Long awaited Smyth SVS Realiser NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE - Page 153

Hi everyone,

I'm going to MSM studios in Munich tomorrow to get measured for a Realiser.

I have a few queries...

I only intend to listen to music through it. Mostly classical.

What is your preference when listening to music? 2, 5 or 7 channel?

Do you have any tips regarding the measurement process?

I have a Beyer T1 and a Senn HD800...which would you say is better with the Realiser?

I play music from my computer to a Musical fidelity M1 Dac to a Musical Fidelity M1-HPA amp.

If I understand correctly, the Realiser goes between the computer and the Dac?

Sorry for all the noob questions

Thanks in advance

Quote:

Originally Posted by aphex27 

Hi everyone,

 

I'm going to MSM studios in Munich tomorrow to get measured for a Realiser.

I have a few queries...

 

I only intend to listen to music through it. Mostly classical.

What is your preference when listening to music? 2, 5 or 7 channel?

Do you have any tips regarding the measurement process?

 

I have a Beyer T1 and a Senn HD800...which would you say is better with the Realiser?

 

I play music from my computer to a Musical fidelity M1 Dac to a Musical Fidelity M1-HPA amp.

If I understand correctly, the Realiser goes between the computer and the Dac?

 

Sorry for all the noob questions

 

Thanks in advance

When listening to 2.0 channel music, you are only going to use the L and R channels of your measurement, so it doesn't matter if your PRIR is 5.1 or 7.1. The extra channels are only used if you have 5.1 or 7.1 source material.

Think of it exactly like speakers: if you are listening to two channel music, the other speakers will not have any sound.

However, if you do have any multi channel music sources, then I would think they would be 5.1 sources. Although I have never seen 7.1 music only content, there may be some out there, or there may be DVD or Blu-Ray music performance videos that are 5.1 or 7.1.

I have not heard either of your headphones on a Realiser, so I can't help there.

You can put the Realiser between your computer and DAC only if your computer has HDMI output. In theory, if you don't have HDMI out of your computer, you could go from the computer to DAC via USB and then analog from  your DAC into the Realiser. But then you're doing a d-to-a, then a-to-d, then d-to-a to your headphones. Probably not the best way to do it.

-Darin

Thanks Darin...much appreciated!

Does the Realiser have the ability to improve the resolution and/or dynamics of the "recorded" speaker if the headphones are good enough?

Would it be a good idea to start a thread compiling information on the venues that would allow recording PRIR's, their fees, and the speakers available? I am aware of only the Egyptian Theater and AIX studios in L.A., and Glenn Poor's retailer in Champaign Illinois.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mindless2 

Would it be a good idea to start a thread compiling information on the venues that would allow recording PRIR's, their fees, and the speakers available? I am aware of only the Egyptian Theater and AIX studios in L.A., and Glenn Poor's retailer in Champaign Illinois.

How much does Glen Poor's charge? What systems do they have available? Just curious.

I have 12 places in the San Diego/Los Angeles area available to me to do measurements, but they are not really open to the public, so to speak. The reason they are available to me is through personal/business relationships I have developed with the owners of the systems over the course of many months. I also pay them and would have to accompany anyone that wanted to go there to do a measurement.

I don't really know of any places that you could call up and schedule a Realiser measurement session. Most places haven't heard of a Realiser and are unwilling to accommodate any requests, especially the stereo stores. The individual owners with high end home systems are much more accommodating, but you certainly can't call them up and ask how much they charge for a measurement session!

I offered one stereo store in San Diego $1000 cash to let me do a measurement. They refused. Their loss.

-Darin

I don't know how much they charge. They have a top level Wilson 2 channel system and a home theater system that is supposed to be excellent. www.glennpoors.com . I will likely fly there from PA to purchase the Realiser.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mindless2 

I don't know how much they charge. They have a top level Wilson 2 channel system and a home theater system that is supposed to be excellent. www.glennpoors.com . I will likely fly there from PA to purchase the Realiser.

If you buy the Realiser from them, then I have heard that they will do measurements for you in their systems. I bought mine from them, but never had a chance to go there. Also, I know this is obvious, but you should pre-order yours from them since I don't believe many dealers have them in stock other than their demo units. Same goes for the Stax if you are buying those.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mindless2 

Would it be a good idea to start a thread compiling information on the venues that would allow recording PRIR's, their fees, and the speakers available? I am aware of only the Egyptian Theater and AIX studios in L.A., and Glenn Poor's retailer in Champaign Illinois.

I think this is a great idea, there needs to be more information available to current and potential customers about locations available for testing and what they charge. 

