[Got the Shakes]

I believe that moving your head is exactly how it works. The realiser uses the angle calculation of the headband sensor to work out when you are at the correct angle and then outputs the sweep when you are in place. Never having done a PRIR measurement I am not exactly confident of my understanding but Smyth himself has indicated that a satisfactory measurement can be taken with a single tweeter so you may be better off ignoring the actual setup in your room. Just guessing though.

Makes sense. I knew that they had mentioned the ability to take measurements with a single tweeter, just wasn't able to find much documentation on the A16 setup at this point. Thanks again for your quick response. Now to figure out what my potential headphone upgrade once I get an A16 might be...

 

[esimms86]

In the new AIX newsletter Mark Waldrep says that he has effective downsized his operation and moved it from LA to Santa Monica. One less stellar 5.1 to sample. dsperber, we're all jealous! Now, of course, the question remains as to where to go to have a high end surround(or stereo) setup modeled for a fee. I suspect that Mi Casa Studio in LA will still be option for having a 5.1 PRIR made. Hopefully, a whole range of options in various locations will also emerge after the A16 comes out in august. Like many others, I had my 7.1.4 Atmos PRIR made by the Smyth brothers at Canjam NY 2017. I know I should be happy with that(and I am) but I would easily expect that there are much better systems/rooms to sample compared with a Yamaha active powered monitor system in a non-acoustically treated hotel suite.

 

[Got the Shakes]

Right now the best pair of headphones I have and what I would currently use with the A16 are the Sennheiser HD6XX. I'm assuming ideally that the best results with the Realizer are headphones that are more flat and with a wider soundstage. Obviously they have been using the HD800 to demo the A16 with, and that is an option (as well as the HD800S). What else should I be considering? I'd be willing to spend the money on the 800 or 800S, but if there are options that would get me there for less money I would certainly be open. I was considering Focal Elear and the Stax SRS-3100. If people have other recommendations I'm all ears whether they be $50 cans or $1000 cans. Thanks in advance.

 

[illram]

I would imagine anything with a decent soundstage and good imaging. Planars would be a good fit in my layman's opinion. I have an HE-400i which I love for surround. Great imaging and clarity. My primary headphone knowledge is mid to cheap surround gaming headphones, and popular "mid-fi" recommendations are AKG K7XX, 712, or 702, HD598, HD650. Considering those, the 6XX should probably be fine.

But personally if I drop a cool $1700 on this or whatever it will cost, I'm going to be wondering what I am missing by not also springing for some higher end cans. I personally have Ether C Flows or Audeze planars on my wishlist...

 

[Got the Shakes]

I would imagine anything with a decent soundstage and good imaging. Planars would be a good fit in my layman's opinion. I have an HE-400i which I love for surround. Great imaging and clarity. My primary headphone knowledge is mid to cheap surround gaming headphones, and popular "mid-fi" recommendations are AKG K7XX, 712, or 702, HD598, HD650. Considering those, the 6XX should probably be fine.

But personally if I drop a cool $1700 on this or whatever it will cost, I'm going to be wondering what I am missing by not also springing for some higher end cans. I personally have Ether C Flows or Audeze planars on my wishlist...

That's where I'm coming from. I'm sure the HD6XX I have now will be fine, but my thought is the same as yours. If I have this awesome $1700 surround sound processing piece of kit, should I go all out and grab some high end headphones to compliment it? Especially since I could get HD800 or HD800S for a good price used here or the Stax and Elear are under $1000 new and cheaper if I could find them used.

 

[GU1DO]

 

[castleofargh]

the best headphone for the job is the headphone able to offer the highest fidelity at the end of the process so that most of the cues from the Realiser are properly expressed. the tricky part being that just measuring low distortion for the headphone alone might not be the all story about the fidelity with the Realiser in the chain. the distortion numbers could be very different on some headphones at some frequencies once the necessary EQ is applied for our ears. without specific information for a particular individual, I would look for rather stable frequency response and low distortions. not for subjective cues as it's the very thing that will be transformed radically anyway.
maybe me feeling a large headstage is indication that the headphone already has a lot of what I need, but I don't know enough to draw the conclusion that it is what I should be looking for to best go with the Realiser. well in practice I know myself well enough to say that I'll take comfy headphone over fidelity ones any day, so I might very well end up going back to my old hd650 if I don't feel good enough with a "better" headphone. usually dynamic drivers aren't the best choice for low distortions, so there might be another reason why the hd800 is suggested. or maybe distortions aren't all that important as long as they are kept mostly below 1%? IDK
IDK is probably the conclusion I reach the most when thinking about 3D simulation ^_^.

 

[Sanctuary]

Keeping up with their announcements, I have no idea how they expect to start shipping in August. It also seems like every few months they push the date back another month or two too. If they were wanting to start shipping in August (even the last week), then why are they still demoing "prototype" models even in July, and why are they now just showcasing "samples for metalwork"? They haven't even begun production on them yet.

