XDMS NSM User Feedback

It’s amazing. I could tell after 20 seconds of Basie’s “it’s a dream” that this was it, the level of magic I was looking to recover.  I listened to a few tracks, and on every one of them, time slowed down so that the interactions and connections between instruments was brilliantly presented.  This is the first time the extreme has fully equaled, if not surpassed, that sound I harp on that I accidentally discovered years ago (and have mentioned in other posts). This is now way over the line that precedes magic and it was hard to turn the music off for the night!  I’ll put it into words on WBF tomorrow as it’s getting late. I consider this now to have achieved end game status, and the BPS and XDMI will, I trust based on taiko’s track record, move me into “if this gets any better, my head will explode” territory. Thank you so much for giving me this sneak peek.

All I can say is that if you think you’ve heard “digital”, you haven’t until you listen to NSM. This will reset everyone’s parameters. Personally I have never heard digital sound as good as this…..and according to Emile , the best is yet to come. Wednesday is only 3 days away. I for one am looking forward to reading Emile’s presentation as this hopefully will be the icing on the cake with the release of the “big Kahuna” which will take us even further down the digital path… Could this announcement be end game for we Taiko users ? I have to say that NSM gets one close to the finish line.

I have NSM. Ed loaded it literally in 5 minutes. I was in another room and the system came on after Ed chose an album. I said to Ed, thinking it would take longer for him to load NSM, “Ed this must be NSM already (from the other room). NSM (in my system) is not better than XDMS or Roon. It is an entirely different experience, as much as a different room or a different system. A MUCH better room or a MUCH better room at that! Clarity in midrange and upper frequencies are startling. The vocals along with the bass stand out to the point where it’s hard to imagine that you are really hearing what you are hearing. NSM is EVERYTHING that it was predicted to be. imho. YMMV (but I doubt it:) BRAVO AGAIN to Emile/ED/TEAM!!!!!

This is the first time the extreme has fully equaled, and in many ways surpassed, that sound I harp on that I accidentally discovered years ago but lost when software changed. Once heard, it cannot be unheard. Every track I played. My best way to summarize this is to say that ‘if things get any better, my head will explode’…..in a very good way.; Previous updates to TAS and XDMS and the Switch and Router have all made clear improvements to the sound chez moi, but this is in another league. I believe that this next generation XDMS-NMS achieves end game (or damn close) levels of performance. Thank you Emile, Ed and the rest of team Taiko.

The first and the most obvious difference I heard (after installing NSM) was in the bass. Bass is so different (and so good) – it’s like switching from tube to solid state bass (in a good way) – fast, dynamic, firm, authoritative, tight, deep, but also very textured and super vibrant and lively. It’s a common thing in audio to say that we have removed a curtain between the listener and the musicians… We never mean that for bass. I don’t know what the equivalent of that would be for bass, but if you can imagine it, that’s what I heard. Vocals – When comparing vocals between NSM and Roon, they sound veiled in Roon. Same with 3D focus – NSM stays focused. Everything sounds more realistic, palpable, and 3D in NSM. Everything sounds so much more coherent and enjoyable with NSM. Well, as you might have guessed already, all I am trying to say is that the hype is real!

It is hard to add to the detailed, informative descriptions from @cat6man, steve, bob, @nenon… Just my two cents… Differences immediately apparent. Thus far, I am hearing a visceral tonal saturation within the soundstage – immersive. Simultaneously, the layered textures within the soundstage are exquisite and more distinguishable. Vocals sound more natural and in the room than before. The bass, which I could not believe how much the router/PD improved, has only been refined further, in both substance and control. Clear increase in resolution/micro detail on a couple tracks where before I wasn’t totally sure if I was hearing something. I feel like I can turn the volume down from my normal positions. And, lastly, fatigueless. Thank you everyone at Taiko, XDMS master wizard Ed and all alpha testers for the multi year effort to get to this point. Nothing Short of Magical indeed!

I am hearing bass that is more articulate, more textured, yet somehow goes deeper, rhythmic lines are much easier to follow, tonal richness, saturation, and refinement, longer decays, and more texture and layering. Excellent recordings now sound spookily realistic, placing instruments and voices with holographic precision. Even more exciting, previously muddy recordings now reveal levels of layering and detail previously unheard! At lower volumes, the music still has a level of excitement and engagement that it previously didn’t. And if you want to crank up the volume, there is a notable drop in harshness and fatigue. I was able to go back and forth between XDMS Classic and NSM (note: this is not a supported option). Going from XDMS Classic to NSM sounds very similar to making a major component upgrade in your system. In fact, it struck me that the effect of NSM over Classic was quite similar to the effect the dCS Clock was making when driving the DAC. As an experiment, I compared XDMS-Classic and NSM, each with or without the dCS Clock in the chain. I was not too surprised when I found that SQ of Classic with the Clock was on par with NSM without the clock. So, in essence, NSM on this dCS DAC was giving me an SQ boost similar to what its companion Clock component does. Not too shabby for a “free” upgrade. Kudos, Taiko Team!

Awesome to see the email this morning from Khyle that NSM was installed on my Extreme. Had to start my work schedule… but, spent like 5 minutes hearing the sound quality. Of which, the first 2 minutes with low volume… the sound quality has gone to different levels where I could hear higher frequency instruments very clearly at those volume levels. I then raised the volume to normal level for another 3 minutes and now, I can hear the Bass has much more weight to it and hearing that kind of Bass felt very satisfied. It’s one thing when you read others explaining the sound quality after the NSM install and it’s a totally different experience once you hear it for yourself. Unfortunately, I had to get back to work. will be spending more time in the coming days. Thank you and awesome work team Taiko!

