For the Extreme, vibration control goes beyond just a super-heavy chassis. From experience with his SGM 2015 which also sported a heavy if not as heavy chassis plus perforated top cover, Emile knew that the sound changed whenever that cover was removed or the torque of its closing bolts varied. It must have taken him many sleepless nights to come up with the final idea of drilling numerous bores into the top and bottom of the new streamer's case. The cover is a slab of aluminum with 2'463 holes. One might think, ah, ventilation holes, cool. But there's more to them. According to Emile, the holes function as wave guides to help shield EMI. And the bottom is just as holy as the top for 5'600 total holes per chassis. Each bore is nicely smooth too, taking the CNC machinist multiple days to complete.
A lot of lab hours went to studying the causes and effects of RF haze originating from all manner of digital kit. This type gear is littered with high-frequency clocks and oscillators. Once emitted, their noise is picked up by any cable near or far. While working on this issue, measurements with dedicated gear showed that RF emissions correlate with CPU and memory activity. Less activity means less RF emission. This insight informed the multi-core/multi-thread design.
More vibration control applies inside and out. On the inside, a separate compartment houses the 400VA transformer. Instead of mounting that to the bottom, side panel or brace, Taiko mount it to a block of Panzerholz. The power supply coil too is encased in a Panzerholz brace. Panzerholz aka tank wood is resin-injected then compressed super-high density plywood. Some types are used for bullet-proof doors, others for piano soundboards. Taiko use it to tune the transformer and as part of their proprietary footers for more vibration control.
Once the SGM Extreme landed in our listening room, we had a chance to take a good look at the exterior. As mentioned, the size is similar to our SGM 2015 but its weight substantially higher. Moving this streamer could hurt your back. The front is simple. A large Taiko logo is engraved above one of the only two moving parts of the streamer, the boot-up/shut-down switch. Left and right of that switch the words 'Taiko Audio' complete the facade. The top sports the mentioned perf pattern.