If they actually release these this year, I don't actually see them shipping before November at this rate.

 

[Got the Shakes]

Keeping up with their announcements, I have no idea how they expect to start shipping in August. It also seems like every few months they push the date back another month or two too. If they were wanting to start shipping in August (even the last week), then why are they still demoing "prototype" models even in July, and why are they now just showcasing "samples for metalwork"? They haven't even begun production on them yet.

If they actually release these this year, I don't actually see them shipping before November at this rate.

I haven't preordered yet and I have been planning on it before the June 30th price increase, but this is the one thing that gives me pause. I'd have no problem if they have my $1700 for a couple of months before I receive my Realiser A16 (and I know there are people that have put money down way before I do and have been patiently waiting), but I am afraid that it turns into them not being able to ship this year. I know that is the risk that gets taken with Kickstarter or preordering a product like this, but most times its not a product that is this expensive. On the other hand the 15% savings on an item like this is fairly significant. Don't get me wrong, I'm not worried about them taking the money and running or anything and Stephen Smyth seems to do a pretty good job on their Kickstarter page of interacting with people and answering questions,

 

[Sordel]

Keeping up with their announcements, I have no idea how they expect to start shipping in August. It also seems like every few months they push the date back another month or two too. If they were wanting to start shipping in August (even the last week), then why are they still demoing "prototype" models even in July, and why are they now just showcasing "samples for metalwork"? They haven't even begun production on them yet.

If they actually release these this year, I don't actually see them shipping before November at this rate.

You may be right, but it doesn't follow. The manufacturing of the housing is a comparatively small-batch piece of work, and the innards of the unit, which is where I'd have expected most of the work to go, seems to have been more or less finalised: Smyth announced the probably upgrade of the HDMI board six weeks ago, and I still have hope. They wouldn't have commissioned the silkscreen work if there was any doubt about the internal layout or external design.

I do share your frustration because I held off replacing my surround speakers in the expectation that either Ossic or Smyth would deliver in line with their original timetable: I keep buying multichannel releases that I can't audition!

 

[esimms86]

You may be right, but it doesn't follow. The manufacturing of the housing is a comparatively small-batch piece of work, and the innards of the unit, which is where I'd have expected most of the work to go, seems to have been more or less finalised: Smyth announced the probably upgrade of the HDMI board six weeks ago, and I still have hope. They wouldn't have commissioned the silkscreen work if there was any doubt about the internal layout or external design.

I do share your frustration because I held off replacing my surround speakers in the expectation that either Ossic or Smyth would deliver in line with their original timetable: I keep buying multichannel releases that I can't audition!

I share your frustration and at the same time see that there's nothing that we can do about it. I see that you're a Steven Wilson fan(as I am) so you likely have a few Porcupine Tree 5.1 recordings plus potentially some other Steven Wilson 5.1 remixes of other artists' material. And then there the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper in 5.1 which is being released just today.

 

[Sordel]

I see that you're a Steven Wilson fan(as I am) so you likely have a few Porcupine Tree 5.1 recordings plus potentially some other Steven Wilson 5.1 remixes of other artists' material. And then there the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper in 5.1 which is being released just today.

I'm actually skipping Sgt. Pepper but also out today is Kraftwerk 3D, which has a Dolby Atmos track as well as an excellent 'headphone mix'. It's going to be fascinating to hear how a fully calibrated virtualised Atmos track compares with something expertly mixed for an average head.

You're right about the Steven Wilson of course, and I'll have his new album by then. Also, check out the Chicago Quadio set from last year if you haven't already.

 

[esimms86]

I'm actually skipping Sgt. Pepper but also out today is Kraftwerk 3D, which has a Dolby Atmos track as well as an excellent 'headphone mix'. It's going to be fascinating to hear how a fully calibrated virtualised Atmos track compares with something expertly mixed for an average head.

You're right about the Steven Wilson of course, and I'll have his new album by then. Also, check out the Chicago Quadio set from last year if you haven't already.

I might have spent the money for Kraftwerk 3D except my understanding is that the Dolby Atmos mixes are 5.1. It doesn't mean that they don't sound good but I would be hoping for 5.1.4 or 7.1.4 when anticipating listening to Dolby Atmos. I agree, it will be interesting to see how the Dolby Atmos mix experience differs from the headphone mix. I have a couple of recordings on the 2L label produced with full Auro 3D mixes. Won't get to hear them, of course, until the A16 is in my possession.

And yes, I do already own the Chicago Qaudio box.

 

[Sordel]

Ah, that Quadio set is magic, isn't it?

The Dolby Atmos track on Kraftwerk 3D is 7.1 but compatible with 5.1.

 

[esimms86]

Ah, that Quadio set is magic, isn't it?

The Dolby Atmos track on Kraftwerk 3D is 7.1 but compatible with 5.1.

The Chicago box is indeed a beautiful thing.

Thanks for clarifying re: Kraftwerk 3D.