Takedown of pricey servers, streamers OCD HiFi guy

Disagree ... the 'Takedown' (by OCD) is not a valid criticism because no evidence of knowledge are cited. Only misguided opinion.
One quick trip to SGM Extreme Music Server web site provides seven bullet points highlighting design consideration.
For example:
"  The Extreme is built for bit perfect output without up sampling the data stream to cater to the latest premium R2R and Sigma/Delta D to A converters. With bit perfect streaming, system latency (= active processing time) becomes a significant part of the resulting sound quality. In our design of the Extreme, we focused on providing the lowest latency possible for every instruction or set of instructions the server has to manage. ".  
The video starts with a flow chart explanation of components used to render audio files. 
Which appears to be the focus of the posted video and criticism of ' over
priced Gear ' as an aside.
A reference to lower priced ' Streamers ' is a bit more to the point - comparison in terms of value of dedicated renderer for Roon, Tidal, and Qobuz vs. PC / Mac.
I would state that a personal PC custom built and optimized for playback
could be more cost effective but not equivalent. 
Another note is that a ' proprietary ' board is not a guarantee of anything.
My opinion ...
# cheap Asus parts ... this I would also take exception to as well.
@hilde45 if the implication is that Asus is equivalent to ' Cheap ' or that Taiko is somehow offering a misrepresented product is irresponsible and
does not serve a meaningful discussion.

"It’s a box full of parts any consumer can buy off the shelf."

The trick is that many (most?) of us could buy those parts, but would not know what to do with them, even if we were provided schematics. That is why we have to pay more than what the sum of parts would cost.

Another thing is design/aesthetics of the product. Many streamers look better than home-brewed items.

How much is all that worth to anyone is another discussion.

@Hilde45


You rascal! Did you post a video somebody didn’t like, haha?


I like your vibe and enjoy your posts. Keep them coming!

I recall seeing another video from him (OCD Guy) a while ago.  At first I thought it was a parody, misnaming several components and misidentifying their purpose.  Made me laugh.

But then I figured out he wasn't kidding and was trying to make a serious video.

I'm strongly in the "don't take this guy seriously" camp.

It’s true a music server is just a computer doing a job that is not very hard.
I got mine of Amazon for about $250 plus another couple hundred for 2tb storage and backup storage. It doubles as my at home work computer. I listen to it all the time and the sound is top notch off any of my systems that use it.