility with high-end DACs.

Extreme DC Power Distributor

  • Positioning: An accessory designed to enhance the performance of Taiko Audio's network components by providing clean power distribution.
  • Description: Features a design that minimizes cross-contamination between devices, using a unique filtering system. Unlike other products in the lineup, it allows multiple devices to be powered from a single source, making it practical for users looking to simplify their setup without adding extra power supplies.

Extreme Switch

  • Positioning: A high-performance network switch designed to optimize the audio network for Taiko Audio systems.
  • Description: Features a solid copper chassis, offering effective noise reduction and connectivity options, including SFP+ ports for flexible networking. Compared to the Extreme Router, it focuses on providing a stable and high-speed connection specifically for audio streaming.

Extreme Router

  • Positioning: A premium network router designed to create an isolated audio network for enhanced sound quality.
  • Description: Features efficient network traffic management, reducing noise and improving audio clarity. It offers more advanced network control compared to the Extreme Switch.
Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer

Used

Taiko Audio

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Similar

Digital Sources

brands

Known For
Digital Sources
/
Average Price
$20,001-$40,000
Used Products
1
 Available
Brand Popularity
543
 of 900+
Headquarters
Netherlands

About the brand

Pink Faun is a Dutch hifi brand that combines digital technology with analog design philosophy, handcrafting digital music streamers with a focus on reducing digital noise through their proprietary OCXO clock technology. Their flagship 2.16 Ultra Streamer features a modular design for customization, while their specialized USB and LAN cables are engineered to minimize interference and improve audio quality.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Digital Sources
/
Average Price
$10,001-$20,000
Used Products
7
 Available
Brand Popularity
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 of 900+
Headquarters
Netherlands

About the brand

Grimm Audio is a hifi brand that designs streaming DACs with their own custom-built digital-to-analog converter hardware, including a unique 1.5-bit architecture with an 11th-order noise shaper. Their flagship MU2 is a Roon-centric machine that serves as a complete audio system hub, featuring their own DMA controller for FPGA-to-CPU communication and proprietary Pure Nyquist filters for digital signal processing.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Digital Sources
/
Average Price
$10,001-$20,000
Used Products
5
 Available
Brand Popularity
351
 of 900+
Headquarters
New Zealand

About the brand

Antipodes is a hifi audio brand specializing in audiophile-grade music servers and streamers that reduce jitter and noise. The brand uses a proprietary Linux-based operating system for audio playback to maintain high signal purity.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Digital Sources
/
Average Price
$10,001-$20,000
Used Products
75
 Available
Brand Popularity
79
 of 900+
Headquarters
South Korea

About the brand

Aurender is a hifi brand focused on digital music servers that offers unique storage configurations with user-installable drives up to 16TB, particularly beneficial for audiophiles who prefer streaming services. Their servers feature specialized components like Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillators for AES/EBU output and dual-mono DACs with analog R2R stepped-attenuator volume controls, which minimize noise and jitter for superior sound quality.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

All Aurender models, even dating back to our very first "S10", cache songs to a built in NVMe/SSD prior to playback, for improve stability and to reduce noise from the HDD, even when local storage is installed.

All Aurender models come with either built in storage or empty trays for users to populate their own 2.5" SATA drives in capacities that suite their collection. You only have 200 CD's that are ripped? Purchase a 1TB drive. Have 20,000 album collection, you can install up to an 8TB drive in each available slot!

What's your approach to customer support?

Our support is one of the driving factors for our brand. One of the keystones of this is our remote support capabilities. By sending us an email using our Conductor V4 software (for Android and Apple phones and tablets), we can remotely access the unit and troubleshoot, reconfigure or fix errors that are giving you trouble...without even taking the unit out of your rack! This level of support comes from our hardware and software engineers based in South Korea. This is available for every Aurender customer, whether you just purchased our flagship streamer or you purchased an 8 year old Aurender N100 on the second-hand market. We give this level of service to everyone. I personally offer advice, consultations and troubleshooting assistance for North America, so you can get hands on assistance when Korea is unavailable due to the time difference.

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

I have a hard time offering test tracks because everyone's music tastes vary so much. My personal tastes are not considered "audiophile" music and often poorly recorded, such as Punk, Hardcore, Emo and Alternative Music. Now with that said, I thoroughly enjoy listening to all this music through my Aurender! Speakers also play a huge role in how palatable that style of music is presented. If you twisted my arm to pick a test track that resonates with a lot of people, I'd say: Sara Bareilles-"Once Upon Another Time". It's a very intimate recording with a candle wick crackling throughout. Subtle noises in the background and then the bass hits and you realize how big the venue actually is. Every time I play that track, people get a bit of the "Wow" factor.

What other products pair best with yours?

Brand pairings are often user preference and one of the best parts of the hobby, in my opinion. I hear that Aurender is often paired with Berkeley Audio Design, MSB, Audio Research, dCS, just to name a few. The best part of an Aurender is it really gets you all the detail out of your DAC, so you can hear what it is truly capable of.

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Digital Sources
/
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Used Products
21
 Available
Brand Popularity
250
 of 900+
Headquarters
Japan

About the brand

Melco Audio specializes in digital music servers and network switches designed specifically for audiophile applications, featuring unique elements like a 1.5MB buffer for stable data transmission and industrial-grade USB ports. Their products are designed to be user-friendly for audiophiles without computer expertise, while offering technical advantages like optimized Ethernet output and exceptionally quiet operation for enhanced music clarity.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Digital Sources
/
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Used Products
76
 Available
Brand Popularity
78
 of 900+
Headquarters
Hong Kong

About the brand

Lumin Music, known for launching the world's first DSD-capable streamer, develops all hardware and software in-house to ensure seamless integration across their product line. Their digital sources are praised for delivering warm, analog-like sound quality, with features like upsampling to DSD 256 and dual-drive music servers that require zero setup configuration.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page