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KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY № 151

TAIKO AUDIO
Olympus Server XDMI + Olympus I/O XDMI

The 151st meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society opens, symbolically, the next stage of its activities. And it does so with a bang, as it starts with a listening to one of the most expensive audio file transports on the market, the TAIKO AUDIO Server XDMI with Olympus I/O XDMI module. We've tested this pair before, but this time the I/O XDMI features a DAC, and Taiko's creator and head, Mr. Emile Bok, is there to tell us about the equipment.

26 kwietnia 2025
KRAKOW ⸜ Poland

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No. 253 June 2025

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No. 139 December 2015

No. 139 December 2015

KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY: MEETING #99, Diana Krall DIGITAL

was that close to falling asleep while waiting for the final results of 17. International Chopin Competition that were presented after midnight. The list of awarded musicians was also quite surprising, as my favorite was Kate Liu, and I also keep my fingers crossed for Aimi Kobayashi from Japan. A bronze medal for an American pianist of Singapore origin managed to sweeten my disappointment but only a bit. But that's the story that repeats itself almost every time – results of this one the the biggest, most important competitions, usually surprise. So just to be clear with the facts let me remind you the list of winners: I place (30 000 €) and gold medal went to SEONG-JIN CHO II place (25 000 €) and silver medal went to CHARLES RICHARD-HAMELIN III place (20 000 €) and bronze medal went to KATE LIU IV place (15 000 €) – ERIC ...

No. 138 November 2015

No. 138 November 2015

KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY, meeting #98: Roger Waters, AMUSED TO DEATH/REMASTER 2015

QSound is a recording/mixing process used in many radio recordings based on a processing algorithm and used to make sound appear to be in 3D whilst using only 2 speakers. Source: www.giantbomb.com, read HERE patial sound has developed mainly thanks to the cinema. The first stereophonic system was Fantasound, created by Walt Disney’s engineers to be used in Fantasia – an animated film from the year 1940. At that time, the term “stereophonic” was not synonymous with “two-channel” – sound was recorded on three tracks, based on research carried out by Graham Bell who thought that it was the optimum number of channels. With time, for practical reasons, the central channel has been given up and three-channel tapes (e.g. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue) are mixed to two channels. When we use the term “stereophonic” ...

No. 135 August 2015

No. 135 August 2015

KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY, MEETING #97: Gabi van der Kley-Rijnveld and Edwin van der Kley in Krakow (with Siltech TRIPLE CROWN Interconnect and speaker cable) | HOLLAND/POLAND

abi was standing in the door, looking at us condescendingly while we were discussing acoustics, the microphones used and distortions. A moment before we had finished our first round of listening sessions and each of us was enthusiastically trying to convince the others that he was right. We paid the most attention to what Edwin was saying – in the end, we were talking about his cables. He was also the one with the best theoretical background. However, it was Gabi who brought in some air and distance to the meeting. In her opinion, we were “boys who, instead of listening to music and savoring it, were playing with toys for adults”. Well, there is no denying – “boys will be boys”. As far as we were concerned, apart from wine and snacks, we could offer practical experience. It seems that such a combination was optimal. So, the visit which ...

No. 133 June 2015

No. 133 June 2015

KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY, MEETING #96: Ancient Audio P-3 - pre-amplifier/speaker processor | POLAND

n 2011, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the High End exhibition, I asked a few producers what the dominant trend would be in the next few years. Almost all of them said that everything that is connected with transfer and reproduction of audio files (i.e. streaming, conversion and reproduction) would be most important. Even Heinz Rohrer, the CEO of Thorens Services AG, said: I’ll be a little evasive again, but for a purpose: although digital media mean everything now, vinyl pressings have never been so good and there have never been so many turntables, cartridges, etc. By saying this, he confirmed the opinions of my other interlocutors (more HERE). Apparently, they were right – we can see that the position of file players on the market is becoming stronger and stronger, whereas the market share of physical formats (with the exception of vinyl) is decreasing. Last ...

No. 128 January 2015

No. 128 January 2015

KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY, Meeting No. 95: Accuphase DG-58
JIM S. SAITO, MARK M. SUZUKI, ATSUKI TOZUKA,
KOHEI NISHIGAWA IN KRAKOW

NOSPR usic lovers all over Poland lick their lips with jealousy at the concert hall in Katowice. By this, I mean the new headquarters of the Polish Radio’s National Symphonic Orchestra. Mr. Tomasz Konior, the architect who designed it, refers to the idea of “context architecture.” He also emphasizes that a building can only be considered successfully built when visitors have no stupid questions to ask about its design and function. If an architect creates a space which has its own natural rhythm, dictated by the building’s intended use, everything went well. You can’t miss it looking at the design of the building’s elevation. It is based on traditional Silesian themes and associations with music. Even its pillars have a clear rhythm. Tomasz Konior said that he wanted the building itself to be a story of its own, a spatial narrative ...

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