After 2 nights of listening, I have no doubt that it is indeed a very big uptick over XDMS Classic. The uptick is similar to what I got from the Switch + network card over the Extreme with its stock ethernet port. Without having used them the stock Extreme sounded excellent, and I did not find anything amiss until I heard music through them. Just like I could not listen to Extreme without the Switch + card, I cannot imagine going back to XDMS Classic. This is from a “mere” software upgrade, which is as significant as the use of a component or component upgrade. XDMS always sounds significantly superior to Roon to me (even with the most recent Roon upgrade; Roon sounds a bit edgy and “whitish,” a kind of blanched feel to it in comparison). The uptick from NSM over XDMS Classic is similar to the uptick from XDMS Classic over Roon – more transparency, more air, more holographic imaging, and more live-music feel, across the entire sound spectrum (not just bass enhancement as some people have emphasized). In an uncanny way, the removal of veils has enabled me to hear more clearly the remaining veil to be removed – the remaining veil resulting from the noisy USB, server operation and AC. Olympus and Olympus I/O should be a game changer in removing that thick veil – they should bring about a revolution in SQ that surpasses all the prior improvements combined.

Khyle Levitt installed NSM yesterday and I had a chance for an extended listening session close to 36 hours after installation. With the amps fully warmed up, I was listening with my eyes closed to Mozart’s Requiem from the Amadeus soundtrack – a wonderful piece I’ve heard hundreds of times though not my favorite recording, and it immediately struck me: I could for the first time while listening to this piece, see in my mind’s eye the fully fleshed out faces of the performers – not eviscerated voices or fuzzy images – but solid visualized images accompanied by an effortless emotional engagement and a physically visceral experience. Bravo Taiko team!! Thank you for an amazing listening experience!

I heard the effects of NSM tonight for the first time and my reaction was the same as the first time I played music with my new Extreme almost four years ago. A few seconds of silence, and I burst out laughing, saying out loud, “You’ve got to be sh*&^^g me!” I’m still wrapping my poor brain around how to describe the NSM sound or experience and I’m not quite sure yet how to do it justice. This is big — like major expensive component upgrade big. Only I’ve upgraded an expensive component before and not gotten nearly this level of musical enjoyment as a result. Tomorrow maybe I’ll be able to paint a word picture of NSM’s qualities. But I’m sure of the quantity — its big.

I have NSM since yesterday and I am again amazed – just as after the 27 November software update, and I would say well beyond that – of how much Taiko is able to elevate the Extreme performance by optimizing the software platform. Again, my system sounds as a very successful component upgrade was performed. And, again, it is that kind of improvement that is so all-encompassing and devoid of downsides that just leaves you with a big big smile on your face. I will not venture on an analytical description of what I am hearing, let’s just say that it feels like when you look the landscape around you from a mountain top in a very clear spring early morning. That feeling of purity, serenity with a mix of thin-air induced euphoria … And things, close or far away, look anew, more beautiful, palpable and alive through such rarified atmosphere. And the beat goes on 🙂

NSM is in the House. Still early, but first impression is Sweet Midrange, natural tonality. Male/Female vocalists are in the room. My soundstage sounds wider, more immersive. I’m not lacking in any Bass delivery so that doesn’t jump out as others have shared. Chris Botti’s trumpet is mesmerizing. WTF! This is some cool shit…I should have mentioned a kind Thank You to Khyle! He had me up in a jiffy! I now hear what others I think have shared in regards to the Bass. It has more distinction, the stick hitting the skin, a crispness, more precision, the list goes on.

Ed installed NSM on my system this afternoon, and I have just finished a couple of hours of listening. There is a lot to like, but my initial take is the soundstage is silly deep! A very, very nice “depth” of sound. Detail. Tone. Still great punch. Layered presentation. Silly deep soundstage. I could listen all night, but the dog will pee her pants if I don’t get outta the chair and walk her. Thanks Ed and crew!

Quick shout out to Ed and Taiko team! NSM is absolutely unbelievable. I often don’t know what to expect any more with stepping into lower noise stratospheres, but somehow the misconception that I have is to expect incremental changes, a little bit more of this or of that. holy moly, I could barely recognize some of the busiest tracks, it’s just not the same experience at all!!! Anyhow, a milestone has been crossed again, and it showcases that it isn’t just about adding wires, cables, chips, the software stack that orchestrates and inter-operate components matters just as much!

NSM is really a remarkable step forward. There is so much more musical information coming through that it took my brain a few days to adapt to the new normal. In my experience, NSM is the most emphatic nail yet in the coffin for the notion that software alone cannot affect sound quality.

Ed installed NSM this morning and I’m gobsmacked, it’s everything the other users said it was. If I had to use one word it would be immersive. Thank you Ed, Emile and the Taiko team.

I’ve been able to listen to NSM for a day or so now (thanks Khyle!) and I definitely feel like it’s a leap forward. Wow. Everyone has already covered the sonic specifics, but everything about it is so ‘right’ – absolutely compelling. What a trajectory this is!

Yes, there is something *special* about NSM for sure! It’s obvious that the music is more ‘organic’ and engaging. It’s another wonderful update from Taiko. A HUGE Thank You for their continued innovation and incredible support to the community. More companies should take the lead and emulate Taiko!