Quote:
Originally Posted by GardenVariety /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'm very close to purchasing the SVS. I've spoken with them and the word is that they "may" release a firmware update allowing two personalized calibrations on one machine. This is very exciting to me. I may just purchase this and calibrate it to my ears and daisy chain amps for other listeners until the firmware comes out (if ever). I am sure the experience (even without the head tracking) will be vastly superior to any other option that I've tried.
|
Interesting information. Hadn't heard mention of this 2-person feature before, even from Lorr who I was just personally involved with this past Tuesday getting a calibration done at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood (which, by the way, has UNBELIEVABLE SOUND... though clearly a movie theater / large arena venue sound... not an intimate personal home theater or small close-up listening room). Of course a 2-person version of the box was something I'd suggested to them back in May, shortly after acquiring my own A8, and they did say they were aware of the idea and were thinking about it.
Until and unless there are actually TWO INDEPENDENTLY FED headphone outputs, there's not much purpose to a 2-person firmware upgrade which presumably would support listening to two different personalizations simultaneously. Though this is not how it works today, as long as there's no hardware reason for this and as long as it's all firmware-caused, then it's a very exciting step forward if the A8 can become a true 2-person machine.
So presumably, (a) there's enough memory and CPU horsepower in the current A8 hardware to support processing two separate and independent PRIR/HPEQ+customizations/tweaks simultaneously, and (b) they are able to individually address at least two of the three headphone outputs of the box... analog RCA on the back, analog stereo mini-jack on the front and digital/optical on the back... in order to facilitate such a capability.
This would seem to be what's required in order to support two simultaneous and independent listeners, providing each with the full range of customization and tweaks (e.g. volume, bass management, etc.) currently available to the one-and-only listener.
P.S. - in passing, the sound and projection systems at the Egyptian are amazing. Six speakers along each side wall, six front-facing rear speakers for the orchestra seats mounted above them on the front of the balcony, and six front-facing rear speakers for the balcony mounted above them in front of the rear wall of the theater. 24 total surround speakers.
And then there are the most gorgeous sounding speakers (and horns, probably) behind the screen (provides a fairly narrow L/R angle of -/+ 18 degrees off center from where we were sitting in front-row center balcony). These were GORGEOUS sounding!
After the calibrations (artfully managed, of course, by Lorr and Paul, the longtime projectionist and "friend of Sid Grauman") we were treated to a demonstration of sound and picture, with snippets from the BluRay "Ratatouille" (opening rain sequence, trip down the sewer system, explosive percussion events, etc.) projected via "HDCP-hacked 1080p", and also from the BluRay version of the Cinerama version of 1962's "How The West Was Won" (transfer of Technicolor colors did not do well, in my opinion). Just amazing sound.
And then we were invited into the projection room, to see how it all works... projectors, sound processors, computers, hard drives, assorted audio equipment, posters on the walls from past events and upcoming schedules of American Cinematheque which runs the place, etc., which was a real treat.
Getting home with my personalization and listening to something on HDTV through it, well I'd have to say this is not a "room" meant for watching HDTV. Very much preferred my AIX "room". However I did watch the "pebble scene" (chapter 3) from "House of Flying Daggers") while listening to "the Egyptian" and it was much more satisfying. BIG, BIG, BIG and wide-open! And very narrow L/R... just as it really was from my balcony seat.
Nevertheless, if you want a real sound treat... catch a film at the Egyptian and listen.
