Smyth Research A16 Realiser discussion

[wizardofoz]

reserved

 

 

[embed=425,349]

[/embed]

[InnocentBlood]

Missed this last weekend. Hopefully SLT will have a demo unit when they are ready to take preorders. It would also be great to see some clips on how the A16 is physically connected to the Blu Ray Player & AVR. Or is the AVR not even part of the chain?

[jelt2359]

It has HDMI in.

 

I could clearly tell a difference between the HD800 and the 11.1 system, but then that's to be expected- different drivers and all. Mike Smyth agreed.

 

But what I really liked was that the sound stayed absolutely fixed in position as you moved your head. This is a key part of the speaker-listening experience (in 2ch) that you I never realised I 'missed' in headphones. When you listen to speakers you move, you talk, you bob your head, etc- the sound is always coming from the same place.

 

With IEMs and Headphones this has never been the case.

 

Absolutely looking forward to trying this with my 2ch music. Not gonna use it for movies much.

 

BTW, it has USB (digital), HDMI (digital) and analogue in, then headphone out or line out (for example to use with Stax).

[wizardofoz]

The a16 demo at the show used an Oppo update-203 with Hdmi audio out to the a16 and Hdmi video out to the tv, but we could have passed the video thru the a16 optionally too. We used all Yamaha active studio monitors in the room and a medium size Yamaha sub. That's was it.

 

 

The a16 outputs all 16 channels in line level for active speakers or amplifier inputs plus has 2 individual headphone outputs for both 6.3mm connection or rca line level for using with your preferred headphone amp if you desire. Optional you can feed to an avr via hdmi and use that for your driving the speakers.

 

 

The a16 decodes all multichannel formats and can upsample from 2.0 to 7.1.4 or more too and virtualise that in 2 channels on your headphones...spooky goodness  ???

[InnocentBlood]

Can you just imagine how this might sound with the DAVE/ Blu MkII combo... ❤

[Doggie Howser]

Here's what I posted earlier

 

Thread necromancer level - XTREME! :P

 

2 threads in 2 days.

 

So I've been checking out the new Smyth Realiser A16 with Smyth Virtual Surround and it's waaaay more than I bargained for :)

 

It includes ONLY ONE HDMI2.0/HDCP2.2 compliant input - which kind of sucks, and it only has mini stereo outputs BUT that's really it. The only downsides.

 

Here's what it does offer.

 

Dolby Atmos/DTS X/Auro 3D decoding built right in. And with support for up to 16 channels!!! in future firmware updates.

 

Smyth is the "S" in DTS, so I guess we know the pedigree of the company - even if you never played with the old A8 Realiser. Which was bloody awesome.

 

You can run the A16 in complete bypass mode so it works like a regular AV Pre Pro - but from the marketing material, it looks like they'll also support at least one other format, Ambisonics? Which is a 15.1 format?

 

 

[embed=425,349]

[/embed]

 

And this is before you factor in the cool headphone virtual surround which mimics your existing speakers!! Up to 16 of them!

 

If you don't like the headphone stand version, just grab the 2U rack mount version.

 

All for $1950 US. Pretty affordable methinks!!

 

[wizardofoz]

The A16 really takes the A8 into the next level of capability.

 

 

Was going to post the links again here for the other you tubes but on my iPad it's a pain to select and optimize links as such....maybe later when I'm on my computer.

[dXter]

So there is a local pricing already? Tired the old A8 during one of the ISSE, was real impressed.

[wizardofoz]

Final pricing is still not confirmed from Smyth as yet.

[sas_aaron]

Hi anyone ordered this? From US website , Pre-sale Offer: US$1795 + shipping + taxes , was it ever preordered at lower price than US$1795 ? curious if any price increase as some articles mentioned US$1495 last year.

 

Any shops in singapore taking orders?

 

 

[Doggie Howser]

Hi anyone ordered this? From US website , Pre-sale Offer: US$1795 + shipping + taxes , was it ever preordered at lower price than US$1795 ? curious if any price increase as some articles mentioned US$1495 last year.

 

Any shops in singapore taking orders?

 

 

 

It was a crowd funded exercise so it was cheaper initially.

 

But it was delayed a few times. Ordering now - it looks likely to be a Dec shipping.. that's almost 9 months later than promised.

[wizardofoz]

I have one on order...james emails updates and looks like units should ship in December.

 

 

The special pre retail pricing ends this month so if you want better jump on the program before Sunday.

[sas_aaron]

Hi anyone knows how much is estimated shipping to singapore?

 

Totally new in headphone game. what is total expected cost of whole system to work ? plan to buy 2 headphones. anything other things to buy like cables?

 

 

 

[wizardofoz]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1959366850/realiser-a16-real-3d-audio-headphone-processor/posts/2150471

 

 

Latest update on progress

[wizardofoz]

https://www.facebook.com/SmythResearch/

[InnocentBlood]

looks like this is finally shipping :)

 

August 2019 Update:

We will begin shipping Realiser A16 units this week, and this will continue over the next several months. Since the testing procedure is quite involved we’re only expecting to ship around 10 to 20 units per week. We’ll be posting weekly updates on the numbers that have been shipped, which is intended to give backers some indication of our progress.