I recently did a 7.1 testing at Acoustic Zen (Darin's location) for $300, he brought everything needed for testing as well as his Stax setup to verify the test, he also posted my files to his server online for me to download. It was a great listening experience and this PRIR is what I use every day. As expected, my PRIR files differ from others I have heard at the same location. 

Lorr (Smyth Research) has his testings at AIX and the Egyptian, I have since forgotten what the rates are....Hopefully people can post more locations as well as pricing.

On a side not, I am using my Realiser in HDMI, with pass through and optical to my NAD M51, all connected from a pc/rmbp. I have had many issues getting 8 channel output to stay, in fact, with the realiser plugged in it was crashing AMS and Skype in OSX immediately. I recently purchased a Gefen HDMI detective and this has completely solved my problem. I use there preset EDID 8 channel out and it stays on at all times with no issues. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by struggles 

On a side not, I am using my Realiser in HDMI, with pass through and optical to my NAD M51, all connected from a pc/rmbp. I have had many issues getting 8 channel output to stay, in fact, with the realiser plugged in it was crashing AMS and Skype in OSX immediately. I recently purchased a Gefen HDMI detective and this has completely solved my problem. I use there preset EDID 8 channel out and it stays on at all times with no issues. 

Thanks for posting that about the HDMI detective. I always wondered about that device and whether it solves the Realiser's underwhelming HDMI support. (Well, it's not just Smyth, but many devices have HDMI handshaking issues.)

Maybe that will also solve the "more than three HDMI devices in a chain" problem too. I don't think so since that's not necessarily and handshaking problem, but who knows...

On another note, have you had a chance to compare the NAD M51 to the built-in DAC on the Realiser? The general consensus is that the DAC on the Realiser is pretty good. Just curious if a $2K DAC sounds noticeably better.

-Darin

Quote:

Originally Posted by darinf 

Thanks for posting that about the HDMI detective. I always wondered about that device and whether it solves the Realiser's underwhelming HDMI support. (Well, it's not just Smyth, but many devices have HDMI handshaking issues.)

 

Maybe that will also solve the "more than three HDMI devices in a chain" problem too. I don't think so since that's not necessarily and handshaking problem, but who knows...

 

On another note, have you had a chance to compare the NAD M51 to the built-in DAC on the Realiser? The general consensus is that the DAC on the Realiser is pretty good. Just curious if a $2K DAC sounds noticeably better.

 

-Darin

I have compared them enough to know that I will be keeping my M51 in the chain, I use when bypassing the Realiser as well. I would have brought it for you to listen to...

Quote:

Originally Posted by struggles 

I think this is a great idea, there needs to be more information available to current and potential customers about locations available for testing and what they charge. 

...

 

Lorr (Smyth Research) has his testings at AIX and the Egyptian, I have since forgotten what the rates are....Hopefully people can post more locations as well as pricing.

@Everyone, In an attempt to consolidate this information for the community, I've added a new Realiser Measurement Locations section to the wiki portion of the Realiser product page, and included a table to capture this information.  For the benefit of all, I encourage everyone to update the information in the table as needed.  If you prefer not to update the table directly, send me a PM with the information and I'll update the table as my schedule permits.  Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by struggles 

I have compared them enough to know that I will be keeping my M51 in the chain, I use when bypassing the Realiser as well. I would have brought it for you to listen to...

Good to know.

Unfortunately as you saw, during measurement sessions, I rarely have time to do any real listening. So, even though I would love to have heard your gear, I usually don't want to take up any more of the owner's time than we have to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzfan 

 

@Everyone, In an attempt to consolidate this information for the community, I've added a new Realiser Measurement Locations section to the wiki portion of the Realiser product page, and included a table to capture this information.  For the benefit of all, I encourage everyone to update the information in the table as needed.  If you prefer not to update the table directly, send me a PM with the information and I'll update the table as my schedule permits.  Thanks.

Thanks for doing that. The only thing is that for the San Diego locations at least, the table implies that one could call up Acoustic Zen or Stereo Unlimited and schedule a measurement session. Although anyone one is welcome to call them and arrange it, it's not something they do normally. Again, they know me and therefore are willing to work with me. Actually I don't even think Stereo Unlimited is too keen on me coming in again since they don't like doing anything that doesn't have the potential to lead to an actual sale.

I am not trying to promote myself or my services. I just don't want people who see that table think that they can just call any of those places and schedule a session like you can with AIX or the Egyptian. Audio High is a good example. If you don't buy the Realiser from them, they are not willing to do any measurements, as far as I know. Maybe other people can chime in and shed more light on some of the places listed and their willingness to let people come do measurements.