Long awaited Smyth SVS Realiser NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE - Page 106

I don't think that AppleTV will output multi-channel PCM on HDMI. Not many devices will.

Yes, it's a personal thing.  Specifically describes how YOU and YOUR EARS AND BRAIN perceive the sound of the listening environment you are measuring.  The PRIR is the digital file that represents what the two calibration microphones "heard" the specific sweep frequencies to sound like from each speaker in the room, when they were inserted into your ears while you were sitting in a chair at a specific location in that listening environment.

There's no real way this PRIR can actually be "perfectly usable" for another person, in the same your prescription eyeglasses are theoretically unusable for another person.  Can you use somebody else's eyeglasses?  Well maybe if you squint your eyes and/or turn or raise/lower your head or something, they might be semi-usable.  But in all likelihood they'll be worthless, or negative in their effect.

So, even though it's not "perfectly usable", is it even "kind of usable"?  Maybe... but don't have any false expectations that a PRIR from someone else can be used as a "generic" PRIR, and that you will really get a good introduction to what the Realiser does or can do. This is not Dolby Headphone, which is designed to be generic.  The PRIR is MEANT to be personal and specific, and a digital description of a particular listening environment to a particular person's hearing system.

As for the second question, yes, it's just a digital file.  Obviously it can be emailed to you (a PRIR is about 3MB) and then you can use it on your own Realiser.

But my own experience trying to use someone else's PRIR (specifically to see how good or bad it might sound) was that it was UNUSABLE.  I would describe my own particular experience as "the room seemed tilted and out-of-alignment", as if I'd twisted my head sonically.

Obviously YMMV.

EDIT: my earlier post had a typo.  The PRIR is actually 3MB, not 3GB (need more sleep!!).  Sorry for the mistake.

Thank you for the explanation. This certainly helps me to understand more about the usability of this device. That being the case, PRIR is "personal", if my present home theater is not top notch as in the speakers and amplifiers, should I be looking for a  better set-up to do this PRIR thing or it is still OK to do this using my system? My headphones are HE6 and LCD2.

On further reading at the AV Forum, I think I found the answer.... thanks again dsperber...

Again, once created the PRIR is simply a "digital playback filter" which allows you to reproduce through high-quality headphones the same sound you would have heard in the original listening environment, had you sat in that same seat and played the content through the real loudspeakers and electronics that you're currently playing through the Realiser, PRIR and headphones.  The objective for the Realiser/PRIR is to "duplicate" that sound... however good or bad it is.

So, if you use your own home system as a prototype for experimenting, you should be able to do an A/B-comparison (right after performing the PRIR measurement process) taking the headphones off of your head and rotating them forward 90 degrees (the head tracker and Realiser will then mute the headphones and deliver sound to the speakers), then rotating them back 90 degrees so they are upgright again and placing them on your head (the head tracker and Realiser will then mute the speakers and deliver sound to the headphones).  You should be able to "smile" and say "I can't believe it".

You can also "solo" each speaker while playing back the test music WAV from the Realiser and do the same A/B-test, to ensure that you're getting the proper virtual cues in your ears and brain that convince you the "virtual speakers" (delivered through the headphones) are located where the real loudspeakers are in the room.  Again, the A/B-test should make you "smile" with wonderment.

Doesn't matter whether your home system is top-notch or not.  The job of the Realiser and PRIR measurement process is to "duplicate" that sound, whatever it is.

Having taken that initial experiment all in, if you then arrange for a visit to a truly high-end wonderful studio room that none of us could ever afford, and you come away with a PRIR (or two, as you should plan to get both a 5.1 and 7.1 PRIR made, if not also a special 2.0 PRIR for CD audio if available and if time and cost permits) from that studio, well now you'll be able to watch TV of a movie in your bedroom with your headphones on and listen to sound as if you were watching that movie in that sound studio room.

That's what this is all about.

Is there a way to feed 2-channel digital audio (from a PC) into the Realiser?  Is there some sort of USB to SPIDF convertor that offers an HDMI output that is compatible with the Realiser?

For the Mac Mini port? Look for a Display Port to HDMI adapter. Monoprice has them. I bought mine directly from Apple.

Your best bet is the HDMI output from your Mac. One never know with HDMI, but it should work as the Mac will output PCM on it (though I don't yet own a Realiser, so I can't try).