The A16 is being shipped with only a single operating mode and with a slightly reduced set of features, outlined below. DTS-X and Auro3D are yet to be certified. If and when these are certified, they will be available in future firmware updates. Other operating modes and features may also be introduced in the future as firmware updates.

Realiser A16 specifications, Firmware v1.0, August 2019

Analogue audio inputs/outputs

1. 16ch input + 16ch output, phono, 2.5Vrms

2. 2ch stereo input, phono, 2.5Vrms

3. 2ch tactile output, phono, 2.5Vrms (DC to 120Hz)

Digital audio inputs/outputs

1. HDMI 2.0b* input (8ch LPCM and bitstream)

2. SPDIF input (coaxial or optical) (2ch LPCM and bitstream)

3. USB 2.0 (16ch, 24bit, 96kHz LPCM) (Drivers for PC and Mac)

* : HDR10+ not supported

Headphone outputs (dual users)

1. Analogue, stereo 1/4” jack and 2ch phono

2. Digital stereo, SPDIF, 24bit @ 48kHz (coaxial and optical)

Ancillary inputs/outputs

1. HDMI 2.0b output (video pass-thru* from any HDMI input)

2. Microphone inputs (dual, for supplied binaural PRIR/HPEQ measurement microphones)

3. Headtracker input (for supplied head-tracker)

4. Set-top input (for supplied set-top IR reference)

5. Micro SD card port (for external PRIR/HPEQ file storage and firmware updates)

* : HDR10+ not supported

Audio bitstream decoding/rendering capability

1. Dolby Atmos (listening modes up to 9.1.6ch)

2. Dolby TrueHD (up to 7.1ch)

3. Dolby Digital (up to 5.1ch)

4. Dolby Digital+ (up to 7.1ch)

5. Dolby Surround upmixing to a 7.1.6ch listening mode

SVS headphone rendering capability

1. Dual users, each user can render 16 virtual loudspeakers in any spatial position

2. Individual headtracking (azimuth only) for both users simultaneously

3. Audio sources : HDMI 1 to 4 (LPCM or bitstream), USB 2.0 (up to 16ch), 16ch analogue, 2ch analogue, SPDIF coaxial or optical (LPCM or bitstream). Audio sources are common to both users.

4. All SVS processing and rendering @ 48kHz sampling rate, 32ms latency, max reverb length 0.75s

AV rendering mode

1. Analogue and digital audio inputs (USB and SPDIF) can be output via the multi-channel analogue line outputs.

2. Decoded Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital+ bitstream signals can be output via the multi-channel analogue line outputs.

Binaural room impulse response measurement (PRIR measurement)

1. 16ch synchronous measurement using internally generated excitation signals from the 16ch analogue outputs.

Headphone equalisation (HPEQ measurement)

1. Automatic headphone EQ measurement using binaural microphones

2. Manual headphone EQ using equal loudness noise bands

3. Manual headphone EQ using an external loudspeaker reference

[kaydee61624705921]

Looks interesting. But at usd 4000...

[wizardofoz]

well don't complain if you wanted one before it was closer to 2K at pre launch...with partial deposit.

 

 

I hope to have mine shipping soon....but I'm a little disappointed about no DTS-X at this time.

 

 

I would still like to see a user manual before finally getting full money on the table.

 

 

It's been a bloody long wait...hope its all it was when I first tried it and demo'd it.

[InnocentBlood]

the A16 manual is (finally) up :)

 

https://smyth-research.com/downloads/

 

 

[wizardofoz]

Thats a lot to take in....

[Audio]

I bought the A8.  Extremely high learning curve.

 

(Audio)

[InnocentBlood]

Thats a lot to take in....

 

yeah this manual could use a quick-start guide, specifically focusing on how to play with the A16 right out of the box.

 

most folks over at head-fi are hung up on taking measurements of their existing speaker set-ups. what i would want to instead is what if you have no existing set-up to measure and replicate and you just want to experience the A16 doing its thing with the pre-installed rooms.

 

 

[jigster]

Uh-oh.. where i’m intending to use the A16 has no speaker setup... like that still can use? Hope I didn’t buy a white elephant

[InnocentBlood]

Uh-oh.. where i’m intending to use the A16 has no speaker setup... like that still can use? Hope I didn’t buy a white elephant

 

i'm sure we can - your use case fits mine. the A16 is being marketed as a device for someone who wants the surround sound experience without having the capacity to install physical speakers. the realiser exchange site - when it goes live - is supposed to allow you to experience other real-life speaker setups on your own A16 box.

 

 

 

[Guest AndrewC]

yeah this manual could use a quick-start guide, specifically focusing on how to play with the A16 right out of the box.

 

most folks over at head-fi are hung up on taking measurements of their existing speaker set-ups. what i would want to instead is what if you have no existing set-up to measure and replicate and you just want to experience the A16 doing its thing with the pre-installed rooms.

 

Didn’t RTFM? :P…

 

The manual Page 30, (page 31 in the PDF) is a single-page Quick Start guide;

 

2.5 Quick Start

 

1. Connect an BD or DVD player (or other HDMI source) to HDMI Input 1 and a TV monitor to the HDMI Out

 

2. Connect the 12V DC power supply to the A16.


 

3. Power up the A16, using the remote control if necessary.

… etc

 

Clearly there are factory default Presets that can be loaded for each User.